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A Thief



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Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:54 am
MeadowLark says...



I have this character in one of my many stories and it seems like he's stealing the spotlight from everyone else. He's supposed to be a supporting character but it seems like he wants the story to be about him. He also spends way too much time with the main character, and he has a girlfriend and the MC has a boyfriend.

Also, he's like one of my favourite characters and he plays a big role in the story. So I can't just...kill him.

So, what I'm actually asking is if anyone has any helpful hints or tips, I'd greatly appreciate them. He's just really, really annoying me. Yet he's so cool.
Purple light in the canyon
that is where I long to be
With my three good companions
just my rifle, pony and me

--- "My Rifle My Pony and Me"
  





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Mon Feb 16, 2009 4:24 am
Krupp says...



If you're saying that you have no control over him, or how much spotlight he absorbs, then you're in big trouble. It's simple. Just write about the other characters more; reduce his time on the pages. If you wanted him as a supporting character, then give him a supporting role where he's seen more than heard. Or do something similar. But seriously, it shouldn't be so hard to take care of that; I would think it'd be harder to set anything for the MC rather than a supporting character.

Of course, that's just my opinion. God knows I throw that around too much.
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Mon Feb 16, 2009 4:50 am
~Excalibur~ says...



If the supporting character is vocal and the main character is not, this problem cannot really be rectified without destroying the personality and dialogue of what has already happened. I wouldn't go killing off any character either. Simply trim.

It can work well, unless you are only a few dozen pages in, which you can change personality more freely and rewrite sections as you see fit.
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Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:59 pm
MeadowLark says...



Thanks...I'll see if I can trim and cut down his time. I've got like 300 pages written. Bah, characters with their own minds...they take over the story.
Purple light in the canyon
that is where I long to be
With my three good companions
just my rifle, pony and me

--- "My Rifle My Pony and Me"
  





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Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:34 pm
Rosendorn says...



I, on the other hand, take the opposite view.

If your character is stealing everything, maybe you could pacify him with his own novel. That, or change the novel's plot so he ends up as the MC. Just let him run wild.

But giving him his own novel might work. :lol:
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Tue Feb 17, 2009 12:06 am
Snoink says...



Give a conflict to struggle with... he'll calm down after that. ;)
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

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Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:23 am
MeadowLark says...



Thanks for all your helpful tips! I'll do something to calm him down and hopefully he won't try and shove his way to the front again. Thank-you!

Meadow
Purple light in the canyon
that is where I long to be
With my three good companions
just my rifle, pony and me

--- "My Rifle My Pony and Me"
  





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Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:02 am
thunder_dude7 says...



He wants attention, eh? Characters can do that. It's irritating, but there is a solution.

What you need to do is not KILL him, but rather occupy him. Maybe he will get arrested and go to jail. Get accepted to a college. Anything that will take him away and reduce page time.

When this happens, you do have the option of writing the rest of his story as another novel.

OR

You can take him and write a story about him completely - not in any way related to this one. That's how A novel I may or may not get about writing evolved - Jacob, a character from Betrayed and Plagued, wanted a story. I adjusted his physical traits and placed him in another story - any then you have the Wandering Outcast series.
  








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