In the following article, discover the secrets of a secondary character.
If you are thinking about creating a new comic, let me tell you that secondary characters are just as, or more important than the main ones, therefore, what we intend with this article is that you create great secondary characters.
A great secondary character can take you and your story very far! Don’t you think so? Discover the secrets of these important characters. Continue reading!
Protagonist Vs Secondary Character
Welcome to my abode, make yourself comfortable. You’re not a protagonist, are you? I thought so, because I don’t know you, I am a secondary character, you see, and as a rule, I usually know the protagonist, let’s see, they tell me now, that you are a comic creator, and that you are thinking about the story, of the next one you are going to create.
Are you, then, a writer? Scriptwriter, okay, that’s the word, you want to know, what details you might take into account when creating great secondary characters, I can’t speak for all of us, because we come in all shapes and colors But I’ll try!
There are two or three things, that can help you, in a general way, to avoid some of the most common problems, that you may encounter with us, and maybe, I’ll even dare to go into the specifics, to help you take advantage of, real potentialities that we have, and sometimes overlook.
A great secondary character can take you very far! Time is a tyrant, anyway, and I don’t know how much I can expand on my explanations, but in any case, we can meet again! If you’re ready, let’s begin. Sit down and listen.
THE SECONDARY CHARACTER THAT CONTRASTS WITH THE MAIN CHARACTER
It’s important that you show the reader that you’re not lacking in imagination, that you can’t think of just one type of person, or that you’ve discovered that it’s not so interesting for your main character to go around talking to himself, and you’d like him to talk to someone.
Therefore, you want to add one more person to the story to talk to, but you would find it boring if that character looked like the main character. To solve this and many other challenges, you can use the contrasting secondary character.
If your main character is smart, he’ll be stupid, strong if the main character is weak, young if the main character is old, just be careful not to be too clever and make them so different that everyone wonders what these two people would have in common to relate to each other, although, still, only 30 years after Back to the Future, someone wondered why a 17 year old teenager would be friends with a failed nuclear physicist.
I’m going off the deep end, in a way, the characteristics of this secondary character, help to underpin those of the main character, all the while, you are reminding the reader, that not all people are like that, that you can be otherwise.
You get extra points, if you perform one of my favorite contrasts, when the secondary character, has characteristics of moral integrity that the main character does not have, that is, he is scrupulous (Many times, secondary characters, we come to the world, to tell the main character “I told you so.” Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)
THE SECONDARY CHARACTER THAT RESEMBLES THE MAIN CHARACTER
Another reason why we secondary characters exist is to make it clear what the world is like where the main character belongs at the moment, which he/she may have to leave behind once he/she matures and grows up.
Many times, at the beginning of the story, the main character and the secondary character are almost indistinguishable, but little by little, they are differentiated, the secondary characters serve very well to show alternatives to the protagonist’s life that he himself did not choose, we are the road not taken.
We get married and have children, while the protagonist remains single, we break a leg, while the character goes ahead with his sports career, but in everything else we remain the same.
We even serve as a lighthouse and a guide to represent everything that the main character has lost and would perhaps like to recover.
THE SECONDARY CHARACTER WHO HAS HIS OWN LIFE
There is also the hero of another story, isn’t there? Sometimes a secondary character just is, and is there for the main character to remember (and for the readers to remember) that he is not the only person with problems in the world, and that there are more lives out there.
He can fulfill several functions, all very important for the plot, for example, being the one who was in the right place, at the right time, and observed something, that the main character needs to know, make a stupid mistake, or why not, an act of brilliant lucidity, although rarely, they let us, the secondary characters, have access to it.
Lest we overshadow the protagonist, what a pity! That it affects the evolution of the hero’s day, by its proximity, bringing laughter to a story that is exceeding in seriousness, or reasonableness, to a world of fantasies and revelry.
This is by far, the kind of supporting character I prefer, because I know what it’s like, to be one, and let me tell you We have a life! Sometimes, very interestingly, it is quite a responsibility, to take care of being there at the right time, so that our life, intersects with that of the hero.
Advising, many times, someone who is a main character. We, who are mere secondary characters! But many times, being a secondary character is just that, to know something about what the main character has yet to learn.
I hope the visit has been pleasant for you, and that you return to your drawing board, or to your writing desk (heh), inspired and renewed, let me give you now, not an advice, but a request, so that you take it along the way, love us, love your secondary characters, as much, or more than the main ones, without giving in (this is important) to the temptation, to make us protagonists of our own stories.
We don’t need protagonism, we already know that we are heroes in many ways, most of the ways that matter, just take care, to imagine us with desire, to make us real, not to neglect our duties to the protagonists, and to the story.
You will see how readers will believe in us too, well cared for, we can be unforgettable, much more than any protagonist, the main characters end up being, many times, mere empty shells, designed for the reader, to be projected on them.
Ah, but a secondary character! A good one! Sometimes, readers appreciate us more, than the real friends that life has given them, and if you don’t believe me, think about the stories you have read, and ask around, after all, always the favorite character of a person, is one of the secondary characters of the story!
Conclusion
As we could observe during the course of the article, a secondary character has a great protagonism in stories, and should never be underestimated, on the contrary, many people tend to stay with him, rather than with the main character.
He usually plays a fundamental role in the story, and generally, he contrasts with the main character. That is what makes it so special, so, from now on, think of secondary characters as an essential part of a story, because without further ado, that’s what they are!
We hope you liked the article. See you next time!
