Let’s talk about our supporting character and even the minor character that are far more prominent to the plot than just the main character or those in-and-out characters.
Forget about your main character(s)/protagonist(s) right now, I want to know who are your supporting and/or minor characters who matter just as much as your MC.
Answer these questions:
What are their goals and motivations that don’t fully tie into the plot, maybe it is a subplot thing?
How will these characters aid the protagonist/main character(s), along with completing their own goals/motivations/desires?
What obstacles will these characters face differently than the MC? How will they tackle the obstacles?
Are they willing to put anything on the line? What are the stakes and/or sacrifices they are willing to make?
What is their role in the story? How are they assisting the main character with reaching their goal, while trying to focus on their own? Where did they meet and how did the get acquainted in the story?
Well, he’s the instigator of the plot. He wants better for the living dead, and Lucian stands in the way of that, being a recluse.
Convenient plot device to get them out a tricky situation, and ferret out information in a timely manner.
Well, he’s going to learn a bit about himself from their story arc…but that’s more part 2 which I’ve not sussed out yet.
Well, he put Lucian and Avery on the line for his goals, and the only one really willing in that mess was Avery.
Made him a romantic (hardcore smutreader), another living dead (ghoul). He was actually dragged in by Lucian trying to take care of unfinished business without becoming more involved, which put him in charge of making the unfinished business bite the Vampire’s butt.
Bernard, grown man in the US during the 60s, has a craving for flesh, and subdues it by presenting himself as a harmless old romantic man as much as possible. But he has eaten at least 1 other person in a fit of rage, then had a fight with the vampire.
My book takes place in the course of a half hour while a friar is visiting a condemned prisoner, asking him to confess his sins before he faces the guillotine in the morning. The whole story is then told to the friar in flashback.
So Friar Finbar doesn’t actually have any goals or motivations other than trying to save the prisoner’s soul. He does inadvertently save the prisoner’s life at the end when he calls for the guard to let him out of the cell. But he had no idea the prisoner was going to attack the guard and escape. So he’s just a tool, really. (♯^.^ღ)
Enjoy is a weird word for me. I like that it wasn’t 20 questions asked of me daily (got that in some groups), and I wasn’t upset at them (hence why I answered).
Even without an emotional response, it’s good to ask some of these, to check where you’re at.
Kelbis (Dwarf) His goals are to undo the misgivings of his people against the Elves.
Hal-en (Man) His goals were to assist Geldrid go as far he could aid him to the borders of his land, and no further. But he got dragged into further adventures when they were attacked.
Ossel (Man) To seek revenge upon the Drakes which destroyed his city, and killed his father. But he has his people to save also.
Dalvryn and Dhrunan (Men) To defend their kingdom and it’s people from the masses of the North Rents, who now align themselves with Temulkar.
Riona (Elf) The last of her kin (Drake Herders). She now seeks to destroy Temulkar and his armies, and reclaim Undermount (Her kingdom) and bring peace to those lands in parley with the Drakes.
There will be many more, and as such I would be writing an essay or two in order to answer all of your questions. But they are all willing to put everything on the line for their own quests.
Have you ever read one of those novels that are made up of a collection of short stories that form a complete arc and ultimately tell one story all set in the same universe? Like How High We Go in the Dark, for instance. You should do something like that for all your characters! Or more like A Visit From the Goon Squad since that’s about the music industry. You should write a short story for whatever character you feel like writing that day, and then you arrange those short stories in a specific order so that they tell the story of that universe from different points of view. That’s my recommendation. ( ˆ◡ˆ)۶ ٩(˘◡˘ )
You just have to think of the ultimate arc…maybe it all tells the story of the rise and fall of the such-and-such reggaeton record label? How it became successful and then fell apart due to the characters, or something. You’re better at coming up with an ultimate arc than I am. (*＾-‘) 乃
