What’s a good novel without a main character? Well, what about the supporting characters? Although a book isn’t really a book without your main hero/heroine, we can’t ignore the importance of the supporting characters. In fact, you can argue that they are just as significant as the main character.
Supporting characters come in all shapes and sizes. Lovers, friends, siblings, and so forth. Aside from obvious reasons, why are these characters so important? Why must we put as much detail into them as we do the main character? Well, let’s talk about it, shall we?
Most of the time, our heroes/heroines have some defining features that make them stand apart from the rest of the cast. However, they also often have a big downfall, or their defining fault. The supporting characters are there to help fill that gap for our main character. Where the main character is weak, the supporting characters are strong. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily vice versa, however, supporting characters do exactly as their title indicates. They support the main character and help him or her through their difficult journey.
Often times, there are more than one supporting character, because our main characters have many flaws and they need people around them to build them up. Supporting characters also help add diversity to your story. Imagine if your main character was a bit of everything all in one. He or she wouldn’t make for a very realistic person. Although we are all made up of different personalities and traits, most people have a defining quality to them. So be sure to spread personalities throughout your cast and not just give them all to your main character.
Next, don’t overlook your supporting characters. You need to give as much attention to detail to them as you do to your main character. Give them a backstory that’s relevant and strengths and weaknesses that play off of the main character. Lastly, make your supporting characters matter. They’re important to the story, so show that not just by having them mean something to your main character, but also to your readers.
Supporting characters play a huge role in books. They’re there for your main character and most of the time, the main character can’t make it through the novel without them.
Just write!
Jordan
JUST WRITE 