Writing Tips and Reviews

Characters built up but we never see them

Readers won't care about a character who is mentioned a few times as an introvert who never sees anyone, never goes outside, and who we never meet. At that point, why even have them? Most writers have them be someone who the cast need to meet in order to further the story while some have the character speak up when it gets to a certain point.

You can build up a character all you want, but if they don't even show up or aren't important at all, then why did you bother?

In Fate Grand Order, Sherlock Holmes is mentioned to have helped the team in the singularities and we finally meet him before the Lostbelts, where he becomes a team member. Tales of Crestoria hints at a great magician who helped the people before leaving and who knows a bit more about the world. We meet her in a later chapter where she tells the cast how to awaken their full power. Both of these characters were mentioned early on and were important later on. If a writer puts effort into building up a character, then they should be important to the story.

No one spends hours on writing about a mysterious character just to never use them.