Supporting Characters

[Kaziarl]

Ok, so here's an issue I just came across, and was wondering how others have dealt with it.

I have a character that was written as a supporting character, like a guest star on a tv show. Now that I've written a little more, I feel there is more depth to the character then fits into that supporting role and as such, I feel like I'm wasting a very good character.

Has anyone else had this problem come up? And if so, how have you dealt with it?

 

[jamestyler]

When I decided to properly write again about a year ago (or longer, I can barely remember) the first draft introduced the story with a crew that got killed off. As I figured no one would read it and they were all dying anyway, I named the captain after myself.

I ended up liking him too much and now he's a main character. I also had to come up with a new name and a purpose.

The same thing happened throughout writing SKR: Year One... and I just decided that if ever I wrote a follow up I'd place different emphasis on characters. In Year One it revolves around a core of six people, with each part having their own supporting characters and I decided whoever doesn't move on or get killed off would be a major part of the next one. If there was a next one.

...I always figure if I can't use something or someone this time, I'll save it for the next attempt.

 

[Gojirob]

My main characters in Ancient Destroyer started out as supporting. Peter Kirk started out as a Mulder/Cassandra type trying to warn that the legends of King Ghidorah were real, and not being listened to by anyone, including Jim. Saavik moved up when I recalled that, in the ST2 novelization, she had told David how not only was she not Spock's daughter, but of the shame that would be Spock's, had he been the unnamed Vulcan captive forced to sire a child by Romulan captors. I asked myself, how would Spock handle this? Like Batman, I think his actual breakings have been few to none. His resulting denial and her pain in handling this took her from girl Friday to the other part of the Rock Of Prophecy.

 

[DarKush]

I sort of had a similar problem with my character Jeffrey Thorpe, who was only supposed to be in one story "Under the Shadow of Swords", but he got a good reader reaction and as I wrote him I realized I could do more with him. He was a guy with layers. He could've easily replaced Captain Glover as the main character, but I didn't want to do that. I wound up writing him out of my Dark Territory series because I wasn't sure how he could fit with the other ongoing events and I didn't want to do a separate group of stories.

I'm having a similar 'problem' with my DS9 characters. It's inadvertant arc that I started in my very first DT story, "Valley of Peace", and continued in "Swords". I sort of left things in a cliffhanger that I explored in some vignettes but haven't concluded. Truth is, I'm not that interested in writing for the canon DS9 characters, or even my own DS9 characters, because they are not where I want to base the action, but I've written myself into a hole, and I think I need to resolve that DS9 storyline.

So, yeah, it happens.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I think the only way to write about your supporting characters if they have more depth than you expect is either to kill them off, which is fairly cheap if you ask me, or do a story that focuses on that character with the main characters acting as support for a change. Then when you write about your main characters next, you can decide whether to make that supporting character a main character - either by killing off another main character or just having that supporting character join the main cast, so to speak.

Take Worf from season 1 TNG, he was a supporting character for much of the season, and then Heart of Glory was a Worf episode. After Tasha's death, he became a main character.

 

[hellsgate]

Promote the character to their own "spin-off" starbase/ship, (such as Harry Kim's experience as Acting Captain of the alien medical ship.)

 

[Gibraltar]

In my series I've had characters transfer off the ship, and I've had others die. I've had people replaced, as happens in a military organization, when others leave or shuffle off the mortal coil. If I bring in a guest character who ends up being particularly interesting, I always have the option of bringing them back in some capacity. I treat these characters as fully developed, three-dimensional people, whose lives just happen to intersect those of my crew for however long.

 

[mirandafave]

There's every chance to explore the character at a later stage or in another episode. If you think about it a lot of the characters in Trek have come about because of this very fact. In the first instance there were those from TOS who as such were supporting actors to the big three titled stars - Scotty, Uhura, et el were all classified as supporting stars. Yet you can see that the characters were used again when they could and developed and had purposeful interactions with the other characters. That makes all the difference.

In TNG O'Brien ended up jumping ship to be launched as a full character in a new series. But in TNG he like Ro was used in purposeful ways and given moments in the spotlight. Opportunities to give them some meaty scenes or importance to a story development will give the chance to use the character as you want.

DS9 probably had the largest supporting and recurring cast - Garak, Rom, Nog, Weyoun, Dukat, etc. The stories told and the development given to all characters and the series allowed all of them to be used in a comprehensive way and used the rich vein of characters and their potential.

In Enterprise, a character such as Shran - technically a guest star became a supporting character and not only helped to flesh out the character but also the Andorian culture.

Voyager had a number of guest characters that could have become supporting characters. It sadly however squandered a lot of its possibilities by allowing too much focus to fall upon some characters. I guess that's the lesson to be learned from that.

As others have said, as your story develops there may be a chance to move your supporting character up into a more prominent role by virtue of other characters going off either the mortal coil or ship via promotion/retirement. Your supporting character with potential could be given promotion new duties or greater away mission duties.

 

[Mistral]

Lone Redshirt had a side character, a Vulcan chic, that not only became major to one of his plotlines but actually transferred off of Bluefin and went to the Gibraltar. Like G said-treat them all 3dimensionally and worry about how you use them as time goes by. A lot of times, they write themselves as they grow.

 

[kes7]

Lone Redshirt had a side character, a Vulcan chic, that not only became major to one of his plotlines but actually transferred off of Bluefin and went to the Gibraltar. Like G said-treat them all 3dimensionally and worry about how you use them as time goes by. A lot of times, they write themselves as they grow.

