Tag: purpose of secondary characters

Villains and Secondary Characters: Secondary Characters with Impact

While secondary characters are typically less integral to a story, that doesn’t mean they should be any less real.

Secondary characters should still have some level of a character arc, though it will necessarily be less complex than the main character’s arc.

Even though much of a secondary character’s backstory may never see page time, it’s important that you know their story and personality so you can weave it into their interactions with the main characters. This will not only make them more memorable, it will also make the interactions more meaningful and provide a fuller scene with the main character.

Secondary characters should also have a purpose. They should, in some way, help to progress the storyline through their presence or interactions with the main characters. This may come in the form of providing assistance, revealing information, being an emotional support, etc. How a secondary character progresses the story depends greatly on the type of story it is, but be mindful that they should be serving a purpose and not be acting a page filler or a basic sounding board.

It’s also important to consider a secondary character’s motivation. Why is he or she helping this character? Because you, as the author, need them to is not a good enough reason. Reach into their backstory to find and then develop their motivation. Help doesn’t have to be entirely altruistic either. The secondary character should have mixed feelings about providing help, or be reluctant to offer it. It could also be self-serving or their presence could act as a hindrance or barrier rather than being helpful.

Secondary characters exist on either side of the protagonist-antagonist spectrum. Don’t short change secondary characters involved with the villain/antagonist. These characters can be important cogs in the overall mechanism of how the antagonist’s path and ultimate resolution unfold. An antagonist taking something too far could prompt a secondary character to walk away, leading to him or her reconsidering what they are doing. Alternately, a secondary character who wants the antagonist to fail could give the final nudge to push him or her over the edge and initiate a chain of events that leads to his or her downfall.

Secondary characters may have less page time than main characters, but their influence on other characters and events can be profound when the time is taken to full develop them and integrate them into the story.

Villains and Secondary Characters: Developing Secondary Characters

It can be very challenging to make secondary and even tertiary character stand out in a story and not be overshadowed by the main characters.

Before discussing how to make them stand out, let’s define what secondary and tertiary characters are and how they impact the story.

Secondary Characters

Secondary characters typically impact the main storyline and/or the main character(s) in some meaningful way. They are more than filler or background material.

Secondary characters are also recurring character throughout the story and/or series. How often they pop up in scenes depends on the level of impact the have on the story or characters.

Secondary characters also have a moderate level of intimacy with at least one main character. This may come in the form of having known the character for a long time, having shared a difficult or meaningful experience, being a current main part of the character’s life, etc.

Tertiary Characters

Tertiary character appear in a story once or only a handful of times. They may have some impact on a particular scene, but generally do not have a strong impact on the overall storyline or main character’s development.

Tertiary characters have a limited purpose. They may provide information on a particular subject, serve as a catalyst in a specific or limited way, introduce another character or situation, etc.

Tertiary characters typically have low intimacy with the main character(s). They may only know the MC incidentally, knew them in the past but lost touch, or even be a relative stranger who comes into a scene for one specific reason.

While developing secondary and tertiary characters, be sure to know which one a character is and what their purpose in the story is. This can help you determine how much effort to put into their development and how much to integrate them into a storyline.

***Apologies for being away from the blog for a few weeks. I was moving and without internet for a while. I’m back to regular, weekly blogs now!