This week: Two Main Characters Edited by: Annette  
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| "Even though you have multiple characters, you do not have multiple plotlines." ~ K.M. Weiland, author of Crafting Unforgettable Characters: A Hands-On Introduction to Bringing Your Characters to Life |
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Two Main Characters
Writing a story that uses two characters requires some planning to make sure they are both truly a main character and not just the main character and their antagonist or sidekick.
Beginning: The two main characters can either start out at entirely different parts of the place, geographically speaking, or they can be together and driven apart by the story conflict.
Linked Plotlines: Both characters have to either share the same goal, or each have a goal that is affected and interacts with the other one's goal.
Obstacles: Each has to overcome obstacles that harm their progression toward their goal. Ideally, they don't have the same obstacles, but those obstacles hold them back in similar ways.
Together/Apart: To make the characters relevant to one another, they have to have touchpoints. However, they also need time apart to work through their respective narratives as they get closer to their story destination.
Relationship: Depending on the overall genre, these two characters could have romantic feelings for one another. In a Young Adult setting, they would most likely have romantic feelings since that is part of that genre. They could also be enemy spies, coworkers, or any other combination that forces them together while also pitting their storylines against each other.
Conclusion: The plotlines converge and the two characters have to meet a last time. The story has to come to an end. At the end, you have to decide whether both win, both lose, or if there is one winner and one loser. An ending in which both sides compromise is possible, but doesn't that negate the whole reason to be for the story?
Have you tried writing a short story with two main characters? |
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Replies to my last Short Stories newsletter "Companion Animals" that asked: Have you given your characters pets to make them relatable?
Nobody’s Home  wrote: Great newsletter and topic, Annette! Coincidences are weird--I posted on our EMBB group yesterday that I need to give my characters pets, and I swear I hadn't read this newsletter yet, lol. Great minds and all that. Now I'm off to read your previous newsletter about character naming--names are so important as part of developing my characters, Thanks for your hard work!
Thank you for reading my newsletters and commenting.
Mastiff  wrote: I use this moniker because I've rescued them all my life. I think I wrote more about them than write them into the story. I have a novella about on on my opening page, and I know there's a Christmas story in there with a fictional dog that I like very much. It's Make the Stars Look the Same, and it's about as MWD.
I think it takes a special kind of human to rescue mastiff dogs. You are a hero.
Ichabod Crane-writing-reading. wrote: I never thought of adding a pet. Good idea.
To be honest, I realized that animals are part of what makes us whole. Whether we have pets or not is part of who we are.
Scary Potato wrote: I don't usually include pets but I'm thinking maybe I could try. It might be interesting.
Give it a whirl. If you don't like the outcome, you can remove the pet from the story if it doesn't work out. Never remove a pet in real life.
An extra reply to an older Short Stories newsletter "Five Questions for Character Naming" that asked: What is your go-to method for naming characters?
Nobody’s Home wrote: Excellent topic and suggestions, Annette! I know this is from last year, but I wanted to comment anyway--I love naming characters and making them meaningful. I look at different cultures and languages and try to come up with names that are culturally significant and/or the sound of the name conveying something of their character, or both. I spent a few hours the other day trying to come up with an MC's name that would work. Two sub-characters I'd named Fox (foxglove) and Bena (verbena), which popped into my head--but the MC is always so much more difficult! I'm playing with flower names so she'll subtly be from the same nation/culture, but I want her to have a fiery name. I might have to resort to goddess names... Anyway, even if this doesn't get read by anyone but you, I wanted you to know I loved this newsletter. Your ideas are always fun and helpful! 
Another extra reply to an older Short Stories newsletter "Talk About Talking" that asked: Why can't the queen, the president, and the prime minster agree on commas?
Nobody’s Home wrote: Excellent, as always. Feeling validated because I follow these rules/guidelines you've explained is a happy thing. I hope others read and study this newsletter. Consistency is key!
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Short Stories: April 09, 2025 Issue [#13067]
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