Your novel needs a protagonist (main character) … but unless you’re writing something highly unusual and experimental, you’ll have a cast of more than just that one person.
Some of the characters in your story will have walk-on roles: the waiter
who brings your protagonist a coffee, the taxi driver who gets your protagonist home, and so on. These are “minor characters” who may not even have names and perhaps just a few words of description.
But other characters will be far more significant. Maybe your protagonist’s best friend is along for the ride, or there’s a love interest or two. Perhaps your protagonist has a mentor figure
who guides them at the start of their character arc.
All of these people are supporting characters in your story. We’re going to take a look at how to figure out the
cast you need and how to develop your supporting characters (without them taking over the story from your protagonist).
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