Stories aren’t just about the protagonist; you have to give every character their moment in the spotlight. Including the side characters.
We’ve spent a lot of time on protagonists, the lead characters who have to ‘protag‘ their way through the story on their arc of transformation. Protagonists don’t have to be likable or sympathetic but we do have to invest in their journey from start to finish.
Then there’s the antagonist; the mirror to our protagonist. Good story craft says we need a compelling antagonist, equal or superior to the protagonist, in order to provide sufficient external conflict.
But what about side characters?
Cut from Cardboard
If you surround the two principals with flat, cardboard cut-outs, the world of the story is likely to fall flat for want of ‘real people.’
Side characters are more than the sum of their name and a physical appearance; they are more than one stand-out ‘quirk’ or habit. Like everyone else, side characters must have goals and motivations.
Dickens masterfully created large casts of side characters, but not always with depth. Mr Micawber has a couple of chapters where he imparts advice and is a very poor mentor to David Copperfield. His optimistic belief that “something will turn up” defines him. Mrs Micawber, however, gets a repeated line “I will never leave Mr Miscawber.” That’s it.
Of course, Dickens prioritised his side characters and their moments. Mrs Micawber is only present to demonstrate the state of domestic chaos of the Micawber household and to make her husband more likeable through her loyalty.
Pride Before a Fall
Jane Austen similarly worked with a large cast of characters and chose which of the side characters deserved their moment in the spotlight.
In Pride and Prejudice (yes, collect a sticker), Charlotte Lucas appears in a small handful of scenes. Her biggest moment comes when she confesses her reasons for marrying the odious Mr Collins; economic necessity. Lizzie doesn’t understand Charlotte’s decision until her friend posts a few home truths.
Wickham also gets a big revelation scene when he lays out his long-standing grudge against the Darcy family. Read between the lines and the self-aggrandising lies of the upstart Wickham fail to ring true. His sense of injustice tips over into entitlement. And there you have the true motivations of Wickham the cad; a grubby social climber and blackmailer.
In practice
How do I give my side characters their moment? Book one of my fantasy epic begins with Jo, the protagonist, in conflict with main antagonist Radek. It’s an action ‘prologue’ of hints and clues. My protagonists talk about the commander throughout their journey. Radek gets his moment in person way down in Act Two when Jo attempts to assassinate him. He has one big dialogue scene that shows just how mean, brutal and ruthless he really is.
Before that, secondary antagonist Tauber catches Jo cold in the wilderness and calmly establishes his competence and intentions. His Act Two confrontation with Radek is almost comical as the two butt heads. The slippery tracker outwits the military raging bull.
Teneteh, thane of the Horse Clans, gets his moment when he captures Jo. He demonstrates his power and control over the Outlands. This is neatly undercut when Varla arrives to ‘negotiate’ her release. We see exactly how far the thane’s power goes. There’s one profund ‘gotcha’ moment when the thane’s pragmatism overtakes his convictions.
So it goes in the later books with Atalan. The self-made Emperor loses a confrontation with Jo, fails to bargain with Varla, and addresses his subjects as a populist, fascist dictator.
If work through my cast of characters I can identify each of the key scenes that deepens them beyond a flat cut-out. Branko, captain of the City Watch; Ledran, the Quartermaster; Zsannett, the seer – who only appears in one scene. This is how you give each character their moment.