Main characters are meant to attract our attention and make us be sucked bone deep into their story and their conflicts. But, sometimes, they fail to do so, and we are instead drawn to the potential of other characters. We feel compelled to know everything about them. Their backstory, their motivations, and even go around looking for fanfics featuring them.
[Edit:] I also remembered the fact that in love triangles, many people feel more drawn to the guy who we know won’t get the girl, than the one destined to have her. In some cases, Guy A is so blatantly better than Guy B that we don’t even bother with him, or this love triangle plotline. In others, Guy B is such a good contender (XD) that we side for him instead of the main love interest.
And then, sometimes, authors are so intent in making the MC such a dashing hero(ine), that they unknowingly make him/her boring and the characters around, people worth writing a book about.
Some examples:
For more characters that have so much potential that they should have their own book, check out this Top Ten Tuesday post.
I think it’s a quality of great writing that the secondary characters stand out even while the main characters are amazing. I want to care about everyone in a story whether they are good or bad. If a writer can do that than the book is definitely successful in my eyes!
This is a great topic! There are definitely some secondary characters who I’ve adored. Puck is a great example of one who could easily carry his own series!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted this awesome thing…ARC Review – Inked by Eric Smith
Revisting the pain… *sigh* My longing for that boy can only be appeased by Rogue coming out sooner.
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I’m not sure I’d say that I think the secondary characters outshine the main ones, but I do admit that I want to know more about Ducky from Mothership, and perhaps more about Robin Hood in A.C. Gaughen’s Scarlet. I also agree about Alice from Twilight, but I think I always want to put out Emmett because I feel like he was always there but I never really got to know him.
Heather recently posted this awesome thing…Beautiful People: Me Again
Emmet is a sweetheart