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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/26309
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

This is my first actual question, so I apologize in advance if I include something that is not suited for the forum, or if this is a duplicate of an existing west - though I DID try to find one that suits my case, without luck.

Here's the situation:

I'm writing a sci-fi story (only very little "fi"), that takes place in our time. I have a lot of characters "sketched out" already, and for a long time I felt that a certain one of these was the protagonist. This person is "randomly" pulled into the story (with a reasonable explanation within the universe), and ends up being a vital piece in an existing puzzle in the story.. However - and I realize that this may be solved by simply writing MORE - so far he's not very active in the plot...

I have a rather detailed outline for approximately 70-80% of the story, but have only written about 5-10%

In very short, the start of the story, and the way the "main" characters are connected, is as follows.

There is a certain "society", that consists of ordinary people who have achieved knowledge about certain things.

**Peter** (part of the society, young) has been kidnapped (which he is unaware of at first - makes sense in the story)

**Adrian** doesn't know Peter (or even anyone Peter knows), but obtains information from Peter (without knowing it at first)in a way that makes him valuable to the the other people connected to Peter.

**Cleo** (part of the society, but very young) is a Peter's niece, and meets Adrian "randomly" because of the information that he's now in possession of.. This information then pulls Adrian into the "society", which of course changes Adrian's life for good.

So far I have always thought of Adrian as the Protagonist, since hi's story is the one that makes the most sense in the way I want to reveal this "society", however I have heard that a protagonist is not the protagonist unless he actually consciously makes decisions.

Adrian WILL make decisions, but it's gonna take a while into the story...

Cleo undergoes a very interesting development during the story, and could potentially be the protagonist of a sequel, but I don't think it makes sense (so far) that she is the protagonist of this one...

I'm counting on Adrian and Cleo getting very close, and "sharing the adventure to save Peter"(just one part of the story of course), so I'm thinking that there may be more than one protagonist, but for the sake of my current point..

EDIT: Important note: I'm writing in the third person (I'm unsure if the terms omniscient is correct here, but I know what each of these characters are thinking and feeling), starting with Peter, then introducing Adrian and lastly introducing Cleo. They each get one of the first three chapters (if all goes according to plan). SO far I've written the first (Peter's) chapter, and some of the second (Adrian's) chapter. Also; knowing what different people think and feel is crucial to the story, since this i strongly connected to what the society is about.

**Actual question: How do I know who is actually my main character of the story?**

Will it reveal itself to me?

Should I simply trust my gut/original idea, or should I actively work on giving more influence in the story?

Original score: 1