Our monthly writing tips are written by our very own TerishD. You can read more in Terish's Blog located in that area of the forum.

Focus on Main Character

What I have also come to learn is that in spending time with other characters, my main character can be presented as not being the most interesting choice of a central figure. If this is the case with you, stop and remember why you chose this person to focus upon. Often you will recall good reasons that caused you to be interested in this person, and those details will help you return some entertainment value to that character. Others will tell you to switch to the more interesting character, but I am telling you that you should trust your original opinion and work to develop those interesting traits that you originally assigned to your focus character.

Note that if you are being distracted by another character then your readers are probably being distracted as well. This sometimes is not bad. The Artful Dodger in "Oliver" does not reduce the quality of the main character. Mr. Spock in "Star Trek" does not reduce the quality of Captain Kirk. In both cases what comes across to some as more interesting characters help develop the story and personality of the main character. You thus need to consider if your non-central characters are distracting your readers or providing a broader form of entertainment to your readers. There is a difference, and it can be the difference in a good story and a bad one.