Support is necessary.
If you’re writing fiction, you have to have supporting
characters.
Main characters are great, but they can’t do
everything. They have to have characters
surrounding them that can also perform things that your characters are unable
to do.
A supporting character can be an antagonist, or the
main character’s best friend.
A well-rounded supporting character can be what you
need when a break is needed. They can be
comic relief, or support for your antagonist.
They can be plot points, and can provide necessary plot twists. They can require rescuing, or provide an
antagonist from which someone must be rescued.
In my Justice Security series, Tony Armstrong is an
example. Tony is a “grunt” – a uniformed
member of Justice Security. For the
first three stories in the series, Tony was a background character, in charge
of the “grunts”, and heading up the front desk in the Justice Security
building. He was limited to a few lines
in each of the first three stories.
Then came Wake Me
Up Before You Go-Go. Tony becomes
one of the main characters, trapped inside the nightclub secretly owned by
Esteban Fernandez. It’s revealed that Tony
was Special Ops, and had been in Afghanistan.
Tony had the presence of mind to hide, and go undercover with the bad
guys when the club was taken. Steve, the
silent cameraman for the reporter Miriam Apple, was revealed to be a former
Army Ranger.
Both are instrumental in saving the day.
Your supporting characters can make or break your
fiction. They’re there when you need
them, so don’t hesitate to use them!
Keep reading!
Michael (T. M.)
No comments:
Post a Comment