Introducing Two Main Characters Simultaneously?

[UnintentionallyHeroic]

I have two main characters that share the same spotlight. I was thinking about introducing them both in the first three or so chapters, giving them equal "airtime", to demonstrate their mutual partnership and importance throughout the rest of the story. It's just the way I want to do it that I'm not sure about. The elf MC and the human MC involved meet because of a bloody raid on the elf's clan. The human MC is a member of the raiders and is the only one who is not in the group because of his bloodthirst, so out of guilt and disgust with himself and the entire situation, he saves the elf MC, whom was injured during the raid. He hides and protects the wounded elf until every clanmember is pronounced dead, and since the raiders lost some men too due to ill-prepared elven protectors, they count the human among the dead and leave for their original destination, leaving my two main characters alone and unassigned to a militia or a clan. Therefore, they are clean slates, and I can figure out my story from there. I would just like to know... does that seem choppy? Is it a well thought out introduction to my characters? It sounds promising, but something tells me I'm not going about it the right way, like that's not realistic.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

This sounds like a promising start to your story. Write it and see for yourself! It's possible that you could start right at the point where the barely-conscious wounded elf is being dragged to safety by the human. The human keeps the elf quiet (somewhat forcefully? I'm picturing the human as big and brutal barbarian type) and both watch the chaos around them. The reader wouldn't really know why the battle is going on, but could learn bits and pieces through the elf's observation. I think the elf's point-of-view could work in this case, since the elf is disoriented. The elf also has reason to fear the human (even though the human is saving his life), so the reader could easily figure out the battle is elves vs. humans before discovering the human MC's intention. When it's "safe to talk," we could learn more about the human.

In short, I think your idea can work, but you may want to pick a point-of-view for the reader to follow. In my example, you would see the world through the elf's eyes, but learn more about the human through dialogue. I would choose this direction because, from the information you gave me, I feel that the elf would have something more interesting to see and the human would have something more interesting to say.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

There's no inherent problem with introducing two main characters at the same time. As LS points out, you might want to pick a single POV for the first part; then maybe switch POVs later on so that both characters get to see things.

I know I harp on this series (because I really loved it), but Lois McMaster Bujold's Sharing Knife series has two main protagonists, and the chapters switch back and forth between their POVs for the entire series. As far as I recall, every chapter is from one of their POVs; there are no other POV characters. It can be done.

 

[Thalian]

I have two main characters that are twins that I introduced simultaneously, so I don't see how it could be a problem as long as you introduce them both equally and give both equal "air-time" like you said.

 

[UnintentionallyHeroic]

Thank you guys so much! And yes, Legendary Sidekick (which, le gasp! Benjamin told me about you!) I was going to switch POV's until it was appropriate that they could both speak to each other, at that point I'd probably start paying attention to both. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions, it makes me see that we're both of similar minds, haha.
(And yes, the human is the big and brutal type. But with a heart of gold, like a giant with a kitten.)

 

[RobW]

If you want to see a good example of two main characters i suggest reading "Armor" by John Steakley, even though the two MCs dont really come together in the same scene unitl the end except for a short scene in the middle. That said, i would suggest being very careful about doing that. It can be difficult handling two MC throughlines simultaneously and all the technical rules kinda scream against doing that. Like what is said a couple of times before me you could switch back and forth on the POV. If i was going to do something like this i would almost write the story twice, one time for each character so you could clearly see both throughlines separately, then intertwine according to how you want to reveal the story. Just keep in mind you can only have one MC per scene so you would have to switch their roles (subjective/objective) accordingly. Something else you might want to think about is having one of them as the MC (POV character) and the other as the protagonist (the one driving the plot). Good luck though, whatever you do with it.

 

[UnintentionallyHeroic]

Yeah, these two are going to be together quite alot... quite alot. Like, romantic interest eventually together. I just feared having one of them becoming the hero, and the other the sidekick. I planned on having most of it in 3rd person, anyhow, so it'd be easier to juggle them both.

 

[Terra Arkay]

I say go for it!

 

[RobW]

Even in 3rd person your still subjective with one and objective with the other. I guess there other forms of 3rd person but you do have to think about reader reception. It can get real messy if your bouncing around different character's minds constantly. I'm a 3rd person writer but i stick to one persons POV unless i do a line break or move to next chapter. You can make it work you just have to be careful with it.

 

[TWErvin2]

Third person omniscient point of view, which I think will be required for what is being suggested, can be a very tricky thing to write while not confusing the reader and also not leaving the reader feeling 'cheated' should something be ignored or 'hidden' from the reader, and is revealed later on.

I don't know good examples of fantasy written in 3rd Person Omniscient POV. I am sure others here can chime in, because I think it'd be a good idea to see how others have accomplished the task before you get too far into it. I know that romance novels often use this POV--but I don't really read romance.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Yeah, these two are going to be together quite alot... quite alot. Like, romantic interest eventually together. I just feared having one of them becoming the hero, and the other the sidekick. I planned on having most of it in 3rd person, anyhow, so it'd be easier to juggle them both.

Heh... I had a feeling that you had a big, burly human and a female elf. (Assuming hetero romance.)

If that's the case, your motive for the human betraying his fellow raiders and saving the elf will be easier to pull off (more believable with less explanation). I don't mean a love-at-first-sight thing. My thoughts are more like the human raiders are all male, and your human MC is all gung-ho about war... but the idea of striking a lady seems cowardly to your human MC. When he sees the face of the elf he has wounded, he stops his blade from completing a lethal strike.

