Introducing main characters later on in your novel or series

The most important thing to do when introducing a character later on in your novel or series is to foreshadow the need for them. You'll want to leave a gap that this new character can naturally fill, even if it's subtle.

The gap doesn't even have to be related to the long-term success of your plot, the gap just needs to present a problem related to your protagonist or story, that this new character can fill.

Let's look at some examples of gaps your new character could fill.

Character flaws

If your protagonist is hot-headed and charges into arguments, a character who balances this by speaking the voice of reason during heated discussions would prevent your protagonist from ending up in some prickly situations. On the other hand, a shy character might benefit from someone who finds talking to strangers easily.

A specific skill set

Another common way to foreshadow the need for a future character is equipping them with a skill set that your protagonist needs, such as magic, first aid or a foreign language.

Knowledge

Your new character might bring knowledge of a secret society. You could hint at a secret society of wizards in the first novel and your new character might belong to this society or be a past member. They can bring knowledge of this secret society's ways and customers which helps your protagonist on their journey.

Acting as a mentor

Perhaps your protagonist has found themselves in a new country or needs to learn a new skill. They'll naturally look for someone, or something, to teach them how to act in this new place or how to master this new skill.

Introducing a new character later on in a series

Let's say a fire mage will be joining your protagonist's team in the second novel of your series. You can foreshadow the need for them by showing your main character struggling in situations where a fire mage would have been useful.

Maybe they can’t light a campfire every night or they're a fire mage themselves but your protagonist is prone to accidentally setting all of their crew's earthly possessions on fire. Your protagonist's clumsiness might become a running joke in the first novel.

 When the fire mage joins them in a later novel, the new fire mage can light the fire for your protagonist using magic or help put out the accidental roasting of everyone's possessions, solving your protagonist's predicament.

We see this in the popular TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender where a fan-favourite character, Toph, joins the crew in season 2. We know the protagonist, Aang, needs to master the four elements from the very first episode.

Aang spends season 1 learning water bending but he also talks about the next element he wants to master: earth. At the start of season 2, Aang begins his search for an earth bending master, so it’s no surprise to the audience when Toph, an earth bending master, comes along.

It's also not a surprise to the show's audience that Toph becomes a main character because we know how long it took Aang to master water bending. He needed ongoing guidance for weeks and he also talked about earth being the hardest element for an air bender to master, so we can assume whoever will be teaching Aang is likely to stick around for at least a few episodes.

Introducing a new love interest

Another common situation where you'll introduce a new character later on in a novel is for love interests. The classic Romancing the Beat story structure dictates that the "meet cute" moment should happen in the first few chapters of a novel.

Some romance novels choose not to follow this structure (which is fine – you can do whatever you want when writing a novel) by having a second love interest introduced at a later point and other novels won't centre on romance, only introducing it once the plot has settled in.

For romance novels where your protagonist won't end up with the person they start out with, you want to highlight qualities that their current partner doesn't have that their future partner will. This could be their partner keeping secrets, being a frivolous spender when the protagonist prefers to save, or not valuing the protagonist's hobbies or work.

For introducing a romance as a concept later on, foreshadowing might look like the protagonist overcoming an obstacle which leaves them with more spare time, such as your protagonist may have adjusted to life at college and now has time to explore.

Alternatively, for younger characters, this could be starting to show an interest in romance.

Conclusion

If you’re introducing a main character later on in your book or series, you'll want to ensure you set yourself up for success from the very first chapter by creating a gap they can fill. In other words, you need to foreshadow the need for them.

Your new character doesn't need to fill this gap straight away, but you should aim for them to show their talents as they settle into their new life with your protagonist. This will ease your new character’s transition into the novel, and make it not seem like an out of the blue event.