Overthinking the Supporting Cast

This past week I read one of the most skillfully plotted books I have ever come across. The twist was fantastic, the foreshadowing executed masterfully. That said, I have recommended it three times since with the huge caveat that the story itself skims along the wave tops on the sea of narrative depth. 

In a novel drowning in characters only two or three were interesting. 

Generally, to intrigue the reader a character must have a motivation or desire, some quirks, and conflict. The more page time a character has the easier it is to show these elements to the reader. This is often the cause of minor characters feeling flat. 

Motivation or Desire

Characters should be striving for something. What does the character want? Let’s say Claire, an orphan, has never felt at home anywhere she has lived. Her biggest desire is to find a place she belongs. If Claire is the central protagonist, our story will revolve around her search for belonging. But what if Claire is a loyal friend to the central protagonist? Or what if she is a waitress with two or three interactions throughout the story?

If Clair is an ally, make her desire known in dialogue or internal thought: 

“Quit staring at that one eyed minstrel Clair, it’s terribly rude!” Hazel hissed, embarrassed by her friend’s forward behavior. 

But Claire didn’t drag her gaze away. “He stirs a mem’ry in me ‘Azel, a mem’ry of  a ‘ome I been serchin’ fer.”

Hazel sighed as dramatically as possible as one might in last year’s corset and glided effortlessly toward the punchbowl leaving her friend to muse in the shadows. 

If Claire has only moments on the page, her desires might not be overtly spoken but should show in her actions:

 

The Waitress scuttled toward Hazel with an optimistic smile. Her name tag, hanging lopsided off the sweat stained uniform read “Claire” with the E drawn on in sharpie. After a quick glance at Hazel’s face, the waitress dropped her eyes  and slowly flipped open a coverless notebook. “What’ll ya be havin’ then?” She muttered.

We might not know what Claire the Waitress wants, but she is searching for something. It is that something that stirs curiosity. Even if I don’t know what Claire’s backstory is, I have to feel as if she has one. 

Quirks

I like the term quirks, but one could also say “specific character details”. Rarely do I describe a character’s physicality unless it directly matters to the narrative arc, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tell the difference between characters on the page. There are plenty of quirks that can be added to add flavor to individual personalities. 

• narrative voice, including accents, vocabulary, grammatical usage, and actual vocal tone. 
• specific likes or dislikes
• skills and abilities
• physicality. A caveat here: We want to see everyone on the page, but physical features and abilities should be treated respectfully. 
• belief systems or ideologies

Hazel tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Claire to finish her nightly ritual headstand. It would be far less obnoxious, she thought, if her friend didn’t need to do it directly over the privy hole. 

Or in the case of Claire the waitress:

The waitress dodged effortlessly through the crowd with six plates balanced on her arm. Hazel was fairly certain she herself couldn’t have managed two; it was impressive for a working class skill.

Back in High school, one of my friends won a best supporting actress trophy for her portrayal as a waitress in a play. She was on stage twice, entering both times smacking gum and asking in a bland accent “what’ll ya have?” She was the most memorable character in the show.  

Conflict

While motivation and quirks do much to make characters interesting in their own right, just as important is their potential to create conflict with the protagonist. Conflict keeps a story moving, and prevents a protagonist from easily completing their own goals. 

For a secondary character or ally, conflict usually stems from the Character wanting the same thing as the protagonist and becoming competition, or wanting something at odds which forces a choice for the protagonist. 

Hazel stared dreamily at the one eyed minstrel as he sang a lullaby so steeped in longing it might have been a sirens call. Beside her Claire  sniffled. “It’s me ol’ dad, I’m sure of it! We’ll finally be a fam’ly again!”

Hazel stared at her in horror knowing in her heart what a terrible step-mother she’d make for the girl. 

The conflict between a minor character and the protagonist might showcase the protagonist’s flaw:

Hazel, feeling uncomfortably at her own lack of plate balancing skills  refused even to acknowledge the waitress as she set down the steaming trout. 

“Watch out fer bones,” the girl muttered, though Hazel heard nothing over the sound of a one eyed minstrel singing in the corner. 

One of the biggest issues I had with the unnamed book I read this week was that there was little conflict between allies; all the tension came from antagonists and exterior events. It made the allies and minor characters feel flat—as if they were only present on the page for the purpose of plot. Readers, and characters deserve more!

A Writing Prompt for reading until the end: 

Write a scene from the protagonist’s perspective where they interact with an ally and an NPC (Non Party Character). Play around with our three elements and see how they impact your scene.