You may have heard that behind every great protagonist is a great character arc. After all, stories are born out of growth and change. But what about your secondary characters? Do they deserve arcs too?
You absolutely can and should have some character arcs take place among your supporting players. Creating secondary characters who undergo their own dynamic change gives a novel depth and brings the story world to life. Keep reading for everything you need to know about building dynamic character development for your supporting characters.
What is a secondary character?
A secondary character, or supporting character, is a prominent figure in a novel or film who influences the protagonist’s journey in some way. Although they’re not given the same amount of attention as the main character, secondary characters will have complex, nuanced personalities and motivations of their own.
These supporting characters can be positive or negative—or somewhere in between. Prominent family members, close friends, love interests, mentor figures, antagonists, or mortal enemies are all secondary characters. This is a bit different from a tertiary character, which is a peripheral figure whom the protagonist encounters along the way. They can be interesting, thought-provoking, or funny, but they don’t have as big a role to play as primary and secondary characters.
What is a secondary character arc?
A secondary character arc is a dynamic journey of change that characters in supporting roles undergo in a story. This change can be positive or negative. Secondary character arcs form subplots that parallel the main story, and often help emphasize a story’s theme.
Most novels and films have at least one secondary character arc. Many have several, creating complex, multi-layered worlds. Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter series, Dustfinger from Inkheart, and Haymitch Abernathy from the Hunger Games series are a few examples of characters with memorable secondary character arcs.
Why are secondary character arcs important?
Secondary character arcs matter for a few reasons. Firstly, they fend off the dreaded “Mary Sue” or “Gary Stu” syndrome, in which the main character becomes the self-indulgent center of their own little universe. Supporting character arcs remind us that there are internal battles being fought all around us all the time, even if we can’t see them.
They also add dimension to a story and paint the world in shades of grey. These character arcs often involve moving between positive and negative traits, and they reiterate the idea that no one is completely “good” or “bad”—everyone’s just trying their best with what they’ve been given.
Finally, secondary character arcs create a range of new material to work with. They help you get to know your supporting characters better so that you can explore them in subplots, sequels, or bonus material for your adoring fans.
Five types of secondary character arcs
Ready to start building dynamic arcs for your secondary characters? Here are a few approaches to choose from.
1. The coming-of-age arc
The coming-of-age character arc focuses on a younger character who, through the events of the plot, is forced to grow up a bit. They may begin as an innocent, damsel-in-distress figure (this can of course be a character of any gender) that learns something about the world along their journey.
Also called the “bildungsroman” (which means “novel of formation”), these stories are about taking a character from a dependent state from an independent state. In other words, they go from needing someone to save them to learning to save themselves. Although this change is normally set in motion by external events, it’s really a character arc that happens internally. Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter series is a good example of this secondary character arc.
2. The heroic arc
Similar to the coming-of-age arc, this character arc sees a helpless character evolve into a hero. You’ll often see this arc in YA group settings; in a ragtag bunch of people, there’s one who’s especially timid and fragile. Over the course of the story, they’ll learn how to be courageous and step up to the fight.
While the heroic arc is predominantly used for protagonists, any character can become a hero in their own way. These characters undergo a value reversal from cowardice to courage. Along their journey, the character discovers that there is something bigger and more important than their fear. This discovery changes them forever. Dick Grayson from the Batman comics is a great example of a secondary character who undergoes this arc.
3. The corruption arc
A corruption arc happens when a basically good character is taken over by an inner vice: greed, malice, paranoia, cowardice, and so forth. This is often portrayed as a foil to the main character’s arc—the protagonist’s arc shows the potential for strength, while the secondary character’s arc shows the dangers of weakness.
In these stories, the character moves from morality to immorality. In this way the corruption arc is an inversion of the heroic arc: the corrupted character learns that something is more important to them than the ethics they once held—whether that’s material gain, or what they perceive to be their basic survival. Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars films is a classic example of this character arc.
4. The redemption arc
In an inversion of the corruption arc, the redemption character arc sees a deeply flawed character claw their way back up to moral righteousness. These stories are a particular fan favorite; readers love to see villains rediscover their humanity and rejoin the fight (usually right when everything seems darkest).
