More than one protagonist

Multiple characters is common especially in Fantasy, which is the genre you are writing in. The most famous ones mostly have more than one leading character or do a small amount of head hopping. If this book is solely for you then not reading in that genre is fine, but if you're hoping for more than just a finished book I would recommend reading at least the most popular books in that area so you get a feel for what is done. There's a few books where the POV character and the main protagonist aren't even the same. Someone along for the ride narrating what the hero does. The fact you don't know that you can do it in any genre let alone Fantasy tells me you probably don't read all that much, and for someone doing it for fun that doesn't matter, but it can be a serious handicap for someone wanting to go further than just a hobby. Just something I learned a little bit too late so thought I'd flag it.

 

I agree, but that's not what I was asking. Thanks for the advice, anyway.

 

You're wrong on the count that I don't read fantasy all that much - it's my favourite genre, and I've read most of the most popular series in it. However, I've been coming across a lot of media/advice lately that really advise against it, so I wanted to make sure that the popular books were the rule and not the exception, is all. Either way, thanks for trying to help - all the replies have helped a lot.

 

Certainly you can do that. It's just trickier than sticking with just one main character (in the "this is the person the story is about" sense), backed up by supporting characters who may have their own arcs but ultimately serve to assist the journey of your main protagonist. The reason is, obviously, because you need to divide your focus and make sure the story prioritizes all protagonists equally. They each need to have a personal journey that is equally relevant to the progression of the plot, and you'll want the ending of the story to somehow conclude all of those arcs simultaneously in a satisfying way. That makes plotting this sort of story somewhat more complex, demanding more skill from you as a storyteller.

It's a bit of a flex, is what I'm saying.

 

Personally I disagree with this sentiment. Who you pick to be POV is significant, it changes the story. For example if we observed the events of Harry Potter from Dudley or Neville's POV it might still lead to an interesting story, but it would not be the same story.

Now some stories work best having the POV not be the protagonist, that narrative distance is necessary for the story to work. Other stories would fall apart if they weren't from the protagonist's POV.

As the writer of the story we need to select the POVs that best serve the story we wish to tell, otherwise our readers will ask themselves why they're following this person and not the more important/interesting one that the plot revolves around.

 

You seem to have misunderstood what I was trying to say and your explanation actually proves my point. You used the example of writing the Harry Potter story from Dudley or Neville's POV. I'm not claiming it would be best to do so only possible to do so, as you seem to be claiming. The idea is that each minor character should be plausible and consistent enough to make a believable story in themselves, not necessarily the best story. What you should avoid is having minor characters doing random, inconsistent things for no apparent reason.

 

I'm taking Stormburn (from his progress journal) as an example in that I'm planning on doing a lot of plotting for this new book. I'm doing character sheets, plot questionnaires, and, obviously, just plotting in general, because I know that having more than one protagonist makes the story so much more complex and would quickly fall apart in my normal style - which tends to just include getting the faintest idea for something, writing a few chapters, and then going through a whole extravaganza where I get a huge amount of ideas and piece all those together into one narrative while I'm writing. I also think I just generally write better when I know where the story is going, because I instinctively include things like foreshadowing and such.

I've never thought about writing minor characters that way, where each should be able to tell their own story. I'll definitely try to implement that - I've been toying with this idea for a long time, but I've been thinking of making a timeline for each character, of what actions they take, no matter how minor they are (though obviously, extras don't really count here), so I can look at this minor character's personality and get a general look at what they do and make sure it always makes sense.