Somewhere in here I\u2019m envisioning a human centipede thing, except in pyramid shape and\u2026<\/p>\n
No. Nope. Hunh-hunh. Not going there.<\/p>\n
You might think, hey, that\u2019s the ideal usage for a support character. To\u00a0support<\/em>\u00a0the characters, the plot, and the story. Maybe to uphold theme, too, or contribute to mood. And all of that is\u00a0technically<\/em>\u00a0reasonable and not entirely untrue, but looking at it that way runs the risk of coloring your view of all characters as being no more than mere pulleys, gears and flywheels whose only purpose is to mechanize the plot you\u2019ve created. (You ever see the ingredient\u00a0mechanically-separated meat?\u00a0<\/em>It\u2019s something like that, where you envision all the characters as avatars of plot diced up and separated out.)<\/p>\n Characters aren\u2019t architecture, though.<\/p>\n Characters are\u00a0architects<\/em>.<\/p>\n Your protagonist and antagonist tend to be grand architects \u2014 they\u2019re the ones making the big plans. They\u2019re building \u2014 or demolishing \u2014 whole buildings. They are the demigods of this place. Creators. Destroyers. Sometimes each a bit of both.<\/p>\n But supporting characters are architects, too. They\u2019re just architects of\u00a0lesser scale<\/em>. They work on individual floor designs. They\u2019re hanging art. Moving light switches. Picking paint colors.<\/p>\n They\u2019re not merely ants in the hill. They aren\u2019t automatons. They have wants and needs. Wishes and fears. They have good days and bad days. And all that\u00a0affects the design<\/em>. (The design is analogous to our plot, by the by.) Dave\u2019s had a real fuckball of a day (wife left him, dog shit in the blender, his television came alive and tried to eat him) and so he\u2019s distracted and angry. He\u2019ll screw up the light switch so that it turns on the jacuzzi, instead. He\u2019ll pick an angry paint color. By the end of the day he\u2019s just kicking holes in drywall.<\/p>\n Dave is a supporting character.<\/p>\n Dave might be peripherally aware of his supporting nature in the sense he realizes that he\u2019s not the Grand Architect, but just the same, Dave\u2019s story is his own. He\u2019s not really thinking about his role as being lesser in a\u00a0narrative<\/em>\u00a0sense. Dave is the protagonist of his own story. Dave is the beleaguered hero of his own world\u2019s mythology.<\/p>\n What that means is\u2026<\/p>\n So when we ask ourselves,\u00a0how do we conceive of and create great supporting characters<\/em>, that\u2019s our first lesson: supporting characters don\u2019t necessarily know they\u2019re supporting characters in the\u00a0story<\/em>\u00a0going on around them. We are, as people, just slightly Narcissistic, just left of solipsistic, and so it is that we are the focal points of the world. We\u2019re the pilots of our own existence and so it\u2019s tempting to believe that\u00a0all things revolve around us<\/em>\u00a0rather than us being just another celestial object caught in the orbit of something far larger, far weirder.<\/p>\n Look at it this way:<\/p>\n You go to run errands. You need to pick up the usual \u2014 milk, bread, broccoli, hamburgers, cigarettes, peyote buttons, the dry-cleaned giant rabbit costume, a birthday cake, 9mm ammo, a hang glider, nipple salve, orange juice. While out on your errands, you encounter dozens of other people, and its tempting to kind of expect and accept that they\u2019re all in this world to do\u00a0your bidding<\/em>, but that\u2019s the viewpoint of a psychopath \u2014 and so a moment\u2019s additional thought allows you to realize, oh, hey, these are all people with lives as deep and complex as my own.<\/p>\n Each person you encounter is an iceberg \u2014 a peak seen above water, but so much submerged.<\/p>\n Or, rather:<\/p>\n We don\u2019t always fall down each character\u2019s rabbit hole, but in a good story we are afforded at least a glimpse. And it\u2019s in these glimpses that many of our supporting characters exist \u2014 the audience should be granted a peek now and again into each character\u2019s heart and mind to see the complexity that lurks there. It\u2019s like peering into the\u00a0mechanics of a pocketwatch<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 you don\u2019t need to know how it works to\u00a0see<\/em>, quite plainly, that it\u2019s all very complex. A fully-realized machine, not just artifice, and yes, good, fine, you can cover that up again and go take a nap.