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We all have plenty of side characters that come and go (or don't go) but every now and again I'll decide to give 'character X' more lines, or a bigger role in a certain scene. When I look at my story as a whole again, I'll be like, "Hey, character X- you're actually really important to the plotline now."

When has this happened to you?

I had this Captain that had just been sitting around for need of that position in the plotline, and I just recently threw him into more scenes. Now I have that silent, ornery character I always needed, and he gives three other characters something to play off of. He's also responsible for a certain uprising and alot of bankruptcy that wasn't in the plot before.
I'm very thrilled about it.

I have this happen all the time. Well, kind of. They kind of just… shove their way into the limelight. I don't intentionally put them in, they put themselves in. Doesn't matter what my original intention for them was; if they're meant for a different role, they let me know. xD Kind of more along the lines of 'I just write the thing'- half the time I don't know the purpose until it's written down.

This happens to me almost frequently. Some examples:

-A character who was there to exist became a royal advisor and one of the biggest reasons another character ends up in another world.

-A man has three wives. The second one was useless. Now she is a manipulative b***h who almost single-handedly brought the entire family down.

-A side character entirely changed places with my main character because it simply made more sense. He is learning about her world; the audience learns with him.

Exactly this. =D One time, in my last trilogy, I had a side character in the first two who I liked so much that I made her the main character of the third novel. XD I just couldn't help myself.

Geez, you guys and main characters! Now, I love my side characters to pieces, but I created a main character that has always kept me really happy.
When I want to bring a side character into more light, I just give them more interaction with the main character.
Honestly though, I do enjoy an MC change when I read, so- more power to you.

Now, I have a side character who you could almost call the main character- but I purposely didn't write the story in his POV cause I want the reader to feel the same way about him the way my other characters do. So, by creating a main character that has specific ideas about him, he's more grand and mysterious to the reader as well.
You ever do this?