Monday 20 July 2015

Secondary Characters - Do They Know Their Place?

As a writer, I populate my books with characters of all sorts. Some play the major roles – the protagonists and the antagonist, for instance. Some characters play other vital roles in the story but are not the main characters. We call these secondary characters, or the supporting cast, if that sits easier.


Although they are not the main players in any story, they still have an important role to play. They still need to have substance, they still need to have reason to be in your story, but...they must not become the focus of the story and overwhelm your main characters. 

They need to know their place.


Secondary characters have all sorts of jobs in a story. Let's have a look at some.

The Mentor


The Mentor is the character who is specifically in the story as a guide to your hero or heroine. The one who listens and then advises, but never orders. Sometimes The Mentor is only in the story briefly, other times they are a character who is a constant in the story. It is up to the writer to decide how much The Mentor character is used and why.

Woody and Buzz from Disney's Toy Story


The Devil's Advocate


The Devil's Advocate is the character who puts doubt into your hero or heroine’s mind but is not necessarily doing something bad or meaning to put doubt in the main character’s mind. Sometimes this character is called The Fool, not because they are stupid but because they are often used to tell the hero the truth about something that needs to be said. Usually The Fool is ignored, only later to be found to have been right all along. This type of character, if used right, can be a powerful tool in your story.

Fry from Futurama


The Sidekick/BFF/Conscience


This character has the main character’s interests at heart. They don’t always do the right thing but they mean well. These characters usually mean a lot to the main character, who will forgive them nearly anything they do, but if they cross the line, making the main character feel betrayed or disillusioned, it can add a lot of emotional tension to the story. Or perhaps the hero lets down his BFF, the person who trusts him.
Sebastian from The Little Mermaid


The Unrequited Love


This secondary character is seen in many movies. She/he is necessary for that 'love triangle' trope that a lot of readers love. This character will do things to help, to protect, or simply to prove their love for the hero/heroine. There is so much scope for this secondary character, but a writer must be wary that the reader does not start barracking for the wrong couple and be unhappy with the choice the hero or heroine makes in the end.
Ducky in Pretty in Pink comes to mind as a good example of The Unrequited Love supporting character.

Peanuts by Charles M Shultz


The Know-it-all or Librarian


I always think of Hermione from the Harry Potter series when I think of this type of secondary character. The one who knows everything can be very useful to our main characters, giving vital information at just the right time, or perhaps never at the right time. They can also be annoying and endearing and a little odd, but they are handy secondary characters to use.

From Parks and Recreation.


Just because a secondary character plays second fiddle to the main character in one book doesn’t mean that they have to stay that way. A lot of secondary characters go on to graduate and become the main characters in their own stories. 

Two of my favourite secondary characters who ended up in their own books are Reginald Davenport from The Rake by Mary Jo Putney, and Vere Mallory from The Last Hellion by Loretta Chase.


You may recognise some of these secondary character types in books that you have read. So, tell me, who is your favourite secondary character? Did they end up in a book of their own? And which book was it?


I love to love – going to the movies with my son in his holidays.
I love to learn – that my CP is getting published.
I love to laugh – at my daughter’s cat and dog playing together.

16 comments:

  1. Hi Cassandra! As a writer, I love my secondary characters - often too much! Many of them become too big for their boots and try to take over the story. That's when the whip comes out and I have to slash the paragraphs (or even chapters!) where they've taken charge.
    As for favourite secondary characters in other authors' books, I have a couple. Nurse Lauren Simpson, from Rachael Johns' 'Jilted', and Tony, Lord Ashton, from your book, 'A Scandalous Wager'. Lauren got her own book. Do you have any plans for a book for Tony?

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    1. Thanks Marilyn. Yes, it is hard to keep our secondary characters under control when we come to love them. It is good to keep them in their place. I believe you are right about Nurse Simpson and I can't wait to see how Rachel John's handles her feisty character. As for Tony, I may have something in mind for him you will have to wait and see.

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  2. Hi Cassandra, love the way you broke down the secondary characters. Very cool. :)

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    1. Thanks Nicole. There are many, many more but I chose just a few more easily recognisable ones. I am glad you enjoyed it. I love the cover of your upcoming release Masquerade. When is the release date?

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    2. Thanks Cassandra. The release date is soon, I'm just trying to get it all together. :)

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  3. Great post, Cassandra, I love looking at minor characters and enjoying them. One of my favourites is the sidekick, because they usually blurt out all sorts of things that are 'normal' and might be slightly more unforgivable if the same thing comes from someone else's mouth.

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    1. The side kick is a fun secondary character. They can be the foil to the main character which is always interesting. And they do seem to get away with things that other characters wouldn't, don't they?

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  4. Very interesting post about secondary characters, Cassandra. I do enjoy secondary characters and, like Marilyn, in my own writing I have to ensure they stay secondary! To pick a favourite secondary character in another author's books is hard. The one character that comes to mind immediately is Zsadist from JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I wanted his story as soon as he was introduced in the first book and when I got his story I loved it!

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    1. It's good to see you have your secondary characters under control Enisa. Zsadist was a very popular secondary character in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and I am sure JR Ward would be very happy to know that you loved his story.

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    2. The whole Black Dagger Brotherhood series were spin-offs from secondary characters. I wonder if JR Ward (after a book release) sat back and waited to see which side character drew the most intrigue to help her decide which to write next.

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    3. Well I would, so it is probably fair to say she might have taken that strategy Dee. I think writing a series with all the same characters in it would be quite difficult.

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    4. I read in an article that JR Ward had not meant to write Zsadist's story as soon as she did (from memory I think his story is the 3rd in the series) but Zsadist kept nagging at her. So she had to write about him.

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  5. Hi, Cassandra Samuels! Great article! I can't think of a specific book character atm but...my favourite kind of secondary character is the sidekick...when he or she is written well, I always wind up wanting to know more about them.

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    1. The side kick is such a good secondary character. I quite like the know it all too as they can impart information needed for the main character and the great thing is it can be at the wrong time or just in the nick of time.

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  6. Hi Cassandra Samuels, thanks for a great post that has made me think... I have a cast of secondary characters in my books because they are set in and around a police station so they are mainly other detectives. I try to give them different characteristics and original nick-names so they are memorable but I had not thought about "The devils advocate or the Mentor." Lots of scope for story lines there...

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    1. Hi Karen. Nicknames are a great way to make your secondary characters more memorable. There are a whole heap of other types of secondary characters. I chose just a handful but here is a link to just one such list. http://www.jsmorin.com/2013/09/50-types-minor-characters-part-5-10-1/

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