Your supporting act, the secondary characters, aren't quite as important as your main characters, but that doesn't mean you don't need to devote time to them. They need to be their own people, not just stick-figures that take whatever role your main character needs them to fill. And that's the problem: you have to strike a balance between too little detail and too much. Too little and they'll feel like placeholders only there to keep your book stocked in dialogue; too much and they're distracting from the main character's spotlight.
Well, who says you have to list everything you know about your characters in the book? There can be secrets, right? So, develop your secondary characters in your research just as thoroughly as you have for your main character. And then choose the main aspects that are the most important (a good way to choose is to think of it in terms of your main character. What about your secondary character do they really like, and what about them do they really hate? What parts of your secondary character's life relate directly to your main character?) and make sure you show those in your writing.
Example: Which details are more important? That John's best friends: 1) are on a synchronized swimming team and are expecting John to come to their big meet, or 2) live on Mulburry Hill. Answer: 1
In addition, remember that you might not even need that secondary character at all! This is entirely possible. If you have a character who:
Only appears in one or two scenes in the book
Does not directly relate to the main plot
Is one of many characters who all have very small roles
Is not well-developed (as in, readers know the character’s name and little else)
You might need to consider cutting them from the book or combining them with other minor characters to create a more dominant secondary character. Chances are if they fit any of the above criteria, you’re only using them to fill up space, and that’s never a good reason to write something.
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Writing Mistakes You're Making
De TodoA self-help book for beginning writers, covering everything from grammar to plot with a dash of humor to keep you interested and learning! (The best part? Anything you already know, you can just skip over.)
