Welcome to day 26 of PREPTOBER! This is a series of daily questions and prompts to help you prepare for this year’s upcoming NaNoWriMo!
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Today’s question is:
How have your side characters contributed to your main character’s journey?
Feel free to share your answer in the comments! I would love to hear your response!
If you are wondering, then yes, this is a test.
Do you really need that side character? The reason why I am asking here (again) in the last leg of the story, is because now you have to prove that your side characters belong.
Each character needs to have contribute to the Main Character’s journey, and like an Emmy winning actress, your main character needs to have a speech prepared.
To close out your story, we need to acknowledge all the characters that got us here. In the poison berries scene from The Hunger Games I shared with you yesterday, the camera pans to most of the characters that have contributed to Katniss’s journey the Game Commissioner, Haymitch, Gale, and the people of Panem.
You may argue that those side characters aren’t actually participating in the finale— oh but they are. They are passive, but they are viewers. They are going to bear witness to Katniss, and she knows it even though she can’t see them.
You are in control of how much these side characters participate in your finale. They could be in the action with an Avengers Assemble type team, or they could be passively waiting by the phone in anticipation of how it all turns out. Regardless, it’s time to tip your hat to your side characters. They get a chance to shine.
But not all character’s need to shine equally. Remember in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron is acknowledged one last time but not necessarily included in the finale. You need to make the executive choice on who is going to be on the dream team. Maybe J.K. Rowling thought it would be too hard for the three of them to avoid their past selves as they jumped back in time. Maybe she was balancing out the finale of the previous book because Hermione did not participate in the finale of The Chamber of Secrets. Maybe the author was trying to stir up some romance between Harry and Hermione (since she was originally going to kill Ron off and have Harry and Hermione fall in love!!!). Who knows! But she made a choice to not include Ron here, but she still gives him that last moment to check in with the audience before we sail on to the finale.
It’s like we are calling attendance. Who all is left to participate in this finale? How will they contribute, what skills do they bring to the table? Who are the players on each team?
It’s also at this point that we might get some information on the Villain or Antagonist gathering together their forces in preparation for the big finale.
In the Lord of the Rings, each character gets their own moment to shine in the end. When Galadriel gives them gifts as they are leaving Lothlorien, we are reminded of the task ahead, what each character’s individual strengths are and how they might participate in the finale.
Take this moment right on the cusp of Act III to revisit and acknowledge these important character, and give your reader some context for the team going into the finale.
How have your side characters contributed to your main character’s journey?
Bonus: How will they participate in the finale?
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