tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post302210936300154245..comments2024-03-28T12:01:31.049-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: What If You Have Multiple Protagonists?Jim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-21362140804624974352015-09-07T18:20:11.477-04:002015-09-07T18:20:11.477-04:00Yes, Gloria, that's a common way to handle mys...Yes, Gloria, that's a common way to handle mystery series. I have seen some mystery series, for example Michael Connelly's or Joh Lescroart's, where major secondary characters have eventually been given their own books or their own series.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-44738347748559220622015-09-07T18:16:25.665-04:002015-09-07T18:16:25.665-04:00Warren, historical novels are one of the genres wh...Warren, historical novels are one of the genres where multiple protagonists may be required. They're often dealing with large events that span continents and sometimes the globe and may also span generations. If you're writing a novel about WWII or the Revolutionary War, for example, and you're trying to show the effect of the crisis on people on all sides of it, you may well need two or more protagonists. Usually multiple protagonists are called for in or work for novels that deal with large societal events/movements that span great distances and/or great time periods. Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-5766423902274267762015-09-07T18:10:55.896-04:002015-09-07T18:10:55.896-04:00Kait, I wonder if one of the reasons you weren'...Kait, I wonder if one of the reasons you weren't able to finish those book, at least some of them, was because you couldn't figure out who to identify with, whose story you were supposed to be following.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-91760238523783334462015-09-07T18:07:44.582-04:002015-09-07T18:07:44.582-04:00KM, you're right. I should have added romance ...KM, you're right. I should have added romance as one of the genres that often has multiple protagonists.<br /><br />I'm writing a big, complicated novel right now that I had to go through the questioning to determine my protagonist. It has several major characters whose character arcs are intimately intertwined with the major plot, but they are not the protagonists of that major plot, even though they're very important to the book.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-41627760236070818772015-09-07T18:03:15.721-04:002015-09-07T18:03:15.721-04:00Margaret, and that's okay. Multiple major char...Margaret, and that's okay. Multiple major characters, if you know how to handle them, can simply make a book richer and more complex.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-34104429219440655182015-09-07T18:01:29.613-04:002015-09-07T18:01:29.613-04:00Jim, yes, a secondary character can sometimes run ...Jim, yes, a secondary character can sometimes run away with a book. It's always important to keep in mind whose story it really is.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-37086406830062536442015-09-07T11:33:01.046-04:002015-09-07T11:33:01.046-04:00My protagonist appears in all my books, but becaus...My protagonist appears in all my books, but because it's a series, I do write from multiple points of view bringing returning characters into the story as a major character with a problem. And then, of course, there's the protagonist's love interest who always has a major role, too. Comments from my critique partners and fans is that they love reading about returning characters who become important to the plot. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-78936582846540735012015-09-07T10:36:13.057-04:002015-09-07T10:36:13.057-04:00In some of my historical works I have used multipl...In some of my historical works I have used multiple points of view. Some readers do not like that. It requires more work on the part of the reader to keep things in mind when the POV of a character is re-introduced. However, sometimes it fits the conception I have of the story, Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-37644327985950692452015-09-07T10:18:26.641-04:002015-09-07T10:18:26.641-04:00So far I have always been able to identify the mai...So far I have always been able to identify the main character in any book I have finished. Some of those I haven't well, maybe I would have caught on eventually, but I stopped reading before I figure out who to invest my interest in. What an interesting thought that multiple protagonists are genre driven. Makes perfect sense, in a thriller, or a procedural, it's almost required. Same with noir since you have to be invested in the victim and the investigator. Lots of food for thought here, Linda.Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-84952273848796868642015-09-07T08:44:24.322-04:002015-09-07T08:44:24.322-04:00I've read romance-type novels where equal atte...I've read romance-type novels where equal attention is given to both partners, often in alternating chapters.<br /><br />In my work, I've never had the problem of identifying the protagonist---usually one character is whispering in my ear, demanding that his (or her) story be told, so there's no doubt in my mind whose story it is.<br /><br />The concept of multiple protagonists, though, is intriguing. I never really thought about it.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-50381631255412481752015-09-07T08:07:27.493-04:002015-09-07T08:07:27.493-04:00I can always identify the main character, but I st...I can always identify the main character, but I struggle sometimes keeping all the secondary characters straight, particularly if they're all the same age and sex. <br /><br />In Ann Cleeves's Thin Air, Jimmy Perez is the MC and one of the investigating police officers. But we meet one of the murder victim's friends, Polly, in the first paragraph; her character and story arc are the most interesting. And of course, the location on a remote Shetland island becomes a major character, too.Margaret S. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07979191318652199350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-50841168805157681472015-09-07T06:11:28.194-04:002015-09-07T06:11:28.194-04:00In my current WIP, Doubtful Relations, I have larg...In my current WIP, <i>Doubtful Relations</i>, I have large portions of the McCree extended family involved. In early drafts, the story was more Paddy’s, the son, ’s than Seamus’s, the father. Since the book belongs in the Seamus McCree series, in later drafts I had to modify some scenes and the story a bit in order to make sure Seamus was the protagonist. Paddy still has a major role.<br /><br />~ Jim<br />Jim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.com