These arcs can sometimes follow a corruption arc. This gives you, as Kurt Vonnegut would say, a “fall-rise” story shape. The supporting character falls from grace, either out of weakness or desperation (the corruption arc), and then makes their way back up to heroism and forgiveness (the redemption arc). To write this arc effectively, ensure that your secondary character has a good reason for fighting their way out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves (we’ll look more at this below).
The (formerly) Evil Queen from the TV series Once Upon a Time is a great example of this arc.
5. The open minded arc
This subtle character arc involves a character who overcomes some sort of internalized prejudice. This includes things like racism, sexism, homophobia, or an unconscious classism such as judging people by the way they dress. By the end of the story, they’ll have gained new perspective and reassessed a toxic belief. This often means they’ll end up supporting the main character for something they had initially disagreed with.
These character arcs are especially powerful when using them to convey an important social theme. You can use this arc with the protagonist’s family, friends, or colleagues to show how their understanding of a contentious topic changes over time. For example, a parent that discourages their child’s romantic relationship at the start of the story will ultimately come to accept it, even champion it. The mother in Freaky Friday is a classic example of this supporting character arc.
6. The bespoke character arc
These are some of the most popular character arcs, but you can create arcs for your secondary characters out of anything. All you need to do is pinpoint their value reversal: one personality trait, habit, or belief which transforms into its opposite by the last page.
For example, if your secondary character is very shy, you can give them an arc that sees them find their voice and learn to believe in themselves. Or, if your character is hedonistic and impulsive, they can undergo an arc in which they learn to think things through more carefully. A character arc doesn’t need to be life changing—sometimes it’s a subtle shift as the character grows through their experiences.
To create this type of arc, choose a trait in your supporting character that’s getting in their way. Then, take them on an interior journey of addressing it.
How to create a powerful arc for your secondary characters
Once you’ve chosen the right arc for your character, it’s time to put it into action with these six easy steps.
1. Determine their role in the story
First, ask yourself why you’re including this character in the first place. What are they doing to move the story forward? Most supporting characters will do (at least) one of two things: encourage the protagonist and help them find their way, or create conflict that slows the protagonist down and forces them to think creatively.
Supporting characters can also act as foils, enhancing an element of the main character or the world around them. These are particularly useful for illuminating your story’s themes.
Write down the character’s role at the top of the page: “[This Secondary Character’s] role in the story is to create conflict between the lovers / give the protagonist guidance at their point of crisis / heighten the stakes and give the protagonist something to fight for / support the novel’s theme by highlighting the dangers of avarice” etc, etc.
2. Explore their backstory
Even if it doesn’t happen on the page, it’s important for you as the writer to know where these characters came from and the experiences that made them who they are today. Do they come from a wealthy background, or an impoverished one? A close family structure, or absentee parents? How did they develop the personality traits that define them most?
By understanding the secondary character’s backstory, you’ll be able to create an arc that feels authentic to who they are. Remember—all the choices we make are a product of our pasts.
3. Reveal what they’re fighting for
Change happens because people encounter something important enough to change for. In a heroic or redemptive arc, this might be something like “the fate of the universe” or a society that’s falling to a toxic belief. In the open-minded arc, this will often be the revelation that they will soon lose someone very dear to them.
In a negative, corrosive arc, the change usually occurs as a result of self-preservation. The thing they’re fighting for might be money, knowledge, or revenge. Positive or negative, there needs to be a repercussion of the plot which pushes the secondary character into action.
4. Find their tipping point
Otherwise known as the point of no return. All characters are resistant to change, and so there needs to be a moment in which the character crosses the threshold and commits to being this new person. It’s a point where they have the option to turn back—to cowardice, to morality, to the beliefs they feel safest with—and know that if they cross this line, there’s no going back.
5. Let the character prove themselves
Your character has changed on the inside. Now it’s time for them to show it. This is a moment in which the secondary character embodies their new persona fully and completely for the first time.
In a heroic or villainous arc, this might be the final, climactic battle. In an open-minded arc, it’s the moment where the character finally says “I’ll support you no matter what.” In a coming-of-age arc, it’s where the character makes a mature, independent choice about their future. Now, the other characters around them will recognize that the supporting character has grown (for better or for worse).
