1. fictionwriter5

    fictionwriter5 New Member

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    Main Character Twist - will it work?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by fictionwriter5, Nov 25, 2017.

    Hello all, I'm new here but have been reading the forums for a few days. I was hoping to get some advice from some of you?

    I'm currently writing a Fantasy novel, and after several false-starts, have found an idea that I like. It involves the death of my main character's brother, but I was wondering if another idea I have had would work.

    A few chapters in, the brother will die. That's going to happen, it's planned and it's the catalyst for the events that happen afterwards. I'm writing in third person, but often switch the focus to 'follow' my main characters (so one 'scene' may focus on my main character, and the second on one of her friends, following their thoughts and opinions whilst still in third person. It's hard for me to explain). However, I've devised a twist that will see the first few chapters actually focus on the brother, before his eventual death, thus setting it up as him being the MC, only for him to die and the focus to switch to his sister in the wake of his death? (I know it doesn't sound very fantasy-esque yet, but that comes later on in my story.)

    I hope that all makes sense, and if anybody has any opinions on whether or not it would work of it sounds completely ridiculous, please feel free to jump in, any help is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks. :)
     
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  2. K McIntyre

    K McIntyre Active Member

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    Sounds like it would work fine, as long as you stick to 3rd person and don't jump around from one person's point of view to another's point of view. I get yelled at for that sometimes, so I know how easy it is to do.
     
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  3. fictionwriter5

    fictionwriter5 New Member

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    Thanks for your quick reply.

    No, I full intend to stick to third person, what I mean is the narrative would follow what he is doing like he is the character the storyline is focussing on, when in actual fact the sister is the intended MC, which would become apparent after his death. I guess I didn't describe that very well so apologies.
     
  4. K McIntyre

    K McIntyre Active Member

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    No, I understood what you said. I think it is an interesting idea. He starts off as the MC, but then becomes a minor one as the story progresses. I want to hear where this goes.
     
  5. fictionwriter5

    fictionwriter5 New Member

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    Yeah, you got it! Thanks for your advice, it's greatly appreciated.
     
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  6. K McIntyre

    K McIntyre Active Member

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    I am having fun right now with a story I started for NaNoWriMo. I know I won't get the required word count in this month, but I really don't care. The story is taking off at its own rate, and I am thrilled with it.
     
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  7. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Welcome to the site!

    What you're talking about is called the Decoy Protagonist, and it has been done extremely well :) My favorite examples would have to be
    • Movies: Psycho, Fargo, Alien
    • Novels: Brave New World, A Game of Thrones
     
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  8. The Piper

    The Piper Contributor Contributor

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    I love this idea and I’m sure it will work - all I might say is, make sure you’ve introduced the sister somehow right from the start (maybe he thinks about her, maybe she’s physically there or something). That way the transition between the two will still have the twist-y feeling you want, but it won’t seem like it’s come out of nowhere.
     
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  9. fictionwriter5

    fictionwriter5 New Member

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    Thank you. I also really like the idea so I'm glad that it seems to be a good idea. :D I fully intend to introduce the sister before the death. Thanks for your reply.
     
  10. fictionwriter5

    fictionwriter5 New Member

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    Thanks for the welcome!

    I didn't know it had a name, but knowing it's an actual technique makes me feel more confident about it, which I think I needed.

    I didn't know it was used in Psycho (although I've only really watched the TV series Bates Motel),
     
  11. fictionwriter5

    fictionwriter5 New Member

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    Well good luck. It's good that you're happy with it - I know from experience that there is nothing worse than when you're halfway through and then decide it's just not working properly! :mad::)
     
  12. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Any time!
    That is so good to hear! I've been a serious math and science nerd for a lot longer than I've been a serious writer, I love the idea of understanding how everything works and how components combine to form the whole, and it always makes me sad inside to read/hear people talking about being less interested in doing something after they've learned that there's a name for it :(
    The movie is one of the very few that I would argue is better than the book. You should watch it ;)

    Also, the etiquette on this site is that you generally want to reply to a bunch of people in a single post instead of one at a time.
    Like this :)
    Or this :D
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2017
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  13. fictionwriter5

    fictionwriter5 New Member

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    Yeah I know I'm supposed to Multi Quote but wasn't able to work out how. I was pressing the multi quote button but then press reply on the final person and it just brings up the final comment and not all of the others I selected. I would have copied and pasted them into one comment but I'm on my mobile at the moment so it's a bit harder. Sorry about that.

    I've literally just found the Insert Quote button! :D I'm really sorry, I know how to do it now.
     
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  14. Night Herald

    Night Herald The Fool Contributor

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    Hey, and welcome.

