What’s the difference between an ensemble story, and a story the has a lot of characters in it? Zoraida Cordova joins us for this episode, kicking off an eight-episode mini-master-class about ensembles. In this episode we discuss what makes ensembles work, and how we distinguish the “pro-protagonist” from the “co-protagonist” as we create character arcs.
Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard, with special guest Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris joined us in front of a live audience at the GenCon Writers Symposium to talk with us about secondary characters—why they’re so important, why they can be difficult to write well, and how she brings her secondary characters to life without giving them a POV.
Take something you’ve already written. Make your protagonist a secondary character, and make a secondary character your protagonist. Tell a new story with them in those roles.
Grave Sight, by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan
Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.