Quick Answer: If your protagonist disappears for more than a chapter early in your novel, you risk losing reader engagement. Introduce them early, keep them visible, and make sure they remain central to the story.
Pop quiz! Who’s the most important character in your book? I’ll give you a couple seconds to think about that.
…
Okay, so if you didn’t say your protagonist (a.k.a. your main character), then we probably need to talk. But since you’re all smarties, we can just assume you got it right. So with the premise of the protagonist’s importance established, let me present what can be a major pitfall in your story’s opening.
Why Your Protagonist Shouldn’t Disappear Early in the Story
Let’s say you’ve got a fantastic main character. He’s funny, skilled, dashing, fascinating—all that good stuff. Readers are half in love with him just from reading the back cover blurb. So they open your book, enjoy your dashingly fascinating protagonist in a short first scene. So far, good.
But then something not so good happens. They turn the page and they meet another character with her own agenda, and your fascinating protagonist is nowhere to be seen. That’s okay though, because readers probably recognize you’re just introducing another character and you’ll get back to your main character any time now.
But the problem is you don’t.
In fact, several long chapters go by before your now frustrated and yawning readers are allowed to return to your fascinating lead.
The Risks of Keeping Your Main Character Offscreen
Sometimes complicated plots and extended casts of characters mean authors have to spend large chunks of time away from their main characters. That’s acceptable, to a point. But your you can’t forget that your protagonist is the life’s blood of your story. It doesn’t matter how great he is if he’s not onscreen, especially in the beginning of your story.
How to Keep Your Protagonist in the Story’s Spotlight
- Introduce your protagonist in the opening scene.
- Give your protagonist at least a full chapter to help readers settle into the protagonist’s story before you journey on to explore other characters.
- Avoid long absences—if your main character isn’t showing up in at least every other chapter, you may end up with some unhappy readers on your hands.
In Summary
Your protagonist is the emotional anchor of your book. If your main character disappears too soon or too often—especially early on—you risk losing your readers’ connection and engagement.
Key Takeaways
- Keep your main character visible, especially in the beginning.
- Long gaps without your protagonist can weaken reader investment.
- Introduce your protagonist early and maintain regular “screen time.”
Want More?
For step-by-step guidance on crafting unforgettable protagonists and keeping them central to your story, check out my Creating Character Arcs Workbook. It’s packed with exercises to help you build characters readers can’t forget, who are integral to every beat of the plot. It’s available in e-book and paperback.
Writing Masterclass: Negative Character Arcs: The Hidden Pattern of Self-Deception
Character Misdirection: How to Write False Allies and False Enemies
New Writing Masterclass: Flat Character Arcs: From Transformation to Integration
Writing Masterclass: Alchemizing Plot, Character, & Theme for Powerful Fiction
About K.M. Weiland | @KMWeiland
It’s easy to get caught up in our subplots, antagonists and minor (but interesting) characters. The reviewing and editing processes (as you point out) should help us get our focus back on the story and protagonist at hand.
Excellent post, as usual. 🙂
If the protagonist *isn’t* the most interesting character in the book (as can sometimes be the reason for our attention wandering to our minor characters), that’s often a sign we’ve chosen the wrong main character.
Yes! In fact, I have the opposite problem. I’m concerned that my protagonist’s take up too many of my scenes. But I just happen to be reading Dreamlander right now and I see you don’t give too many scenes to the other characters, either. And since I’m loving it, that must be okay. Perhaps that’s a good topic for another blog. How often should we give the reader a break from our protag?
The short answer is: never. If the protagonist can’t carry the entire book (as is the case, for example, in most first-person narratives), then we have to question why he’s the protagonist in the first place. But, of course, the long answer is that if we’re including other minor POVs, we have to find a balance – and hopefully make every POV as fascinating as the protag’s. Otherwise, why are we including them?
I agree with this post and disagree as well. I feel as though if you are leaving your protagonist in the dust (so to speak) and dealing with other characters and subplots you can really confuse your readers. However, I disagree because I feel that a story doesn’t need to be black and white, good guy vs. bad guy etc. If anyone has ever read ‘The Innocent’ by Harlen Coben they will know what I am talking about. The story starts with one main character/protagonist, who remains the main character throughout, but as story unfolds it becomes more about his wife and she becomes the main plot focus. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but I felt like putting in my two cents =)
Thanks for chiming in! I’m in total agreement with you. Whenever we state a “rule” for fiction, we’re always in danger of painting a picture that’s too black and white. Multiple POV stories are often brilliant. The trick is always knowing which character(s) you want readers to primarily identify with and setting up those POVs early and consistently in the opening chapters – and then making sure any other POVs you have to include are just as riveting in their own right.
I couldn’t agree more! This has been very helpful for me, as are all of your blogs! Keep up the great work! Thanks =)
Glad you’re finding them useful!
