: Re: Does my protagonist need to be the most important character? In my fantasy story that I'm slowly getting into, my MC Sirena is an apprentice witch. Her two fellow apprentices, Aster and Keeva,

@Welton431

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IN GENERAL for the modern novel, the MC is the one with a problem to solve, the MC has to take the risks, and the MC has to solve the problem.

One exception to this rule I can think of is Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes series, he is the "MC" that tells the story. Most analysts believe Doyle did this specifically to hide the thoughts and feelings of Sherlock, maintain some distance, so the reader is not privy to all the nitty-gritty details of the investigation and what Sherlock thought about them. That would pretty much ruin the mystery and the climactic reveal.

But Dr. Watson is pretty much glued to Sherlock throughout the story, in a way he "vanishes" for the reader (like most narrators do) and this is the equivalent of 3rd person objective narrator (a 3PO doesn't know what any character is thinking or feeling; they describe only what can be sensed by a person at the scene; sights, sounds, heat, cold, etc). (But not exactly, because Watson is needed for Sherlock to "explain" things in conversation, a way to drop clues for the reader that a 3PO narrator doesn't have; though they could describe notes, diary entries, and self-talk of Sherlock).

For your story, one way to keep your plot line is to follow Sirena throughout the story, go ahead and show Keeva and Aster as magically powerful, but make it so Sirena is the one that finally figures out the puzzle, and directs Aster in saving the day, or convinces her.

That way your MC is still the hero, the one that figured it out. It doesn't have to be her own magic that did the trick, her true skill can be understanding.

Failing that, I'd say switch their roles; your MC should be the central figure in the plot that brings about the resolution of the plot.

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