Switch away from the protagonist?? Don't mind if I do! 😃 (Updated)

There's a little something I like doing at least once in most of my books. I like switching away from the protagonist. So essentially, I have another secondary character take over the story for one chapter, usually around the middle of the book, to give the reader another perspective. It also allows me to shake things up a bit. It adds another layer to the book.

The beauty of it is that you can have a better overall view of the protagonist. For example, if your protagonist has a specific point of view about themselves, you might swing around to another character who draws a different picture. It gives the reader food for thought. Maybe the impression that the protagonist has given isn't accurate. Then again, it might change your opinion of the secondary character as well, since you will be seeing them up close and personal.

I do this with almost every one of my books and find that it gives me a different perspective. Sometimes the only way to understand where a secondary character is coming from is to climb inside of their mind. It's fascinating.