/lit/ - Literature

I am starting to wonder where this fad started in mainstream lit where each character has to get the same amount of time as the other. I'll often read books now where it's clear a character is showing up not because there's anything for them to do, but because it's clear the author thinks they haven't been in the story for so long that people will either forget they existed or get salty over their absence. In general, I am starting to think that third person limited was a grave mistake.
Apart from this, I am trying to work on my novel and I'm having a hard time deciding what narrative threads I want to prioritize.