    I agree that the use of Decoy Protagonists is perfectly legit, and it's a device I'm rather fond of. I think it lends a dynamic quality to fiction, and a sense of realism. One person's story ends, another begins. Circle of life, bla bla bla. I love this kind of thing. Any sort of misdirection is a good thing, generally speaking, as long as it's pulled off well.
    I know there's an anime out there that's quite famous for its Decoy Protagonist, but I don't remember what it's called.

    If I were you, I'd hit up the Tv Tropes page for it, look at some examples. Best of luck.
     
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  15. Jason Govender

    Jason Govender Member

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    Well I would say this. When the main character in a story dies, I immediately lose interest. The reason for this is, I have nobody to follow that I really care about. His story is all I was interested in and now it's over.

    I think the way around this is to build up your actual main character, world and supporting cast. This way I'm interested in their stories as well. So when the brother dies, I'm sill going to be asking. "What is this girl going to do now?" Instead of being disheartened in continuing the book.
    Think of it like when somebody close to you dies. You get through it from the support of your friends and family who are dealing with the same thing. The difference now is that I can just close the book and move on, but you don't want that. I want to feel like I have people around me in this story that will make me feel better about his death by focusing on their story. This will keep me interested.

    If you're going to try and make everybody upset and shocked about this guys' death without building anything else, you'll end up with a bunch of readers with no motivation to keep going.
     
  16. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    What's the purpose of setting up the brother as the MC first? I think that's the real question you should ask.

    If the reason is simply to blindside your readers, like, "HA bet you didn't see that coming!" - then I can tell you now, don't do it. You're not being clever. It is not a very smart beginning. Think of it this way - hooking a reader is pretty hard and if your readers have got to the point where the brother dies, that means you will have successfully hooked your reader with your opening. Only now to have to write what is essentially a second opening and have to hook your readers fresh all over again, with the added hassle that now the readers are probably confused and annoyed?

    Basically, what you're describing is fine if there's actually a purpose to it beyond simply, "I need something unexpected and here it is!" If your readers can see a point to it, they will probably keep reading. But if there's no purpose to it, then you will have just asked your readers to invest a lot of time and energy into something that was ultimately pointless for them. This does not engage readers. This makes people close the book and move onto something else.

    Do not mislead your readers. If there's a good story reason for why you don't introduce the sister as the real MC from the beginning, then go for it. But don't do it for the sake of having a twist.
     
  17. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    So long as the handoff makes sense and is part of the same narrative continuum (@Simpson17866 example of Psycho is a good one) you should be fine. Otherwise it's a pretty lame gimmick that has a lot of SPLAT potential.

    Sounds like a standard POV switch, which isn't hard to explain if that's what you mean. Nothing problematic there and it might even provide some structure and stability to aid the reader through the "shock" of the erstwhile MCs. You probably don't want to get too carried away there. Each POV character will have to deliver some meat at some point, so less can often be more there.
     
  18. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Yes, I think this is good advice.

    Don't forget, there is a difference between a Point of View Character (a POV character) and a Main Character (MC.) The POV character in any chapter or scene is the person whose head we're in at the time. A POV character can actually be a minor character. What's important to the story flow is to find out what that POV character sees or knows. We're only given what a POV character can know or see. (They may see another character's eyes sparkle, but they are not going to be able to see their OWN eyes sparkle.) And etc. We're seeing the story (at that point anyway) through that character's perspective ONLY. The trick is to avoid head-hopping in these scenes.

    'Head hopping' is when one person looks at another and sees they've got blue eyes, while the blue-eyed person looks at the other one and sees they've got brown eyes. You've just jumped from one person's perspective to another. While it's not impossible to pull that off in a very distanced third person persepective, it's not easy ...because the reader wants to identify with somebody in the scene, and it's kind of hard when they're getting everybody's point of view at one time. What the reader will do then is step WAY back and begins to see the characters as if they were players on a game board. You might want this effect, and if you do then head-hopping is okay. If you want people to identify with a character or share their feelings, hopes, fears, worries, however, this is not a good choice of POV.

    A Main Character is a different kettle of fish altogether. A Main Character might even not be a POV character at all (although they usually are.) A main character is who the story is about. The person who will change the most as a result of what happens in the story. The protagonist, if you will. If your soon-to-be-dead brother is the person the story is all about, they are the main character. However, if the story is about what the sister learns and does as a result of the brother dying, then SHE is the main character.