In my current WIP I have two protagonists – so far I feel they are equal to the plot. I suppose I *could* write it all using only one of them (and give the other a supporting role), but then I would have to choose and I really can’t.
For now they get almost equal share of scenes, and in many they are together, but it’s not always one chapter with A then one with B … rather two with A and three with B, then one with A and three with B – and so on. Surei, it’s still only a first draft – but should I try to switch more regularely?
The biggest factor is: Are both POVs equally interesting? If they are, you have built-in interest from the readers, no matter which POV they’re in – which eliminates a large part of the problem I’m discussing in this post. If you’re wanting to present these two characters as (more or less) equal protagonists, you’re going to want to give them more or less equal screentime. It’s often nice to create into a consistent pattern between POVs, since it helps readers settle in and anticipate the switch. But if you can’t, you can’t. Just as a general rule, I would say try not to go more than three chapters without switching.
Thank you for that answer!
I sure hope they are equally interesting – at least I think so. I guess I’ll see what happens in the editing process. Some scenes where they are together might be better off switching to the other POV, making a more consisten pattern.
If you think so, that’s half the battle! The rest is subjective to some extent. But beta readers are always tremendously valuable in determining which POVs or working and which aren’t.
LOL I said “main character.” The protagonist is the one driving the story goal forward, and the two are not always identical. But yeah, in either case it’s important to not let them wander off screen until the climax.
Good distinction. We usually use the terms interchangeably. But you’re right in noting that both, if they are indeed separate characters, need to be onscreen for the majority of the story.
Hey, great post, now I know this isn’t directly connected to the topic but it made me think of it. How important is the length of your story? I always feel like my paragraphs and, more importantly, chapters end up way to short. I don’t know if I’m lacking detail or if I’m writing fine I just write in short paragraphs. Either way I’ve read books with very lengthy chapters and very short ones, which one would be better for a reader? Obviously you could pull it off either way but is it preferred to have books of, say a teenage level in my case, a certain length?
I like to say that stories should always be as long as they need to be. But that’s somewhat disingenuous, since word count is always a factor when agents and editors are considering your book. You can find some genre guidelines on the subject here.
As for whether short chapters or long chapters are better for the reader, that depends in large part on the pacing you’re trying to establish. Longer chapters bring gravitas and a sense of leisure; shorter chapters create speed and urgency. The latter are often better for getting readers to keep turning those pages. Ultimately, I would pay attention to what *you* like when you’re reading, and try to mimic that.
As a chronic underwriter, I feel your pain and wish to also suggest that you try a one-time experiment that can help you get a feel for writing at the pace you’re aiming for:
1. Find a story that you love and matches the kind of writing, pace, and atmosphere you’re trying to produce.
2. Type it up yourself.
It’s a rude awakening for most of us and can help us get a better handle on what words really go into the count.
I say this as someone who has gone from averaging 300 word scenes to 700 – 1000 word scenes (which much improved my storytelling!).
This is an excellent suggestion. It’s amazing how much we can miss, even in a careful reading, that we can pick up when we have to focus on typing or writing every word in someone else’s story. I’ve done this myself to good effect.
I read a book end of last year from a NYT’s and USA Today bestselling author, who committed this crime. I loved him in the instant he stepped on the page, even though I hated the supposed heroine. Really hated her, she was a total bitch.
Then he disappeared for a hundred pages. He showed up again, briefly, then disappeared for another hundred pages. This was a 500-page book and the supposed main characters spent more time off-page than on, and did I mention how much I hated the “heroine”? I really hated her.
The experience soured me on ever reading more of this author, despite the fact she writes the type of hero I love best. I don’t want to fall in love with another supposed protagonist and then not see him for a hundred and twenty pages at a time.
I’ve experienced that as well. As a reader, it’s tremendously frustrating, because you want to love the book, but it’s just not giving you what it promised.
What are your thoughts on ensemble casts? Something along the lines of Firefly, or most of what Joss Whedon touches.
Number 1 thought: they’re much easier to do in movies or television. But they’re definitely feasible, and sometimes even preferable, in written fiction, depending on the story. The only stricture is that every character has to be equally brilliant. If you’ve got a weak link, you risk readers skipping his sections–or, worse, giving up on the whole book.
That is very true. Admittedly I’m taking a more TV-based style to it; it is told by a very close third person narrative that switches between the five team members (thieves, each with a different skill) as they go about their escapades, but does so in a consistent fashion. But you’re right, I have to make each character brilliant, and a personal – each character defined. Just about finished the roughest of rough drafts, and that’s one of many things I’ll need to fix!
Whedon’s Firefly is a great example of how to do it. Every single character is a delight in his or her own right.
I’m writing a book in three parts. I guess I’d say there are different protagonists in the first part and in the second and third parts, but, the character who is overall the protagonist of the whole story only first shows up late in the first part. Not sure if that’ll be a problem …
Not that this *can’t* work, but the inherent problem with it is that the readers will have already identified with earlier characters. If they liked those characters well enough to have read this far, they may be upset if the “new” protagonist takes the spotlight away from their old favorites.
