When sidekicks and bit-players take over

What happens to a book plan when sidekicks and bit players take over from the main characters? My fantasy series started out very differently.

Changing Point of View

When I began The Ghost and the Vipers, Jovanka was not my protagonist. Varla, the lone Western sword-slinger held center stage. But along came this fey girl with the Sight, a half-blood outsider, burdened with a magical ability and childhood trauma. Far more interesting than a gruff, male vigilante rebel on a revenge quest.

Jovanka became the protagonist. Beside her stood Gulatta, a foreign fighter cast out for her very lack of magical ability. Gulatta has a dark past and much to atone for. She dropped out of the series in book one. But Gulatta wouldn’t let go

I brought her back for the prequel novella, Sisters of the Scildan. A driving moral force, Gulatta stands by her values; loyalty, family, honor and sacrifice.

What about Risto Tallas? She’s a character who leaped into my head years ago, fully formed. A thief, gambler and brawler from pirate stock, Risto brought trouble and mischief from the first inkling. And her arc takes her from rogue to resistance fighter over two books. And she’s back for two more, as protector and surrogate sister to Yari. Never the protagonist, she threatens to steal every scene she’s in.

In the upcoming book, my YA heroine is Yari Tamm. Definitely not a fighter, she does have a magical superpower and a rebel spirit. An unamed bit-part player for one scene in City of Vipers, I cut her out in the edit. But this child of the resistance drew me back. I restored that cut scene. Yari’s experience now drives book four.

The house guests who won’t leave

Several of my supporting cast become recurring characters in the series.

Zsannett, the Roamer fortune teller in book three is embedded in Jovanka’s past. Branko, Jovanka’s ex, takes Yari to Zsannett for a most disturbing reading of the tarot cards.

Branko appears as a side character in book three, in the prequel novella, in Yari’s story in book four, and perhaps a fantasy-mystery story down the line. How much can I make of the only honest captain in the city watch, with his share of secrets and disappointments?

Mikailut is another character who came out of nowhere. A random soldier in the Emperor’s Vipers, Varla put an arrow through his hip solely as a distraction in book two. In book three he’s out for revenge. In book four, he becomes a protector and the third protagonist of Yari’s story. He’s on a long redemption arc.

Arguing with imaginary friends

This is how the writing journey goes. You think you know who is in charge, until certain characters come along demanding attention. That’s when sidekicks and bit-players take over.