In another recent article on secondary characters, Writer Unboxed‘s Barbara Lyn Probst offers advice on giving your supporting characters a purpose and arc of their own.
“With rare exceptions, the world of a novel has more inhabitants than just the protagonist and an opponent or two,” Probst writes. “They’re not the hub of the plot, yet they’re just as essential—and need to be just as alive and convincing—as the primary characters.” Probst likens your supporting characters to the roles that get nominated in the “best supporting” categories at the Oscars. “Those roles are no less demanding and powerful than the leading roles—in fact, they’re often more demanding and powerful,” she says. “Because these characters get fewer minutes of screen time, their performances have to be potent and concise. They have to convince the viewer of their authenticity and fulfill their contribution to the story, without the luxury of prolonged exposure.”
Novels have the same requirements. Because supporting characters receive less space on the page, they have to be necessary and precise. With the best secondary characters, it’s impossible to imagine the story without them, even though they aren’t the lead.
What makes a secondary character necessary? Probst offers a few suggestions:
- They are a mirror or twin to the main character. “As a ‘twin’ the secondary character resembles the protagonist in a specific and important way; perhaps they come from a similar background or share a critical trait,” Probst explains. “When the reader sees what happens to this secondary character, he can see what is likely to happen to the protagonist, unless something intervenes.” The secondary character can serve as an example or a warning.
- They are a foil. In this case, “the secondary character differs from the protagonist in order to highlight qualities that the protagonist fears, desires, or lacks,” Probst writes. “A foil might also be the center of a subplot whose purpose is to illuminate a crucial difference between the two characters.”
- As a trigger for the protagonist. “The secondary character’s action at a key point in the story makes the protagonist face, dare, admit, choose—do something she wouldn’t have done otherwise,” Probst explains. “Because of something the secondary character says or does, the protagonist undergoes an emotional turning-point or inner shift that equips her for an outer action. She abandons a fear or misbelief, gains a new strength, becomes different from what she was before—directly because of her interaction with this secondary character.”
- As a catalyst for the plot. “Perhaps [the character] fails to deliver an important message or gives the message to the wrong person—whether intentionally or accidentally, and whether he is aware of it or not,” Probst writes. “Without this character’s choice, distraction, or mistake, the story could not proceed in the way that it does.”
In many cases, your secondary characters will earn their own story arc, which typically are a consequence of the protagonist’s arc. “As the protagonist changes, her relationships change, and the people in her life change too,” Probst says. Those changes might be for better or worse and the supporting characters might accept or fight them. In contrast, sometimes a change in a secondary character will influence your protagonist.
