Changing your Main Character

[TheokinsJ]

I've had an idea for a while now in my WIP, to kill off my main character half way through the story. His death wouldn't be pointless, it would have meaning and purpose and he'd die a hero (Basically he knows he's going to die, so he makes a last stand and tells his friends to go on without him in their quest- he stays behind to fulfil a promise made to his dead brother, to take revenge upon the 'evil' antagonist, and he dies trying to take his revenge). I've had a secondary character since day one, a character who has at times both fought against and with, my main character, and has had essential roles in the plot. I'm thinking of now changing the story to focus on him, although I'm worried that, should I do the transition badly, the reader might dislike this new main character and the story will fall to pieces. Any advice? Again, it's just a thought, so I'm still questioning if I should do it, but I thought it might be a cool way of conveying to the reader that good guys don't always win.

 

[Devora]

If you're gonna do this idea you'd need to have both characters show up at the same time and have both have equal screen time (the first guy might have more since he's the lead). There needs to be equal "reader investment" in both characters, even if they don't have the same amount of screen time.

 

[Feo Takahari]

This is gonna be one of those things where just mentioning a title constitutes a spoiler, so I'll be vague. I read a book once where the protagonist's desire for vengeance took her far, far beyond any possibility of redemption. She was accompanied by another character for quite a long time, one who still seemed to be somewhat sane, and this character took up her role after her death. The switch succeeded because 1): the author put a lot of effort into developing and diversifying the new character's thought processes, behavioral patterns, and way of getting things done, but also because 2): the old character had clearly served her purpose.

In each other story I've read that did this, either the original character was incredibly awesome and his replacement was an average Joe with relatable conflicts, or the original character lacked any personality to speak of. The idea seems to be one of giving a better character than you start out with. (This does not mean giving a more powerful character--that's sometimes done in sequels, and it tends to turn out horribly.)

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

...I'm worried that, should I do the transition badly, the reader might dislike this new main character and the story will fall to pieces. Any advice? Again, it's just a thought, so I'm still questioning if I should do it, but I thought it might be a cool way of conveying to the reader that good guys don't always win.

To do this right you'll need to make this second MC very intriguing during the first part of the book. If that character is interesting, the reader won't find the switch as jarring. It will still likely be a break in immersion but instead of "Oh that sucks, now I have to get used to another POV" the reaction could be "Oh cool! I wonder how this character thinks."

I don't believe the two characters HAVE to share the stage early on to accomplish this. Yes, that cold be one way to handle this. However, depending on the writing style you've chosen, maybe it's not feasible (for example, 1st person). Another way to build interest in this secondary character would be to have them always impacting the thinking and behaviors of the first MC up until death. There are many ways you can accomplish this...be creative & clever. You may find your readers love you for it.... Many of us hunger for surprises.

An additional benefit (or risk depending on your outlook) is that the threat of death now hovers over all your characters. If the MC died, no one is safe. Urgency ramps up.

Don't be intimidated or afraid to experiment. Good luck.

 

[Penpilot]

It can be done and done well. But here's the thing. No matter how well it's done, someone will come along and not like it at all. Set it up well and let the chips fall. As long as the new primary POV character is interesting people who stay around for the rest of the story will learn to live with it.

This kind of reminds me of every time The Doctor from Doctor Who regenerates. A new actor will come in to play the role and some people go bonkers about loving the exiting actor and how the new actor doesn't fit their expectations. And the cycle repeats once the new becomes old.

Look at Game of Thrones, significant characters drop in that series like flies but there are so many interesting POV characters that the story survives and thrives.

 

[Jamber]

For me, when you kill off a main character it's like passing the baton in a relay race. I really want the new character to have that baton because she or he is (secretly) an exceptional runner, or has some ability that takes the race into a whole new dimension. That is, they're more 'right' for the overall point of the story than the previous main character was. (Needless to say we don't notice this fact until the baton gets passed.) An example is the blacksmith's boy in GRR Martin -- he's pretty backgroundy, but then the path to succession starts becoming slighlty less, er, populous. There's a sense where the boy might don the mantle at some point (or, rather, get in the bladey chair).

But then, I'm hopelessly addicted to meaning. Senseless death of a main character without a meaningful replacement leaves me a bit disgruntled, unless of course it's black comedy or tragedy, in which case bring it on.

cheers
Jennie

 

[SineNomine]

The biggest thing I would give as advice has already been stated; The second character absolutely has to be as interesting, if not more so, than the first character. I don't think they need to have equal amounts of viewpoints, but they certainly need to be at a similar level of cool. And the biggest problem is that readers' definitions of "cool" vary. You WILL have readers that hate that plot twist.

Speaking of plot twists, the most important thing you can do besides making the second character interesting is to foreshadow the death of the first character well. Readers need to be able to realize what is happening a very short time before it happens and gasp "No!" yet when they think of it awhile they realize that the event fits perfectly and shouldn't happen any other way, even if they don't want it to happen. Of course, foreshadowing is incredibly tricky so that's easier said than done when erring to either side could possibly ruin the book for some people.

 

[Addison]

Or you could make it like Great Gatsby. The story of the main character, Gatsby, is told through a secondary character, Calloway. So the story could be told from your SC's perspective from the beginning all through the main character's death and afterward.

 

[Guru Coyote]

How about 'splitting' the whole story into two distinct arcs? Make the story of the current MC 'complete' with his death. Make the book from then on be more like a sequel.

 

[TheokinsJ]

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions, I'm still deciding on whether or not to kill off my MC, but I've decided regardless of if I do or don't, the secondary character will be much more involved in the plot. The main character and the secondary character have never met and I plan on doing chapters from each of their point of views- I want them to seem like it is so unlikely that they will every meet, as their struggles and problems are very different, but slowly their stories begin to arc towards each other until the meet and combine- that's when I'd kill of my MC, if I ever went to kill him off.

 

[Justin Cary]

There are a few things I would consider. If you kill a readers favorite character they may lose interest in your bool and lose trust in your writing. You can't get a character back once they are dead(and retain trust). I'd be wary of killing off too many main characters in general. You may look like you are copying the Game of Thrones formula and if it is done poorly... truth is we aren't al RR Martins...