How to write Side Characters, I mean Side Plots
Nothing is ever just one thing, not in life and not in writing. Everything is nuanced if you look at it long enough.
So when I say side character your mind probably goes to some famous one like Randy from Scream, or Sam from Lord of the Rings, or Jimmy Olson from Superman. Side characters are great, they add so much but they can also take away if you aren't careful. The pit that people fall into is that they use side characters as plot devices and that's a big no no, and I'm not getting into the semantics of flat and round characters, I'm talking about what I like to call warm body characters. They’re just there to be there for the character to talk to and they bring nothing to the table. I always think of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Hamlet, like why are they there? That’s why I love Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard because it’s giving life in a very existential way to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Your side character has to bring something to the table. They can’t just be a warm body there to be a punching bag. They need to be like your main character. They need to have goals, struggles and the like. They have to be 3d because honestly, it…
