How To Write a Fantasy Novel Supporting Character

By Jacklyn Walters

When you picture your finished novel, you probably have a really strong sense of your main character. You might even have a clear view of their best friend, love interest, or trusty animal companion.

But when you look beyond that, it might get a little fuzzy.

The best novel cast is full of characters who stand on their own. Whether it’s your MC’s best friend, your primary love interest, or your villain’s assistant’s second cousin twice removed, every supporting character should be a whole character.

When the edges of your MC’s circle start to blur, here are four questions to fine tune the perfect side character.

1. What gaps does your MC have?

Your supporting characters should be a complement to your main character, not just an addition.

So many new authors fall flat because they want their primary cast to reflect each other. This leaves you with a lot of funny, sassy characters and even more one-note dialogue. In order to facilitate growth and push your storyline forward, your side characters should create a little friction.

This isn’t to say your side characters can’t share traits with your MC. Best friends and lovers and villains have to have something in common. Just don’t make them so similar that your supporting cast is entirely comprised of mini MCs.

Consider your favorite duos: stoic and silly, shy and outgoing, organized and messy. They don’t need to be complete opposites, but those are easy places to start.

And pay close attention to your MC’s strengths and weaknesses. Where they fall short, your supporting characters should, well, support them.

2. How do they relieve—or add—tension?

We love a good happy ending, but you don’t get there without some conflict.

If your story is any good, there’s going to be tension. Hopefully a lot of it. So when push comes to shove, how does your supporting character react?

Are they comedic? Earnest? A problem solver? A rule follower?

Do they abandon their post or step up to the challenge? And what does this mean for the story? (We’ll circle back to this one later.)

This has quickly become more than four questions to define your character, but sub-questions don’t count. And each of these is critical to consider if you want a fully fleshed-out cast.

Or maybe they’re the one creating the tension. Personally, I love a character who stirs the pot. Some of my all-time favorites are the ones who can’t walk away from a fight, and who’ll make one happen simply because they want to feel alive.

3. Who are they as a person?

Not just “who are they to your MC.”

Any time I’m in traffic, I start looking around at the other drivers and thinking about how they’re full people living a full life. They have jobs and hobbies. Some of them are having the best day of their lives. Some, the worst. Some of them are probably clinically insane. No matter the juicy details, everyone on the road with you is their own main character. (This phenomenon is called sonder btw.)

That’s how your story should be, too.

Think about even your least important character as their own full person.

What do they need? What drives them? What is their story? What are their goals? What is their character arc? If your MC is the only person changing and growing, then your story is probably boring.

Don’t write Sims. Don’t write NPCs. Write real people.

4. How do they drive your plot forward?

I promised we’d circle back, and here we are.

Every character in your story should be moving the story forward.

Sure, conversations with their inner circle show us the most about the plot. But an interaction with a stranger also reveals a piece of your MC’s values. Even the village baker in “Beauty and the Beast” who says “That’s nice. Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!” illustrates just how often Belle goes around rambling about her latest reads to the townsfolk. And he’s only in three seconds of the movie!

Your side characters, while not the stars of the show, still have some real plot-driving power.

Some of this will be because of the decisions they make and side quests they handle on their own. But most will be based on how they interact with other characters—your MC et al.

Go into your story knowing what other secondary characters you have, or at least their general archetypes. How do they interact? What roles do they play? What can they be trusted with (and not)?

That’s what makes your world real. It isn’t the climax of your story, it’s the little interactions along the way.

We all get excited about writing our MC. But let’s not forget that some of the most important, most loveable characters are the ones in the shadows. They’re usually the ones doing the heavy lifting, anyway.

Know your supporting characters just as well as you know your MC. Know them as well as the MC knows them. Know them better than they know themselves. And you’ll be just fine.