[Sydney Witbeck]

So I have a question for you guys…

I’m working on a sequel. Basically I’m taking one of the minor characters from the first book and fleshing out his story to make him the MC of this book. That being said….

I have this other character who was originally just supposed to be a simple side character, some scenes here and there, getting on MC’s nerves and pressing his buttons at all the right times, that kind of thing. Well, anyway, to make this short, I find that I am writing more about Payton – my side character – than….Ethan – my MC. (Actually, that’s not his name at all, but for spoiler purposes I can’t reveal his real name! XD) I feel like Payton is getting waaaaay more of a story now and he wasn’t even in the first book!!!! Is this a problem? Aaah!!! I would love any advice on this!

[solanelle]

Hello!  I actually had a similar experience in the last few months – I made a side character who stole the spotlight, and I ended up refocusing the entire story and making him and his love interest the new MCs.  It was honestly a great decision, and it really helped to simplify the story and make it more personal (I’ve had similar experiences as the female MC, and that personal perspective helps me to really connect with her and her story.)

I think you should at least consider shifting the story over to him completely – usually there’s a reason why we gravitate towards certain characters and connect with them more than others.  I think it’s so important that stories have interesting MCs, and chances are that your audience will like Payton more than Ethan too.  It’s hard to write an interesting MC when you don’t really connect with them, so it might be worthwhile to consider shifting the focus of your story and sharing it from Payton’s perspective.  You don’t even have to drop him completely!  There might even be another story that would be better suited for Ethan and his development (basically what I did to my old MC – I shifted her to another part of the story/world that suited her and her character development better, and I think that’s going to help her develop more.)

There’s been times where I’ve had ideas that seemed too far out, too different or even too touchy, and I just let them sit and marinate.  Sometimes it might help to think about what your story would be like if you were to include it – would it add anything worthwhile?  Would it be more engaging and meaningful?  Or would it be a distraction?

Also, it helps so much to pray about it!  It’s something I really need to do more tbh, but there’s been times where I’ve really struggled with an idea or something that I wasn’t quite sure if I should incorporate, and so I prayed about it and gave it up to God.  It’s still a work in progress, but I believe that God has given me peace over some areas of my story that I was unsure about, and I truly do believe that He’s had a hand in the general shaping of the plot, themes, and characters – this creative progress started progressing and changing so quickly after I made the decision last year to just give it all up to him!

*laughs as one fey*

[Sydney Witbeck]

Thanks a bunch for the advice! It really helped me to know that other writers have worked through the same problem I’m having! (And that it worked for you when you shifted the perspectives of your MC) Payton is the first get-under-your-skin, can-be-kind-of-annoying-at-times character that I’ve written – I think that’s why I like him XD He does get better, I promise. I definitely want to keep Ethan (I can’t get used to calling him that….) as a part of the story, but I’m going to consider giving him more of a side role and see what happens!

I love your advice to pray about the story if I’m stuck or unsure! Yes!! I need to do that! ❤ ❤ (Best wishes to you in your writing journey, by the way!😊)

• This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by Sydney Witbeck.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by Sydney Witbeck.

[Arindown (Gracie)]

@sydney

Hi. *waves*

Haha, I know exactly what you are talking about. XD Some side characters insist on stealing the spot-light and that makes it hard as an author.

Calidris had some great advice. One thing I thought maybe I should mention is you could always try 2 points of view instead of 1. If Payton wants to steal the show but for story reasons you still need Ethan at the helm, you could just give Payton his own POV and let them both tell the story.

My WIP was supposed to have 1 MC but now it really has 2 because my boy Derik decided that he would NOT sit in the back and be a side-character. XD I think it really makes the story more interesting because the Derik and Thane really clash but they both have honest motives, so you get to see both sides.

 

"If I'm gonna break, I'll break like the dawn." -Nightbirde

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