Might seem like a weird post but I'm trying to decide on a main character after the fact I've written almost all the dialog in my novel...But I figured I'd ask the community anways: Who would you guess is the Main Character just based off character's involvement with each other in these Chapter? (Names Changed) Chapter 1: Greg/Mike about Chris Chapter 2: Chris/Justine Chapter 3: Greg/Mike about Chris and Justine Chapter 4: Chris's Monolog Chapter 5: Russell/Mike Chapter 6: Bob/Chelsea/Chris Chapter 7: Russell/Mike Chapter 8: Greg/Mike Chapter 9: Ashley/Russell/Mike Chapter 10: Chelsea/Justine about Chris Chapter 11: Greg/Mike Chapter 12: Chris's Monolog Chapter 13: Ashley/Russell/Mike Chapter 14: Greg/Chelsea Chapter 15: Russell/Mike Chapter 16: Justine/Bob about Chris Chapter 17: Greg/Mike Chapter 18: Mike/Russell Chapter 19: Hybrid Chapter (Russell/Ashley & Justine/Bob, Greg's thoughts) Chapter 20: Hybrid Chapter (Mike/Lauren, Justine/Bob) Chapter 21: Hybrid Chapter (Justine/Bob, Chris's Monolog, Mike/Lauren) Chapter 22: Bob/Russell Chapter 23: Chris's Monolog Chapter 24: Mike/Greg (Greg Dies) Chapter 25: Hybrid Chapter (Ashley/Mike, Russell/Chelsea) Chapter 26: Russell discovers Greg's body Chapter 27: Ashley/Mike Chapter 28: Mike/Russell, Ashley nearby Chapter 29: Ashley Chapter 30: Chelsea/Justine/Bob about Chris Epilogue: Chris's Monolog Major Character's Role Chris - son of Justine and Bob in hospital, very sick (Story revolves around him but he isn't involved in the action) Justine - Chris's mom Bob - Chris's dad Chelsea - Chris's doctor Russell - cop investigating crime Ashley - news reporter Mike - killer Greg - works at Chris's hospital for Chelsea Main problem I'm having is the fact that the story revolves around Chris but he isn't directly involved with the action of the story. Take a senario like National Treasure for example, but instead of Nicholas Cage going after a treasure based off of historical documents, Nicholas Cage goes treasure hunting based off a young boy's story. Can a main character be someone that lies in a bed the entire story while everyone else interacts with one another? (His monolog's were my sad attempt at keeping him plugged into the story, although, originally, he never made an actual appearance after Chapter 6, only referrenced too) I suppose the Nicholas Cage equivalent would be Greg who first overhears the treasure story and tells Mike...but Mike kills Greg around the climax of the story...so that would mean killing off my main character if I chose to make it Greg.
Only you can decide this, and it's not based on something as trivial as who interacts with whom and when. Questions to ask yourself: Who is most transformed by the events of the novel? Who drives/implements the changes most consistently throughout the novel? Typically, you decide your main character before you write the novel. Chances are, if you didn't do this, your novel will be a muddle and lack direction.
