Characters are the core of almost every story. With this comes a sort of hierarchy of importance regarding the cast of characters. Most stories often take the person vs person conflict meaning the most important characters, the highest on the hierarchy, are the protagonist (assuming they’re the main character as well which is normally the case) and usually on par or a bit lower is the antagonist. But then there’s also the supporting cast of characters of varying depth and importance. It can get a bit complicated as a writer wants these characters to feel important to the reader but not end up overshadowing the protagonist. A proper balance of importance to make sure the developed side characters still have meaningful character arcs but don’t steal the focus from the main conflict.
Side characters often come in a variety of archetypes depending on the story. There are some that lend themselves to being more endearing or interesting to the reader than others. For instance, some characters who are striving to be better so they can help others or they’re trying to avenge someone close to them are often my own favorite types. Everyone has their own preferences so it’s rather subjective but regardless of that, these characters should not upstage the main conflict or the main character’s story arc. If that does happen, it begs the question why the side character isn’t the main character instead. It was hard not to think that while reading the latter half of the Age of Legends series by Kelley Armstrong. From the second book, Empire of Night, it was hard not to think that Tyrus became the main character rather than Ashyn or Moria. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it wasn’t for the fact that in the first book, Sea of Shadows, it was very clearly established that the sisters were the main characters with an overarching story across the series. By the last book, however, their story seemed to be quickly swept aside and Tyrus’, Gavril’s and, to a lesser extent, Ronan’s story arcs seemed to overshadow theirs. It created a rather unsatisfying ending as it never felt like the main characters had the fulfilling narrative that we were lead to believe they would.
Making the side characters loved and endearing to the reader is important as it makes the story more suspenseful and exciting. From a storywriting perspective, there is an advantage that side characters have that the protagonist doesn’t that makes their fate a bit more exciting. Unlike main characters whose fate is usually saved until the very end of the series or book, a side character can potentially die at any point in the story. It actually presents quite a problem for writers for writing intense action scenes. From a meta point of view, the reader probably believes that the protagonist will survive what happens if it’s a multi book series. It’s not always the case but killing off the main character early is a major risk that can backfire easily. But the side characters can die which makes their fate a lot more suspenseful and quite often side characters are sacrificed for the development of the main characters and other side characters as well. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can become a rather unintended problem when the fate of another character is more important to the reader than the main character. In the Magnus Chase series, I found that I cared more about the fate of Hearthstone and Blitzen than I did with Magnus Chase himself. They were such well written characters compared to what felt like a rather bland and generic main character that their character arcs and the risk to their lives were far more intriguing and exciting than Magnus’. It wasn’t too detrimental as Magnus still felt like the main character, but it was hard not to feel more invested in Hearthstone and Blitzen’s stories while Magnus’ felt like going through the motions.
Striking the balance of importance between the main characters and the side characters is a difficult task. The main character should be the star of the show, the main focus of the series and the one that the reader cares about most. At the same time, however, the supporting cast of characters also need to be endearing so that the reader will care about their fate and how it impacts the overall story. This is very hard as it requires developing and planning out several characters. But the best way to approach this is to consider what theyir role in the story is. The main character is usually the main focus of the story as the reader spends the most amount of time with them. The antagonist is the main opposing force against the protagonist and that has its own plethora of complexities. But the side characters can fulfill whatever roles the story requires. The challenge to the writer is to write those characters in a way where they fulfill those roles and feel like genuine characters the reader will care about rather than plot devices. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson does this incredibly well as Spensa always feels like the most compelling and the focus of the story while the side characters also feel very important and endearing without stealing the spotlight. Rig being the childhood best friend, Jorgen being the thorn in Spensa’s side yet having his own arc, and the whole cast of Skyward flight feel like great characters with their own quirks and endearing traits. I still find myself quoting Kimmalyn’s “Bless your stars” line she so often says. What makes this work so well is that all the characters are compelling and interesting in their own way without stealing the focus away from Spensa and the overarching story arc.
Balancing the importance of the main characters and the side characters is a challenging task. Reviewing one’s own story and thinking about the impact the characters provide helps to give insight in how some characters may need to be rewritten to an extent. It ultimately comes down to the roles each character fulfills and how much development those roles warrant but still making them at least interesting to the reader.
– Raphael
Raph's Cozy Musings 