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Q&A Should we add a character in a story for realistic effect?

In my novel, the protagonist is divorced and moves from London to another city in Britain. The setting is 2013. The protagonist is depressed and stressed out; in real life, such a person would see...

3 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by White Cloud‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:27:28Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/40971
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar White Cloud‭ · 2019-12-08T10:27:28Z (almost 5 years ago)
In my novel, the protagonist is divorced and moves from London to another city in Britain. The setting is 2013. The protagonist is depressed and stressed out; in real life, such a person would see a psychiatrist. This will be a realistic scenario.

But, if I introduce a doctor, I will have to create a realistic dialogue exchange which will fill a few pages. This is fine, but not related to the central plot of the story. Dr. Williams, as I am calling him, is not even a supporting character. It's just something I am thinking she will do to get help until the time the next part of the story begins. My protagonist comes out of her depression due to some other things she goes through.

Is it a good practice to introduce such a side story just to make sure the reader thinks the story is realistic?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-02T14:12:21Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 20