For the protagonist the readers got hooked on – do they have a satisfying story after the main protagonist arrives?
I recently saw A History of Violence which spent time on a pair of killers, building them up and defining them, really getting me hooked; before their story just ended without resolution or explanation. It wasn’t the only mistake the story made, but it was the worst for me because – to this day – I still wonder what their story was, long after I’ve forgotten the main character’s story. But that is in part due to the lack of interest I personally had in the main character.
Which also speaks to the idea of having the overall protagonist’s story being the most interesting… but hey, you’ve already read a post about that 😉
Hi Tara Therese,
maybe your story is starting too early.
Would the absence of the part before the appearance of the protagonist hurt the story?
Or is maybe the overall protagonist dispensable?
Letting a test reader add his two cents might help.
It worked for Anna Karennina and other classic stories, but the key to making that sort of thing work is that the whole story before the character appears should be heavily about the protagonist and build up anticipation for their arrival on scene.
I’d say presently, I’m 3 for 4 on whether my protag is in most scenes/chapters. My one exception is my sci-fi thriller. To me, thrillers make allowances that other genres don’t or can’t. And while my protag in that book (currently) probably is present through about3/4 of the scenes, he probably has less than half of the POV, and he’s not introduced until about the 4th or 5th chapter, although he is mentioned in passing around chapter 2 or 3. The lead in chapters cover most of the other POV’s, and I have a strategy behind this, but I’d be lying if this hasn’t caused me some degree of consternation. I’ve often pondered if there is a reasonable way where I could introduce him in the first scene, and there is, but there would be a lot of telling rather than showing or a heavy use of flashbacks, which I’d prefer to avoid. If at all possible, I prefer to tell stories in a linear manner, although sometimes digressions are important, too.
I would almost always advise against holding off so long on introducing the protagonist. There are always exceptions, and beta readers will be helpful in letting you know if it’s working. But you’re taking a big risk – and, more often than not in these instances, it’s not going to be worth it.
So far, the few people who have read it haven’t had a problem with it, and that was with an earlier draft where I didn’t introduce him until even later.
At the same time, I would almost say that I have dual protagonists, and if I use those terms, I open with a protag. I just like my male protag a bit better, and am more comfortable thinking of him as the protag than his female countpart.
Still, I am thinking about ways to improve that story. I’m not 100% decided on what I’m going to do with the opening yet. I definitely tightened it up on the last revision.
Ah, yes, dual protagonists smooth over the difficulty to a large degree.
Although I completely agree with this, and many, many fictions I’ve read follow that same line, what about stories like George Martin’s Game Of Thrones? As far as I could tell, everybody is a protagonist (and everybody can die, hehe). The read, almost always, picks up one of the many protagonists as their preferred, and try to stick with it until the end. But then he goes into lengthy chapters, or chapter after chapter without even mentioning your “preferred protagonist”. What do you think of this kind of writing?
Bluntly: I think it’s dangerous. Not to argue with Martin’s success, but when you write like this, you’re risking a lot on the hope that readers will like all of your characters equally. It rarely works out that way, and the result, as you say, is that readers are often frustrated when they have to slog through scenes with less-interesting characters. Sometimes it’s better to be a little less epic and allow a little more intimacy between readers and the characters they care about.
Good post for me in particular! 🙂 Because I’m in the process of writing a series, I have quite a bit of characters. I try to even it out so it’s not so much more of one character than another. In my first book that I’m working on, there is a main plot and two subplots. As far as the pacing of the story, it’s kind of a chain reaction; I only add a character when needed, and I also let the reader know about an upcoming character before he or she even makes their entrance in the storyline. For example, a phonecall or a character already introduced beforehand who mentions the next character added in some way or another, depending upon what he or she is talking about. That way the reader is aware of why the next character is added to the whole story.
Yes, if we can’t directly introduce an important character early on, it’s always great if we can at least reference him.
So true, a story needs to pick the right center and not lose track of it.
But between the value of other people’s perspectives and good old convenience for reveals, it’s all too easy to lose that focus. My own answer is to keep things in terms of how my hero has to deal with it all.
I admit, I’m the opposite of this: I’m so devoted to unchanging-viewpoint I’ve tried starting a book with a weird flash-forward to an almost demonic perspective, with the subtext that my fans (all 5 of them, I guess) would be the ones never doubting that this had to be the protagonist I’d twist into that state– because nobody else is going to get a VP. I lose some opportunities, but it’s my way of keeping my central thrust going.
The more books I write, the more I appreciate single-POV stories. They’re much more complicated in terms of limiting the “camera angles,” but they offer so many dividends by creating tight narratives and reader resonance.
That can be a little difficult to balance when you have two protagonists, like I do in my last novel :O
Thanks!
M.
As long as both characters are getting a decent amount of screen time, you should be fine.