Make Side Characters Real Without Overshadowing the Main Cast

Side characters add depth, realism, and stakes to the story. It is rare to have a story without side characters. Of course, you have your single-character stories like The Old Man and the Sea and experimental narratives without defined side characters like As I Lay Dying, where each narrator acts as the main character in their section.

But it’s safe to say, you’re going to have side characters in your novel.

The challenge then is to not turn them into caricatures but rather make them feel real without pulling the focus.

Side characters shouldn’t just take up space. Every side character should serve a role: advancing the plot, challenging the protagonist, revealing key themes, revealing more about the main characters, etc.

Examples: (AI helped me come up with these examples)

• Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet escalates the feud, pushing Romeo to seek revenge. His purpose is to advance the plot.
• Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter challenges Harry Potter’s worldview. His prejudice forces Harry to define himself against these values.
• Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings reveals the theme of friendship, perseverance, and the power of ordinary people.

If they don’t serve a purpose, ask, “Would the story change if I removed this character?” If not, cut or refine them.

Example of an unnecessary character (AI came up with this example)

Sarah is a rookie detective investigating a string of art thefts. She has a mentor guiding her, a rival detective competing with her, and a key suspect who keeps throwing her off track.

Enter Bob.

Bob is Sarah’s neighbor. He works at a grocery store and loves collecting rare stamps. He occasionally shows up to chat about the weather, complain about his cat, or mention his stamp collection.

But the mystery unfolds the same without him, he doesn’t challenge Sara by offering insight or conflict, and he doesn’t reveal a theme or deepen her character. Their conversations are shallow and reveal nothing about her.

Unless Bob suddenly becomes the mastermind behind the thefts or has a crucial clue (“Hey, Sarah, that stolen painting looks like one of my rare stamps!”), he’s just filler.

Even if he does offer a clue like the stolen painting, if the rest of the time, he seems useless, then cut out his other scenes entirely and have his only appearance be that conversation, or you might be better served just merging his role into a more relevant character. Maybe the rival detective has a stamp hobby so he gives the clue.

If any of your side characters don’t have a purpose, cut them or change them so they do have a purpose. If they all serve the same or similar purposes, you may consider combining them.

While they won’t need to be as developed as the main characters, they still need to be real and unique.

Use small but meaningful details to give them a personality.

These small details could be quirks, speech patterns, a defining habit. Keep it to a small number of defining traits so they don’t overshadow the main characters.

Examples of small details

• A bartender who always misquotes famous sayings
• A neighbor who seems to follow a rigid schedule of when they get the mail, when they water their lawn, etc.
• A coworker who is always gossiping about others

They will become real through these small details. If we learn too much about them, then they take over the focus.

You do not need to create entire backstories for your side characters. You should create full backstories for all your main characters, even details that may not appear on page at all or factor in. You just really get to know a character when you craft a full backstory.

But you don’t need that with your minor characters. So keep backstories out of it unless they need to share a piece of their backstory with the MC to fulfill their purpose. But even then, keep it short.

We don’t need to know how many kids are in their family, where they live, their previous job, their hobbies … unless we do.

While I said we don’t need to know to know anything beyond what is needed to fulfill their purpose and up to three unique traits, you can hint at their own goals, conflicts, and unseen life.

For example, you can have a best friend who’s dealing with their own work drama and hints at it (but don’t go on a side quest to show us details of said drama). That way this character has a life outside of the MC.

The idea here is to only reveal what is essential to their purpose and what’s essential to making them a real person: at least one defining characteristic and some hints at goals and/or a life outside of the MC.

Your side characters can be fun and interesting. They can be a joy to read about while your main character is annoying.

That is fine. Your main characters don’t have to be more likeable than the side characters, but they should not overshadow them.

Side characters should have impactful moments but not dominate scenes.

To keep the focus on the main characters, ensure they remain the point-of-view characters whenever possible.

Even if a side character has a compelling personal struggle, the audience should primarily engage with it through the lens of the main character rather than shifting into the side character’s perspective or diving too deeply into their internal journey.

Additionally, keep side characters’ arcs smaller and less transformative than the protagonist’s. Your main character should undergo the most significant emotional or personal change by the end of the story. While side characters can (and should) evolve, their growth should serve the main character’s journey rather than overshadow it.

Example of too much page time

A side character who undergoes a dramatic, life-altering transformation—such as overcoming a decade-long trauma or becoming a hero in their own right—might steal too much focus.

Instead, the side character’s arc could be smaller, like gaining the courage to stand up to a corrupt boss, reinforcing the protagonist’s theme of trusting oneself.

Even if they don’t have too much page time, they can steal the show if they have a more distinctive voice, deeper conflicts, and funnier and exciting scenes.

It’s okay if they are more likeable. It’s okay to give them funny lines. But if the reader doesn’t enjoy any scenes that don’t have the side character, then that’s a problem.

Look I love Miracle Max in a Princess Bride. He is hilarious, funnier than Buttercup. I like him more than I like Princess Buttercup. Seriously, I really don’t like Buttercup. Wesley is another story. I heart him. Anyway I digress.

Miracle Max is more likeable, he has a more distinctive voice, and he is funnier. BUT Buttercup has deeper conflicts, has a distinct voice (just not as distinctive), deeper motivation and conflicts, and more exciting scenes. So in the end, Miracle Max doesn’t steal the focus from Buttercup.

Sure he steals his scene, but not the overall book. That may not be the best example since he is a minor character, not a side character, but hopefully, you get the idea.

Side characters should be unique, serve a purpose, and not overshadow the main character.

If you have a current WIP, write down all your side characters and next to their name, list their purpose, up to three distinctive traits, their goals or life outside the MC, and see how often they appear in the story. If they appear too often or have more important moments and lines than the main character(s), make a note to change that.

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I’d love to hear from you. Comment below using any of these prompts to guide you:

• What questions do you have?
• What is one of your favorite side characters and why?
• What is one thing you did professionally or personally today that you’re proud of?