6. Show how they’re forever changed
In the novel’s denouement, or post-climactic final pages, the main characters prepare to embark on the rest of their lives. At this stage, the reader wants to see that the supporting character’s grand display wasn’t a one-off—they’ve truly become a new person.
You can use this final scene to hint at where these characters are going next, and how their lives are going to be different now that they’ve completed their dynamic arc.
Do all secondary characters need an arc?
With all this in mind, you might be wondering if you need to create a dramatic arc for all your characters. The answer is no, not all supporting characters need to undergo a dynamic change.
If your minor character is simply there for comic relief or to give the primary character some essential information, they probably won’t have their own arc. These are called static characters —a character who remains the same across the breadth of the story.
Having too many character arcs can get overwhelming for the reader (and the writer!). Instead, choose just a few secondary characters to expand and grow.
What to do when your secondary character arc becomes too big
As you develop secondary characters in your work, you might find that some of them start to take on lives of their own. They become just as engaging, or even more so, than your main characters.
In these moments, there are a few things you can do. The first is you might realize that you’ve been telling your story from the wrong perspective, and your shining secondary character is the real hero of the show. In this case you can redraft your novel to focus on the secondary character’s voice instead, or you can structure your novel as a dual PoV told through two contrasting voices.
If you don’t want to restructure your entire novel, you can revisit this character through future spinoff novels or bonus content for your readers. For example, you could write a short story from the secondary character’s point of view and offer it as free content for readers who pre-order your book before release, or sign up for your author newsletter.
Remember: your novel’s world is as big and nuanced as you make it, and everyone feels like the hero of their own story.
Example of effective secondary arcs
Ready to see how these dynamic characters look in practice? Here are a few examples of secondary characters with powerful, authentic arcs.
Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter series
Made famous by Matthew Lewis’s post-pubescent glow-up, Neville Longbottom is a supporting character who undergoes a vast and dramatic change over the course of the series. He starts out as an awkward, underperforming boy suffering from internalized childhood trauma. Slowly he learns to trust in himself a bit more and to summon up courage when needed. By the final installment, Neville steps up to become a leader in Harry’s absence and discovers his inner hero.
This character arc works well for a few reasons. Neville acts as a foil to the main characters of the story, with their confidence and poise making him look even more pitiful. This vivid “before” image of who he is at the beginning of his journey makes his final “after” state of being that much more powerful.
Secondly, Neville is someone many readers can identify with. Watching him grow into a hero shows us that we have the potential for heroism, too.
Harry Osborne from the Spiderman series
Peter Parker’s best friend Harry goes from rich playboy to villain to hero to villain to hero (wash, rinse, repeat). Initially descending into drug use and paranoia through emotional jealousy in his relationship, he sees his father murdered by Spiderman and goes on a revenge murder bender. From this point he goes on a psychological rollercoaster for sixty-odd years (and counting) as he tries to do the right thing, but ultimately falls prey to his insecurities and weaknesses.
It’s telling that this character has remained so popular for so many decades. Among the revolving rogues gallery of villains, Harry Osborne stands out because his character arc is in a constant state of flux. The readers know he has the capacity for both good and evil, and it’s only a matter of time before one overtakes the other.
Rupert Giles from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series
One of the most complex characters in the seven-season cult classic, Rupert Giles undergoes two major character arcs: the first before the show begins, which is hinted at through his backstory, and the second from beginning to end of the series.
As a young hooligan, Giles (neé Ripper) partied hard and engaged in a few demon summonings from time to time, as one does. His young self is almost unrecognizable from the stuffy, rigid librarian that Buffy and her friends tolerate for his bottomless knowledge. Over the course of the series, he goes from a militant authority figure to taking on more of a parental role—from impersonal distance to compassion and familial love.
This story arc is effective because it takes a character who could very easily have become a cliché and shapes them into an authentic, multi-faceted human being. This is a good thing to keep in mind if you find yourself leaning a bit too far into tired tropes when crafting your characters.
Give your side character a chance to shine
As you craft your protagonist’s story, you’ll meet supporting players with their own motivations, own life, and own arc. These supporting arcs are essential to making your world seem complex and real to your readers. Whether they create conflict or offer the hero a helping hand, secondary character arcs are a great way to level up any novel.
