Possible issue with my characters?

Question

There's the protagonist, and there's a side character. Problem is though, it's possible that I made that specific side character much more interesting and believable than the one who was supposed to lead the story.
The "hero" in this, is much more passive than your usual good at everything, banter speaking one. He has flaws, he has qualities, but I wrote him in a way that he doesn't realise he's leading anything. He thinks that my side character is in charge.
Any thoughts on how I could flesh out his personality/decision making abilities more, in relation to that awesome side character? Thanks.

Answer 1

Frankly, I think your character is just fine. Actually, by keeping your protagonist that way, you can bring something fresh and new to the halls of literature. There are countless authors who think that their main character has to be the greatest of the great, but not many authors make their main character the underdog.



Keep your protagonist the same, but as the story goes on, subtly show how the protagonist remains faithful through all of the mistakes and moral struggles he endures. Remember that not everyone is going to be drawn to the main character - for example, I am someone who is fascinated with villains, and as a result, most of my favorite characters are villains. In the science fiction stories I write, I spend a lot of time developing my antagonists.



I actually was so relieved when I read over your protagonist's description. I was worried that the protagonist would be one of those unrealistically perfect characters, but I was wrong! Trust me, your protagonist is actually very healthy. In the end, if you continue to highlight your character's perseverance, your readers will see the protagonist's true virtue.



And the rest is left up to the readers. If they bond with the protagonist or the side character more, that's up to them. If they bond with the antagonist more, that's up to them. As the author, you can only do so much.



For your purposes, my suggestion would be to keep your protagonist's qualities the same. Believe it or not, your readers will be able to relate to him more.



-Morbid Quill

Answer 2

I have this problem too! For my story though, the leader-like side character isn't very sure of herself and can lead properly only when her brother-figure is around. So I'm going to separate them for a while and show her flaws and have the main character take over. Maybe if the side-character faces their biggest fear or something and they show that they're actually horrible at decision making or something like that...

Answer 3

You can make efforts to strengthen your main character. But if this was me writing, I would complete a first draft of the story and see where they all were at the end. It's possible that you may have to completely re-work it all if this side character wants to take the lead. And I would have to allow that if it was me.