Guest Speakers: Patrick Dugan, Marlena Frank, Gideon Marcus, Melissa McArthur, Tamsin L. Silver
What is a supporting character? This is someone who is close to the main character, who supports them throughout their journey. In a story, there can be multiple supporting characters. They are all people too, and need full realization as well. Supporting characters are crucial, because they provide other perspectives for what is going on in the plot. For example, they may spot problems or issues that the main character is oblivious to.
If you want your reader to have a connection to your supporting or secondary characters, then make sure the interactions they have with your main character are meaningful. This is especially important if you’re writing in 1st person, or from the point-of-view of your protagonist only.
Bear in mind… not all support characters are created equal. You don’t want them all to have cookie-cutter functionality. Each of these characters have their own lives – their purpose is not to simply revolve around your main character and serve them as needed.
How do you prevent side characters from taking over the story, while still being 3-dimensional at the same time? If you’re worried about your main character becoming overshadowed, then give reasons for your support characters to love your protagonist. Also, take a moment to consider if you are actually telling the right story. What story do you want to tell? Who is more interesting to you?
If you are certain you are telling the story from the correct point-of-view (your original main character), then you can always bribe your supporting characters with spin-off’s, short stories, novellas, or even other full-length novels. Point-of-view is key. If this is truly becoming a major issue in the plot, you may want to try switching to multiple-POV, or a third-person style of writing instead.
How do you know when to add more supporting characters? Sometimes you need new characters due to circumstance. Sometimes, your supporting characters may be redundant, and can be merged into one character. Regardless, trust that characters will tell you when they need to be around, and they take on a life of their own. In some cases, you may plan for them to be killed off, but they insist on staying much longer.
Do you create supporting characters at the same time as your main character, such as a core group? Or do you develop these characters as you go? Usually, it’s a combination of both. Often, there is a core group (either big or small) in the beginning, and you will develop more as you go. The same is true for these supporting character’s personal journeys.
If you don’t like a side character, (other than killing them off) what can you do to them? One solution is to take it to an extreme – make them pay for it, death is too good for them! Physical or psychological torture are great options. Find out what’s important to them, and take it away (ex: a loved one, their ability to speak, power, wealth, freedom, etc.) To take it up a magical notch, transform them into something hideous, such as Eustace in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, who was changed into a dragon against his will.
If you are going to torment a side character, should you have your main character do it? Not necessarily, as this puts blood on your protagonist’s hands. Remember, any kind of torture you inflict will naturally bring empathy from the audience to the character who is suffering. Because of this, there can be an unpleasant reaction from the reader’s point-of-view regarding your main character.
Who gets to save the supporting characters? If your protagonist is always saving the others, then all of your side characters are reduced to “damsels in distress.” Let them save themselves from time to time, or collaborate as a group effort. This will grant them more credibility. Every character, including the protagonist, have their strengths and weaknesses. Your main character relies on the supporting characters as much as they rely on the main character.
Sometimes you may need a character to come in and advance the plot. However, they are not fully fleshed-out. You’ll still want to avoid the cardboard cut-out mentality. Don’t have characters jumping out of nowhere, grabbing your protagonists attention simply to say “Go here! Do that!” This is boring and obvious – your characters and readers deserve better.
How do you keep up with all the characters? Many writers have “book bibles” where they classify their characters as primary, secondary, and tertiary in terms of relevance to the story. As a rule, if you (the author) forget something, the characters can forget it too. But bear in mind that the audience can pick up plot holes easier with support characters, rather than the main character – simply because you know your protagonist so well. One trick to avoid this is to read your book out loud. You’ll catch many details and inconsistencies in advance. When you go to write your sequel, go back and read your first book out loud again. Scrivner and World Anvil are other excellent tools for organizing and keeping track of the many important details of your story.
What is one thing you wish someone told you when you first started writing? Write against the role – go against normal gut expectations. Although sometimes using a stereotypical character can be useful, in order to break the stereotype at a later time in the plot. Allow your characters to live, breathe, and become fully-fledged in their own right. Make them count!
What are your favorite supporting characters in stories you love? What is it about them that makes you love them so much? Can you tell when side characters do not have a life of their own? Let me know in the Comments Section below!
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