No Sole Protagonist

Finally I have figured out a blog topic. Generic, maybe. Specific to my writing, you bet.

Why am I saying no sole protagonist? Because I do not write like that. There is nothing wrong with the writers that chose to have only one protagonist leading their story along.

To me, having two is a good number. It allows for interaction and the effect of working together and not alone. It is ironic to my life. I am one that is very independent and think its a one-man-show as my hubby tells me, yet I have no issue writing about a team.

Over time I have developed personal ways of working with two and not being into doing everything myself. I guess my writing has influenced my personal life. Nevertheless, what are the advantages of having two protagonists?

1. More interaction and dialogue. It allows readers to feel a part of the conversation.
2. Less filler because you have two ways to focus the novel on. It does not have to focalize about both in the same place, it can branch out and then meet up, or never meet up.
3. Realistic. In mystery/thriller/suspense writing, it is near impossible to figure out everything through one person. If there is a madman after you, you are not going to confront them on your own, you bring others you rely on.
4. Most people work better in partners. If it works in reality, it should work in novels. Look at jobs, schools, home. Pairs or groups.
5. Neither character has to be good or evil. It’s up to the writer.

Okay, so if this were an essay I failed. Miserable evidence…blah, blah, blah.

Honestly, I get bored just writing about one character. A lot of ‘I’s make it boring. ‘I was here’, ‘I was there’.

Sure, my one protagonist is more prominent than my other protagonist, but both are required to make the story work. My current work would be boring if it had one protagonist.

Some of the greatest works, and the popular novels I read now have two protagonists. You could argue that it is one and not two, but trust me, there are two.

For those writers who focalize on writing with one protagonist, give writing about two a shot. I have done both and find two is much easier. Better dynamics.

Well, back to writing. The more journals I use, the more journals the hubby will let me buy on our vacation in over a month.