• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

Deleting/Demoting a Major Character

MiguelDHorcrux

Minstrel
Any of you guys experienced demoting a major character into background status halfway through the story, just before the climax? I have this character who has this usual do-I-love-money-more-than-my-friends arc and instead of going for the cliche, I will make him choose money over his friends. His friends will not hate him for it, but of course he will not be invited into the biggest and most dangerous part of the adventure. This character in the earlier parts of the story is one of the major characters. I think this can be a tool of mine so if the characters that went on with the adventure gets trapped or whatnot, this demoted character can get some redemption by helping them, or complete doom by further harming his friends.

Any of you went through this already, you know, having to demote a major character and not kill him outright?
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
When you do something like this, it should serve a purpose. To me, subplots should affect the main plot. If they don't, they are candidates to be removed from the story.

If this character choosing money over friends doesn't affect the main plot, then I ask why it's there? If it affects the main plot, then it's not really demoting a character. They still play a role in the story.
 

MiguelDHorcrux

Minstrel
When you do something like this, it should serve a purpose. To me, subplots should affect the main plot. If they don't, they are candidates to be removed from the story.

If this character choosing money over friends doesn't affect the main plot, then I ask why it's there? If it affects the main plot, then it's not really demoting a character. They still play a role in the story.

He is sorta the son of a war engineer and he will steal some of his father's blueprints and sell them to a hostile nation. Said hostile nation I intend to be the antagonist for a second book.
 
Top