    I agree with Mckk in that introducing a main character and killing them off after three chapters and having the reader need to reorient themselves and try to discover another main character so the story can 'go on' will be incredibly disruptive. So I'd make it crystal clear, right at the start, who the 'main character' is actually going to be. If you start off in the brother's POV (with his sister as a minor character at that point) and then kill him off, I think that could be a major mistake. If you make it clear via an opening chapter, or whatever, that the SISTER will be the character whose life will change during the story, then there is no problem giving us a few chapters in the brother's point of view.

    It sounds complicated, but it's not. Just make sure your main character ...the one the story is actually about ...is plainly so right from the beginning. Other than that, your use of multiple POVs is fine as long as you stay consistent when you're within one of them and resist the urge to jump into other people's heads at the same time.

    And your story sounds interesting, by the way! :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2017
  19. Jupie

    Jupie Senior Member

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    This is interesting because the story I'm writing has some similarities with yours. It's about two brothers and the younger one dies, but the POV is always from the main character (the older brother) and the prologue begins with him as an older man. I originally intended to start with the younger brother's death, but early on I changed track because I realised the whole story was centred upon the two brothers relationship. Whether you choose to have the sibling die straight away or to participate in most of the story is entirely up to you and I think there are merits to both, but the most important thing is keeping the impact of the death relevant throughout. Even if the brother dies at the beginning it's likely his sister will base most of her motivations and actions upon his death, so his character and presence still can in effect be felt beyond the grave. I always find the themes of grief and loss interesting and it's a very human experience to have, given that almost all of us encounter loss at some point in our lives.

    As for the practicalities and the how-tos, I'd say all the above advice is worth taking on. It's a good idea to show from the brother's POV in the beginning so long as know the sister is the main focal point of the story. In other words, the brother is more the 'object' of the story (i.e, the catalyst that kicks off events) and the sister is the 'subject' (main character, her development). I know the way I've described it probably is confusing, but that's how I'd see it to help distinguish the two POV roles. What you don't want to do is set up the brother with all this lovely plotting that looks like it's going somewhere for his character and that he's clearly the focus until a sudden death, which then disorientates the reader and leaves a lot of built-up story unfinished. By all means, make the brother come to life in every way possible and show off his personality, but having his sister at the forefront of his mind is a good way to keep our attention fixed on their relationship.

    I think that's the key word here, relationship. We're interested in both of the characters, but what unites them is really the relationship they share. We want to know what the stakes are early on and we want to feel something when he dies. We also want to see some resolution to the story and hopefully some satisfaction that although the brother is dead, there is an opportunity to come to terms with the death and for the sister to make her peace with it.

    Best of luck. I like the premise of this story, and don't worry too much about the fantasy elements. That all comes later, and can even be window dressing. At its heart, most fantasy resembles our own world and carries the same characters and traits. It's the human element that really draws us into a good story (don't get me wrong, fantasy is great. Harry Potter is in my opinion brilliant because of the incredible imagination that brings this whole new world to life, but the point still stands that I'm ultimately much more drawn to all the relationships between the characters).
     
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  20. K McIntyre

    K McIntyre Active Member

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    Good point! I like the idea that he thinks about her, but she is still sort of a shadow figure.
     
  21. John-Wayne

    John-Wayne Madman Extradinor Contributor

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    That's a pretty good point, What if it's a natural progression of the story, and the MC get's passed from Father to Son, let's say, as the Father gets killed in battle.
     
  22. John-Wayne

    John-Wayne Madman Extradinor Contributor

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    Personally, I like the idea, maybe it's because I'm doing something similar. But like others said, I would be careful of that F you moment.

    Maybe make both characters MCs, and invest time into both making the sister equal important and likeable. That way when he dies, the reader is right with here on wanting revenge.

    In my case, I telegraph the death in a series of dreams where the MC witness his sons death and has to make the choice of letting him die or sacrificing himself. Which he does and the son becomes the new MC. Though, with the way my stores go, you meet the son since birth.
     
  23. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    That sounds like it could be logical - I think it all depends on how it's set up. Changing MCs halfway through the book is unusual but not unheard of. If you've gradually set up the son to becoming the MC before the father dies, when when he dies, it wouldn't be so abrupt and the reader will still be invested. In stories you do often have two MCs or at least another very important character beside the MC anyway. I think it's more a case of it's probably hard to do and it may be best to do something like this later when you've got more experience in writing. You know, don't do this in your very first novel. Not that you can't, but it's more likely you might get it wrong if it's your very first novel.
     
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  24. John-Wayne

    John-Wayne Madman Extradinor Contributor

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    Cool, thanks, I don't mean to hijack FictionWriter5's thread but felt my questions were similar to his.

    Also, in another book I have a prologue where the MC's father is the focal point as she is quite literally being born, and then it goes into some history. Then spends time in the first few years of her lift with Chapter one starting around age 14 to 15.
     
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