The fact that the elf is wounded and vulnerable as he drags her off to a secluded area would give your reader reason to question his intentions, assume the worst, and create tension in your opening scene. You wouldn't need to use the word "rape," or even go there... the action from the elf's POV would imply a very real sense of danger.


PS- What's wrong with one of them being the sidekick?! And since you're trying to avoid that, could that make him/her "Unintentionally a Sidekick?"

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

PS- What's wrong with one of them being the sidekick?! And since you're trying to avoid that, could that make him/her "Unintentionally a Sidekick?"

How about an unintentionally heroic but legendary sidekick? Ok, I'll admit that I'm pretty proud of that one...

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

How about an unintentionally heroic but legendary sidekick?

Being heroic unintentionally is what makes a sidekick legendary.

Ok, I'll admit that I'm pretty proud of that one...

As you should be.

 

[Erica]

I've seen authors introduce two pov characters in the first chapter where one is seen initially through the eyes of the other, but there can be a scene change somewhere where the pov shifts. It can work.

 

[Steerpike]

I don't know good examples of fantasy written in 3rd Person Omniscient POV.

TW:

Wouldn't you consider Tolkien to have employed a third person omniscience POV?

 

[Ravana]

This isn't necessarily third omniscient. It can be third plural–and can just as easily be thought of as two third-singular stories running in parallel, at least until they start sharing the same space. The question becomes how you plan to tell the story when the two do finally join up: are you still going to be moving back and forth between their viewpoints? (If so, I'd recommend they alternate chapters to keep this clear.) Or is the whole story going to be seen as if through the eyes of a witness–without access to the thoughts of either character? That would take it into "omniscient" mode… though it also makes the solutions to objections about "hidden information" obvious: you only reveal what someone else could see by being physically present.

As for multiple PoV: I've seen this done well so many times I'm astounded by the number of people who think this is such an amazingly difficult accomplishment. And I'm not talking about two narrators: I'm talking five, ten, sometimes more. Along with a couple instances in which the parallel stories don't converge until the final chapter, and a couple more in which they never converge at all. Maybe we just haven't read the same books… dunno. But all you need to do is keep clear which PoV is being used at any given time–separate chapters being the usual device, and an easy one if all you were going to do was number the chapters anyway: just use the PoV character's name as the headers instead.

No, the tricky part is writing each character as a convincingly distinct individual. Which is where, and how, I've seen multiple-PoV done best–in most cases, it wasn't even necessary for the author to tell me whose PoV he'd switched to: I could tell within a sentence or two who was narrating. If you can't manage to make your characters sufficiently distinct that the thoughts of one might be mistaken for those of the other, then it might be better to stick to one PoV. On the other hand, if you can't manage that, then you probably need a lot more practice doing characterization anyway… so go ahead and do it for the practice.

 

[Devor]

This isn't necessarily third omniscient. It can be third plural—and can just as easily be thought of as two third-singular stories running in parallel, at least until they start sharing the same space. The question becomes how you plan to tell the story when the two do finally join up: are you still going to be moving back and forth between their viewpoints? (If so, I'd recommend they alternate chapters to keep this clear.) Or is the whole story going to be seen as if through the eyes of a witness—without access to the thoughts of either character? That would take it into "omniscient" mode… though it also makes the solutions to objections about "hidden information" obvious: you only reveal what someone else could see by being physically present.

As for multiple PoV: I've seen this done well so many times I'm astounded by the number of people who think this is such an amazingly difficult accomplishment. And I'm not talking about two narrators: I'm talking five, ten, sometimes more. Along with a couple instances in which the parallel stories don't converge until the final chapter, and a couple more in which they never converge at all. Maybe we just haven't read the same books… dunno. But all you need to do is keep clear which PoV is being used at any given time—separate chapters being the usual device, and an easy one if all you were going to do was number the chapters anyway: just use the PoV character's name as the headers instead.

No, the tricky part is writing each character as a convincingly distinct individual. Which is where, and how, I've seen multiple-PoV done best—in most cases, it wasn't even necessary for the author to tell me whose PoV he'd switched to: I could tell within a sentence or two who was narrating. If you can't manage to make your characters sufficiently distinct that the thoughts of one might be mistaken for those of the other, then it might be better to stick to one PoV. On the other hand, if you can't manage that, then you probably need a lot more practice doing characterization anyway… so go ahead and do it for the practice.

Oiy, I'm of two minds on that one. It usually takes me 50 to 100 pages or more before I care at all about the characters, and switching POVs during that time for me can be almost as bad as restarting the clock. My reading patterns often involve picking up a book, struggling with the first few chapters for about three weeks, and reading the back-300 in about three days.

But a lot of that, for me, is trying to get into the story against the author's poor or antiquated use of language. If the author can use language exceptionally well, 50-100 pages can drop as low as 1-2 paragraphs. If that's the case the author can hop around as much as he or she desires without bothering me.

((edit)) Using multiple POV's as an exercise in characterization, though, is a great idea. I'm commenting specifically on the skill levels required to do multiple POV's well and whether it's an amazingly difficult accomplishment.

 

[JCFarnham]

I can't say anything that hasn't already been said soooo with that in mind:

If Scott Westerfeld can do multiple MCs and PoVs well, then so can we

 

[Ravana]

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying it's easy to do multiple PoV, certainly not any easier than using a single PoV. It's just that the problem I see in doing it is that it requires fully developed characterizations for each narrator–all the work that normally goes into developing a single main character, multiplied–so that it doesn't come off sounding like one person with a bunch of different names. Beyond that, though, I don't see any problems that you wouldn't encounter writing any other text.