27.08.19|| Botanischer Garten, München

Hello, I am writing a book where rather than having one main character/protagonist there is multiple characters that are sort of 'focused' on in third person. I have been looking into this for some time and many resources simply say 'your main character' and I struggle with what I am meant to do if I have more than one character. Am I searching for the wrong things here? Have I bitten off more than I can chew and do you have any resources for writing more than one MC?

Balancing multiple main characters...

The key to this balance is smooth transition and a balance of “screen time”. The story lines must be evenly balanced and prioritized in the actual text and the overall plot/conflict.

It’s definitely challenging to incorporate multiple focus characters and storylines, but it’s not impossible. It’s more time you’ll have to spend on character development, and then weaving the plots together in a way that feels balanced and purposeful. This can be as simple as utilizing format, and as complex as jumbling all of the separate conflicts and background noises together without pulling the reader in a million different directions. 

I have a few resources you may find helpful as you go along, but the overall piece of advice I have on this is to focus on an even distribution of time, energy, and care into each character and their own stories, and then make sure it all fits nicely by the end. 

How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

Giving Characters Distinct Voices in Dialogue

Tips on Character Consistency

Resources For Plot Development

Guide To Plot Development

Tackling Subplots

Plot Structures

Pacing Appropriately

Tips on Introducing Backstory

What To Cut Out of Your Story

Tips on Balancing Development

–

Masterlist | WIP Blog

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon, where I offer early access and exclusive benefits for only $5/month.

Art by Boris Groh

Colmar in Alsace, France (via vsco.co)

some dnd backstory ideas that give your character a reason to leave home that isn’t “everyone in my family died.” (just to say: i have nothing against those backstories (i use them a lot), but its fun to mix it up!)

family/friends/personal

someone close to you is sick. you need to adventure to find a cure

someone stole something important from you and you need to find it

you’ve received a message from a long lost relative and are trying to find them

someone that you love has been kidnapped (maybe you have to earn money to pay a ransom or complete some deed…)

adventuring runs in the family! everyone is expected to complete one quest in their lives

your family/culture sends people out to complete certain tasks when they reach a certain age as a rite of passage

another player’s character saved you in the past so you feel indebted to them and travel with them, protecting/aiding them

there’s a magical drought in your hometown and you have to fix it

your hometown doesn’t have a lot of jobs so you have to travel and send money back home

some childhood friends and you made a “scavenger hunt” where you try and complete a checklist of certain tasks (ie. defeat a barbarian in hand to hand combat, steal x amount of gold, slay a dragon, etc) in an allotted amount of time

quests/jobs

a god/patron has sent you on a quest to do something for them

you’ve been hired by someone to complete a task (and you get sucked into the big adventure along the way)

you’re on a quest for knowledge. maybe it’s to learn the best ways of fighting, maybe it’s something more academic related

your priest received a vision from your god and they sent you on a quest

you’re writing a book about the world and different cultures and you need first hand experience

you’ve found every map you’ve come across is shitty, so you decide to become a cartographer and make your own

you’re a detective who helps solve crimes and need to travel to solve a particular case

you’re a collector of a certain object and travel across the land to find it

you’re apart of an adventuring academy and have to complete a quest to graduate

you’re an artisan and you travel with your wares, trying to sell them. alternatively, you’re trying to spread word of your business and gain new business partners

you worked at a tavern your whole life where an old bard would sing songs of their adventuring party and that inspired you to go and do some adventuring of your own

feel free to add some of your own!

Andrey Surnov evening traffic 1 subway shipyard crane cranes evening traffic 2 evening traffic 3 night shop 1  6:00 AM shooting gallery dark street pizzeria night shop 2 red café

more art by Andrey Surnov

Blog Posts Masterlist

Here are all the blogs I've written sorted according to six categories.

Getting Published/Querying:

How To Get Published As A Minor—A Step-By-Step Guide

How To Get Out Of The Slush Pile And Make Your Agent Say Yes

How To Answer Some Common Literary Agent Questions

Editing:

Ten Dos And Don'ts Of Worldbuilding

How To Name Your Characters

How To Hook Your Readers With Your Chapter's Starting And Ending

How To Write And Create A Sub Plot

How To Immerse Your Readers With Indirect Characterisation

Genre-Based Advice:

How To Build A Realistic Magic System

How To Get Away With Murder...As An Author

How To Get Away With Murder Part Two: Writing Murder Mysteries

How To Build Tension And Make Your Readers Feel Scared

Character-Based Advice:

How To Write POC Characters Without Seeming Racist

How To Write An Antagonist

How To Create Realistic Book Characters

How To Write Mythical Creatures Without Sounding Redundant

How To Write A Compelling Character Arc

How To Create A Morally Grey Character

How To Write A Disabled Character: Ten Dos And Don'ts

How To Write A Plot Device Character

How To Develop A Memorable Antagonist

How To Write And Research Mental Illnesses

Scene-Based Advice:

How To Build Tension And Make Your Readers Feel Scared

Four Tips On How To Make Your Plot Twist Work

How To Set The Scene Without Info Dumping

How To Accurately Describe Pain In Writing

How To Create A Well-Written Fight Scene

Writing A Creepy Setting: Tips And Examples

The Ultimate Guide To Writing Persuasive Arguments

Forgining Epic Battles: Techniques For Writing Gripping War Scenes

Recommendations:

Websites And Writing Apps Every Author Needs in 2023

Seven Blogs You Need To Read As An Author

every writing tip article and their mother: dont ever use adverbs ever!

me, shoveling more adverbs onto the page because i do what i want: just you fucking try and stop me

some environments based on places from the eleventh hour taz arc! feat. the davy lamp, main street of refuge, and paloma’s hut (click thru for higher quality!)

Art by Oliver Ryan

Follow us at Instagram for more art inspiration  ♥ ♥

I just wrote over 2,500 words after not writing for a year. Just feels amazing to know that it doesn't matter if what I wrote was any good. Those are words that finally came out and they don't need to be perfect.

And I want this to be your sign that it's okay if you haven't written in a long time. You can always just come back to it.