HighFantasy Tips & Tricks

Section One Part Three - Secondary Characters

So far in this guide we've discussed the main character and their nemesis. What about everyone else? The secondary characters can be just as important. They give depth to the story and the characters. These are the antagonist's family members, the MC's friends, the sympathetic boss, the wise old mentor...well, you get the idea.

They can be split into two levels of importance - the supporting characters, and the minor characters. Minor characters are the ones in the background who provide life to the world, but don't necessarily add much to the main storyline. Think Gunther from 'Friends', or Crabbe and Goyle in 'Harry Potter'. Supporting characters have more impact, but they're not quite MC status. These are like R2D2 in 'Star Wars', or Merry and Pippin in 'Lord of the Rings'.

All characters should serve a purpose of some kind. They should be the only person who can do that particular thing, or develop that point. Don't clutter up the story with unnecessary people, or give them a moment simply because 'oh, they've not done anything for a while'.

Secondary characters should have depth. They should have a story of their own (not literally another book - a life story) that doesn't revolve entirely around the MC. There are plenty of good examples of this, but there are just as many who fall flat.

Bad examples...

Draco Malfoy's storyline in the early 'Harry Potter' books revolves only around his bullying behaviour towards Harry and co. Although the story is told from Harry's perspective (it's 'third person limited', for those of you who like the technical terms), it is still very two-dimensional. Far more minor characters are given more depth, such as Cedric Diggory. He has people he cares about, he has flaws (though not many!), a hobby, family, a girlfriend...! Admittedly, Draco's portrayal improves in later books as the story explores his conflict and life outside of Hogwarts, but in the first few...he just doesn't measure up to his writing potential.

Good examples...

Draco qualifies as a good example in the later books, but we've already talked about him. So let's discuss some characters from another franchise!

For any of you who have watched the Disney show 'Phineas and Ferb', you will know that there are a whole host of people supporting the two title characters. Each of them have a distinct story and a life outside of Phineas and Ferb.

One example is Jeremy, Candace's boyfriend, who has a job, a younger sister that he dotes on, and plays in a band (bonus points for him having a life outside of his love interest too!). Another good example is Isabella, who is Mexican Jewish and is the fearless leader of the Fireside Girls (equivalent to Girl Scouts).

The show is also a great depiction of there being a backstory, without needing to go into detail. Phineas and Ferb are step-siblings in a blended family, but at no point are they referred to that way. They are brothers, through and through. There is no explanation behind the blended aspect of their family - it just is. And that's lovely!

Bechedel Test

According to Wikipedia: Bechedel Test (also known as the Bechdel–Wallace test) is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added.

This is a 'test' that came about from a comic strip, and is thought to be inspired by an essay by Virginia Woolf ('A Room of One's Own'). It does, of course, have limitations. A film might pass the test but still have sexist content!

Another way of looking at it is what's humorously referred to as 'the sexy lamp test'. This was proposed by comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, and states: "If you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft".

Further 'tests' have been suggested to consider whether a plot involves LGBT characters or people of colour, without their storyline revolving solely around that aspect of their identity.

These 'tests' can be applied to any of your characters. If the MC's best friend was replaced by a horse...would the plot change in any way? If the answer is no, maybe the best friend needs some revision.

Fun fact: The novel 'Pride and Prejudice' does not pass what has been referred to as the 'Reverse Bechedel Test'. All of the women have distinct lives and interests, but the men are only ever shown talking about the women!

A good example of a film that passes the Bechedel Test is 'Black Panther' (actually, 'Black Panther' is a good example of just about everything). In it, everyone has a distinct storyline and directly impacts the plot in some way. Nakia, the MC's love interest, has an exceptionally well-developed story of her own. She has a strong moral compass and a career entirely unrelated to T'Challa. She loves him, but refuses to compromise what she believes in and give up her own life to serve as his queen (this prompts him to find a solution that works for them both).

Finally...

While diversity in fiction is vitally important (and we have a chapter on that!), don't shoehorn in diversity just for the sake of it. If your character is coded as a Native American, then they should have a specific tribe and culture too. Writing a character that behaves exactly the same no matter where they're from or what they look like...that's likely to insult your readers.

An African-American character will talk and act differently in some situations to a white European character. This is because of societal issues, daily micro-aggressions, and a whole host of other reasons. If your character is described as 'Asian', that's problematic too. Asia is a huge continent! Are they East Asian (Chinese, Taiwanese, etc) or South-Western Asian (Jordan, Syria, etc)?

If your villain is wreaking havoc on the world for their mistreatment of their child with autism, don't make said child be another 'Rain Man' or Sheldon Cooper. Autism presents differently in boys and girls, and no two people with autism are exactly the same. It is, after all, a spectrum.

Just because they're a minor character doesn't mean that you can ignore the fine details for the sake of 'diversity points'. This is not ok and is likely to frustrate your readers from those backgrounds. Do your research, there are plenty of resources online. Put in the work! If you get feedback from a reader from that area, or with that disability, or is coping with that mental health issue...listen to them. Their voice is vitally important, and taking on board their comments will make your story better.

What books, films or TV shows do you think show well-developed secondary characters? Which have poorly developed ones? Are there other things you feel writers should be keeping in mind when creating their supporting cast?