#Plan4WriMo Day 15: Get to Know Your Other VIPeeps

Despite the name, ‘secondary’ characters are crucial to making your main character and your world tangible. Whether it’s a sidekick, a love interest, a frienemy, a parent, a sibling or a child, every character in your book should have his or her own story—even if it doesn’t make it into your book. And they should impact your main character’s story. They also should impact the other characters with whom they interact (but don’t worry, we’re saving relationship charts for later this month.)

Looking back at the lists we brainstormed earlier this month (Characters, Settings, Scenes), start thinking about the other characters you need to make your scenes and settings come alive.

It’s a tricky balance—making secondary characters matter without overshadowing the primary characters. Character economics is also a factor—you don’t want to have too many minor players. Or too few.

Looking back over your notes from the previous days, who do you need to fill in your story’s details? How can you make them matter? How do you make them tangible?

Today’s links:

Basic Character Profile

In-Depth Character Profile

Minor Character Sheet

5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Characters

Secondary Characters

Character Sketch

Who’s your favorite secondary character? Why?