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Q&A Third wheel character

I have three characters, who are supposed to be good friends. Athos, Aramis, and Porthos, if you wish. Instead, I have two characters who share a strong Frodo-Sam relationship, and the third guy, w...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T21:57:35Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/42521
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:59:19Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/42521
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:59:19Z (over 4 years ago)
I have three characters, who are supposed to be good friends. Athos, Aramis, and Porthos, if you wish. Instead, I have two characters who share a strong Frodo-Sam relationship, and the third guy, who is almost a "third wheel".

It's not that my "Porthos" is less developed than the other two. But he is less cerebral. If I think of them as a [Freudian Trio](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FreudianTrio), he's the id. He loves physical activities, he's adventurous, he is the one who is ready with a joke to ease a tense moment, he is practical in his thinking, so if the other two get into arguing ideals, he's bringing them back into the here-and-now. If the other two are "Frodo" and "Sam" he's "Pippin".

To make things worse, the other two are both POV characters, while he's not, not until significantly later into the story.

Because "Porthos" is less cerebral, and because he's not a POV character, he gets less time in the spotlight, which, I think, exacerbates the problem.

**I'm _telling_ they're 3 friends, but I'm _showing_ 2+1. How can I change that?**

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-23T14:59:12Z (about 5 years ago)
Original score: 10