Just wondering outloud. Im writing a story and had a sudden thought...Is it ok to have more than 1 MC? Basically i have two characters come that together to go on an adventure (bit of a buddy storyline),but they don't have much to do with each other until about 1/4 of the way into the story. So at the moment they are separated until the meeting point. But what they do up until that point builds on character and story, so in one scene its character 1 then character 2 in the next and so on until they meet. They are both important characters and neither is really a sidekick to the other. However once they meet character 1 will the more prominent in telling the story. My question is not only is it ok to have multiple MCs (2 or 3, not a silly number like 10) but also by visiting the characters individually at first, do i run the risk of confusing the reader? Cheers Guys
Written right, it won't confuse the reader. Besides, not every MC shows up at the beginning or the at the same time either. Some of them can appear two thirds of the way through the story. It's up to you, the writer, to determine where they come in, and how he or she will interact with the story.
Thanks dude, It's just sometimes you get that little niggling thought at the back of your head that just won't go away lol, I have struggled with POV in the past and having 2 or more just was like What the fluff lol. But i think im on right path.
What's important is that the reader actually understands the logic behind it. If they know that the viewpoint is going to shift very often, they will be able to find their way around any number of POVs. If they realize there are two or three major strands, they will focus on that. As long as you give the reader an idea of how you are going to structure the story early on and stay somewhat consistent, you should be fine.
