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Q&A How to keep the protagonist from being the only interesting person in the world?

There are several different techniques I've seen used in books/shows that usually help to alleviate this problem. A side story arc. Barry may be the main character and the major events may surro...

posted 8y ago by bhilgert‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:05:00Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26583
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar bhilgert‭ · 2019-12-08T06:05:00Z (almost 5 years ago)
There are several different techniques I've seen used in books/shows that usually help to alleviate this problem.

1. A side story arc. Barry may be the main character and the major events may surround him, but the foreshadowing on the news report may not just report the main event. The news could show something that may be a side event that Barry may only briefly address. Does Barry really like baseball? A news article talking about X team won X game, would still be relevant to the main character but help make the world as a whole seem bigger.

2. Supporting characters are traditionally used to provide context/depth. I haven't watched any of the Flash, but Barry should have some supporting characters that help him out. These characters or their interests could be affected by whatever major even is happening. Focusing on how they're affected by this event might give the story a bit more depth, even if we're just seeing their reaction. (Think about The Avengers Age of Ultron, when Tony Stark sees ALL his dead team members, that was a lot more powerful than just Tony seeing the world being attacked.)

3. Filler information. In literature with a lot of foreshadowing (_Wheel of Time_ I'm looking at you), not every event shown will take place. Some may take place but not as expected. It would be more effective and believable to include some additional stories that didn't touch the main character, even if they were just playing in the background as he is trying to cope with the implications of the major event. These events, while they may not be important, would show the audience that while Barry is important, he's not the only thing in the world. A great example of this can be found in the movie _Paycheck_, with a similar premise. While part of the vision of the main character focuses on the end of the world, many events that don't necessarily lead to that are shown, to help focus the attention on the end of the world event.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-02-07T22:24:25Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 2