In my novel, Corozal, although the other main characters are well-established by that stage, Corozal (who is obviously pivotal) doesn't actually arrive until Chapter 7.

Is that a problem?

*ponders*

Andrea

Not at all, necessarily. On one hand, you should be able to build up a lot of tension as the reader waits for all to be revealed about this character we know is important from the title onwards - Godot, if you like. The risk is that you'll have readers feeling too aware that something's missing before then, a bit like the kind of detective story where the author gets so carried away with establishing the characters and pre-murder situation that the body doesn't turn up till three quarters of the way through. It can be done, but the run-up had better be pretty compelling, and you'll need lots of hand-holds to keep the reader on track and full of nervous anticipation, rather than just frustrated and losing interest. The other thing to make sure is that Corozal lives up to the build up when s/he does arrive.

Emma

Well look at The Third Man, Harry Lang (Orson Welles) is talked about for two thirds of the film and doesn't make his actual appearance until the third act. I think with the right build up of tension in the preceeding chapters introducing a main character later in the story can really work well and can be a great dramatic device

Uncle Philip knows Corozal, doesn’t he? Could he perhaps ramble unintelligibly about him, perhaps letting slip a few more details each time so that the other characters can build up a picture of him?

Readers would be agog by the time he finally puts in an appearance.

Dee

Phew

Emma,

Happily, the reason he doesn't appear until Chapter 7 is because there is so much happening to the other major characters I actually can't fit him in until then, so hopefully that will work. Great advice about him living up to the build up ... something I've been aware of, but on this draft revision I think I should maximise.

Niniel,

Good point about TTM. You're right, I can really use it to build tension ...

Dee,

Yes, Philip does and Corozal has occasionally been mentioned ... but I think I should utilise my opportunities to tantalise the reader about him more. Agog is just what I should be aiming for.

Thanks all for the great advice.

Andrea

Depends who Corozal is! If s/he's the protagonist this could be a problem. If s/he's a sort of pivotal figure but not one we need to identify with too much (e.g. like Gandalf, or Elrond in TLOTR) then it's OK, IMO.

I think that's a very good point. I've never read LOTR, but it's interesting that a long-anticipated appearance suggests someone good or bad, but important, an authority perhaps.

Emma

Yes, authority, exactly. A "guiding figure" who appears at a point of need but is somehow distant (Elrond would fit this, and so would Gandalf if you think of his return from the dead(rebirth as a scarier and "bigger" person) as being almost an entirely new character)

From what I've read, Andrea, I'd say definitely not a problem. He's in the title so we know he's pivotal. And we really need to know the other characters first, I think, to see how they are likely to interact with him. I liked Dee's idea about Philip's ramblings - that might help to keep our interest peaked before he makes his debut.

Sarah

It would be nice to have conflicting opinions about him to show him as many faceted. Shakespeare does this a lot too - remember Hamlet? It's a good technique as long as it IS a technique and not just an oversight on your part!

I read recently that this is also a writing technique, - a delayed MC... Think they quoted Anna Karenina as an example too.

Sorry for not thanking you all for the great advice - been insanely busy.

Corozal is a protagonist, but it's an ensemble piece - when he arrives, tensions between the others explode. So yes, he is definitely important.

Jem, great point about conflicting opinions on him before her arrives - yes, there are conflicting opinions. I want the reader to feel ambiguous as to whether he's good or bad (throughout the book, in fact).

Tiger, glad you think that

Alexandra, I have read Anna Karenina, but not for many years - could you remind me what delayed MC means in that context?

Thanks again

Andrea