Thank You For Your Support: Writing Secondary Characters With Love
by Elizabeth Solar
For those of us who remember TV’s The Brady Bunch, or the brilliant tongue-in-cheek film reimagining said family living in their 1970’s time warp, you had to love – or pity – poor Jan.
Middle child that she was, it was all about Marcia. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, which probably led Jan to a lot of therapy. Or Jan’s life as an enraged sociopath.
Your novel may follow a similar dynamic. Of course, you love your protagonist, your main character, the ice sculpture to which you build your literary party around. But what about your supporting characters? They need love, too. A secondary character who is overlooked is little more than a prop, and we can’t have that going on in your story, can we?
Our goal as writers is to make characters as round, as real, as lived in as any human walking the earth. Otherwise, you have stick figures. We spend hours, okay months, writing backstory for our MC, interviewing them, examining their motives and connecting the dots of their history to bring forth someone fully formed and relatable. Your protagonist, however, does not live in a vacuum. They need people and circumstances to react to, interact with to show how they operate in the world, and why they spend time with those other people who populate the story.
Better put, it takes a village. At least several characters of import. Elizabeth Strout’s excellent Olive Kittridge, and the recent follow-up, Olive, Again serve as brilliant guides to how secondary characters are essential not only to support your MC but to relate a narrative that feels compelling and absolutely human.
Secondary characters, through dialogue and actions, as much as Olive’s inner thoughts reveal volumes about her history, quirks, qualities and flaws. They sometimes provide a glimpse into her true nature through their own observations, and feelings. Despite Olive’s ornery nature we see that she is loveable through the eyes of both her first, put upon husband, and later in life when her gregarious second husband says, ‘I just like you.’ Through their thoughts, interactions and dialogue they help develop Olive, so she feels like a real person, warts and all. They provide a contrast to the protagonist, adding depth and texture to your story.
Characters in supporting roles often help establish setting. What is the context in which your MC operates? Supporting characters, even those tertiary characters, who often are incidental, and basically perform walk-ons illustrate the world your protagonists inhabits. Because both of these books are written as a collection of connected short stories, Olive’s town of Crosby, Maine, holds an entire community of supporting characters who often become the MC of their own story. The reader views an entirely believable town populated by characters that captivate and touch us that helps us because of the very specifics of their humanity.
Lastly, secondary characters add texture and meaning to your plot. They’re invested in your MC, and in some of the stakes set up within the story, which means they have to act. They can also provide or enhance symbolism, and metaphor. Throughout Strout’s prose are themes of depression, disappointment, repression and missed opportunity. All played out with sometimes heart-breaking realism and grace by various residents of Crosby.
If you’re wondering if I’m recommending Strout’s masterpieces? Heck, yeah!
That aside, treat your secondary characters as you would your friends. Hear them out. Ask them about themselves, what they need, what motivates them. What they like or dislike about the MC. See how much better your entire story becomes.
During the 2001 Academy Awards, Denzel Washington was up for best actor in the film Training Day. His supporting actor, in a pre-show interview was asked if he thought Washington would walk away with the Oscar. He replied. ‘He should, if I’ve done my job right.’
Develop those supporting characters. Show them some love. And watch them do their job right.