Why say more? I had two lengthy paragraphs written to essentially say this same thing.

 

[Mistral]

Lone Redshirt had a side character, a Vulcan chic, that not only became major to one of his plotlines but actually transferred off of Bluefin and went to the Gibraltar. Like G said-treat them all 3dimensionally and worry about how you use them as time goes by. A lot of times, they write themselves as they grow.

Why say more? I had two lengthy paragraphs written to essentially say this same thing.

Sorry, didn't mean to undercut you!

 

[kes7]

Brevity is the soul of wit ... and you are clearly wittier than I am.

 

[Kaziarl]

Lone Redshirt had a side character, a Vulcan chic, that not only became major to one of his plotlines but actually transferred off of Bluefin and went to the Gibraltar. Like G said-treat them all 3dimensionally and worry about how you use them as time goes by. A lot of times, they write themselves as they grow.

Why say more? I had two lengthy paragraphs written to essentially say this same thing.

Sorry, didn't mean to undercut you!

And also Kes7, he may have said the same thing in general, but many times the way someone will say it will show something in a slightly different light. So even if it seems like someone is repeating you, its not always a bad thing.

There have all been wonderful points and have posed many questions.

In this case, the character is a Civilian archeologist. At first she was just going to be a "head buried in the sand" type who is more focused on digging up old rocks, then anything else. Now, she's proven to be rather quirky, good sense of humor. Definitely not the prissy type.

I think she could work as a recurring guest star, but probably not a main.

 

[Gojirob]

Of course, there are the legendary examples as such characters as Arthur Fonzarelli and Mary Jane Watson. Stan Lee persists in claiming she pushed herself forward, despite his best efforts to 'contain' her in favor of Gwen.

 

[kes7]

Why say more? I had two lengthy paragraphs written to essentially say this same thing.

Sorry, didn't mean to undercut you!

And also Kes7, he may have said the same thing in general, but many times the way someone will say it will show something in a slightly different light. So even if it seems like someone is repeating you, its not always a bad thing.

I wasn't saying it was bad! I didn't even post my two-paragraph reply because as I was about to do it, I checked in another window to see if anyone else had replied and Mistral had posted essentially what I was going to say, only so much more concisely. I was complimenting him and poking fun at my own excessive wordiness.

 

[Kaziarl]

Sorry, didn't mean to undercut you!

And also Kes7, he may have said the same thing in general, but many times the way someone will say it will show something in a slightly different light. So even if it seems like someone is repeating you, its not always a bad thing.

I wasn't saying it was bad! I didn't even post my two-paragraph reply because as I was about to do it, I checked in another window to see if anyone else had replied and Mistral had posted essentially what I was going to say, only so much more concisely. I was complimenting him and poking fun at my own excessive wordiness.

I'd still post it anyway. Like I said, different spin. Unlike the challenges, there is no word limit here. Ain't it nice?

 

[kes7]

Okay ... twist my arm, why don't you.

Basically, I wrote that I'm invested in every character I give a name to. If a character, no matter how seemingly minor, has scored an actual name, then said character has his or her own distinct personality, with unique attributes and strengths and weaknesses. Maybe not pages of backstory like the main characters, but a definite personality of his or her own. "Three-dimensional," as was stated above.

As the story unfolds, some of these secondary characters will rise to the challenges around them, or have issues with other characters, or maybe even die. It depends on what makes sense in the context of the story. Already, one minor character in my story has sort of jumped out as more dynamic than I was expecting her to be, and she now has a planned arc that wasn't there before. She's still not a main character, but she's a definite part of the story. I plan to leave room for all of the named characters to grow and change like that as needed.

Of course, the unnamed background/scenery characters are just that. Scenery. Unless I decide to name them later. Then it's personal.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

I think that as a story series progresses it is natural for some characters to rise and others to fade. When I began writing the Bluefin stories, I initially planned for Inga Strauss to be the main character, with the story being seen primarily through her eyes. She remains a strong lead character, but Captain Akinola and Solly Brin are more prominent. Mistral referenced T'Ser, who began as a supporting character but who developed into one of the leads. Now she's XO on Gibraltar. I killed off my first CMO, Calvin Baxter after only a couple of stories, even though I liked the character. Why? It seemed like a good idea at the time. Dale McBride, who was just a passing reference in the first story (he was dead, after all) is now a lead character in stories set prior to 2376.

Go figure.

 

[Sovereign_One]

I know how that is.

Some here might know about the Sutek saga, but I'll give you the rundown for those who don't know. Captain Sutek started out as "just some guy, you know?" My main character in Tales of the Storyteller mentioned him as one of her old COs. I was going to leave him as a footnote, but he had other plans. His development exploded beyond my control, and he started telling me how things should go. I also had no idea he would be received as well as he has by readers. He's still not a main character, but I think he prefers it that way.

 

[mirandafave]

Lone Redshirt had a side character, a Vulcan chic, that not only became major to one of his plotlines but actually transferred off of Bluefin and went to the Gibraltar. Like G said-treat them all 3dimensionally and worry about how you use them as time goes by. A lot of times, they write themselves as they grow.

Why say more? I had two lengthy paragraphs written to essentially say this same thing.

Brevity is the soul of wit ... and you are clearly wittier than I am.

Oops then on me, if that's the case! Hee hee.