Why Should Anyone Help Your Protagonist?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Before you let a character help your protagonist, ask them why they'd offer that help. Most times, they probably wouldn't.

Before I dive in today, as part of NaNoProMo, I'm guest posting over at BadRedhead Media, chatting about marketing, and asking the question: Will Your Novel Solve a Reader's Problem? I'm also giving away a hour of one-on-one time with me to ask/talk about whatever you writing or publishing topics you want.

I have a small pet peeve in fiction--characters who are always willing to drop everything and help the protagonist. I'm not referring to the best friends (that's kind of their job), but the random people your protagonist runs into who have no good reason to answer questions, or agree to turn their backs at the right moment, or even take any risks for a total stranger, yet they do so time and time again.

It's a plot thing, I get it. That's the way the plot needs to unfold and it's exhausting to have every single thing in an entire novel be a fight. There are times when things need to go the protagonist's way. From a plotting standpoint, it's easy to see how it happens--this is where the protagonist learns X and this character will tell her X.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com