: Writing my Watson trope I've been advised to sharpen my sidekick from an "intriguing second tier" character to the delegate for the readers. Is there a tried and tested formula succinctly captured

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There is no succinct tried and tested formula to do anything in literature. The technique used in the last best-seller or blockbuster is hailed as the new way but it's a futile exercise in shadow chasing. Meyer and Rice inspired several tons of rejected vampire manuscripts, Rowling and Martin did the same for epic fantasy.

I question the source of your advice. An editor is not your school-teacher. Invariably editors cannot write, hence they are editors. No child dreamed of being a book editor when they grew up. Editors are individuals there is no universal formula to please them. The first Harry Potter novel was rejected by pretty much every editor. The Bloomsbury editor wasn't overly impressed, however, his kid - was.

The comment regarding your sidekick may well be a symptom of something else. Wilson (Castaway) and Man Friday (Robinson Crusoe) aren't the most dynamic of sidekicks. At the other end of scale Crockett and Tubbs (Miami Vice), Murtaugh and Riggs (Lethal Weapon) are examples of sidekicks with equal billing.

If YOU feel you need to enhance your sidekick there are several routes to take.

Why are they 'friends'? Why is the sidekick a sidekick (lesser)?
The hero cannot be the hero in every scene. Incapacitate the hero for a while and let the sidekick take centre-stage.
The surprise (window to back-story). The sidekick saves/rescues the hero. He then clarifies it wasn't he couldn't fight/shoot/drive or whatever, it was that he didn't fight/shoot/drive - not since the incident.

I spent 18 months writing revisions at the publisher's request. Finally I stepped back. It was then I realised the story only vaguely resembled the original, the final draft didn't actually make any sense - and I would not put my name to it.

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