<\/p>\n With those things in mind \u2013<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to noodle on how to create a kick-ass supporting character.<\/p>\n First, a little homework. HA HA HA I\u2019M MAKING YOU DO HOMEWORK. Ahem. Sorry.<\/p>\n Read this: the\u00a0Zero-Fuckery Guide to Creating Kick-Ass Characters<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Then, I want you to take a supporting character through those steps.\u00a0Logline\u00a0\u2192\u00a0Problem\u00a0\u2192 Solution\u00a0\u2192 Conflict\u00a0\u2192 Limitations\u00a0\u2192 Complications<\/strong>\u00a0and you can stop there, for now.<\/p>\n You can do this with one of your own characters, of course, but you might also want to take a supporting character from a beloved property and apply it \u2014 a property like, sayyy, hmm, oh, I dunno,\u00a0DIE HARD<\/strong>? Why\u00a0DIE HARD<\/strong>?\u00a0Because\u00a0DIE HARD<\/strong>. It is its own answer. So shut up.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take Sergeant Al Powell.<\/p>\n Reginald VelJohnson, baby.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a nearly perfect supporting character because he supports the protagonist and plot and\u00a0yet<\/em>also manages to be a rabbit hole \u2014 when we gaze into his hole (er, okay, that sounds weird, so let\u2019s rewrite that as,\u00a0when we look hard at his story<\/em>), we see a fully-realized character.<\/p>\n You might say his\u00a0logline<\/strong>\u00a0is, \u201cDesk jockey cop just wants to buy Twinkies and go home to his pregnant wife but is drawn into a hostage situation at Nakatomi Plaza.\u201d<\/p>\n In that, you\u2019ll find one\u00a0problem<\/strong>: \u201cWants to go home, but can\u2019t because of McClane \/ Gruber deathmatch,\u201d and you\u2019ll find that his\u00a0solution<\/strong>\u00a0is, \u201cStay and provide backup,\u201d which generates a little conflict in that he\u2019s now in mortal peril, thus casting some doubt on whether Powell will survive long enough to see the eventual birth of his child.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s really a\u00a0plot<\/em>\u00a0problem and you might find a more interesting\u00a0character<\/em>\u00a0problem<\/strong>\u00a0at the heart of Powell: he once shot and killed a kid and the\u00a0solution<\/strong>\u00a0appears to be to remain relegated to a desk. Which makes Powell\u2019s\u00a0conflict<\/strong>\u00a0more interesting \u2014 it ties the problem to the overall plot conflict (his ability to be effective in crisis is in doubt), draws another nice line to his current situation (he once killed a kid but is now having his\u00a0own<\/em>\u00a0child) and also ties perfectly to the second climax of the piece: where snarling hair model Karl emerges from the building looking like hamburger-in-a-wig and Al has to use his gun to save the day (VIOLENCE FIXES EVERYTHING).<\/p>\n In here we see his\u00a0limitations<\/strong>: he\u2019s a big man, probably out of shape, no time on the range, no time being \u201creal police\u201d lately. And\u00a0complications<\/strong>\u00a0mount, too: first he\u2019s harangued by his superior (who doubts the entire John McClane narrative), then he\u2019s gotta deal with an aggressive police department and an\u00a0even\u00a0more<\/em>\u00a0aggressive FBI.<\/p>\n Characters do things, and say stuff.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s how they create plot.<\/p>\n Sounds stupid and, at that level, it is. Still \u2014 we like to imagine plot as this external thing (exoskeleton) when really it\u2019s all internal to the characters (skeleton). Characters are why we come to the story in the first place, after all, otherwise we\u2019re just reading an IKEA instruction manual. I mean, jeez, even textbooks use\u00a0human beings\u00a0<\/em>in their examples.<\/p>\n Plot is just the result of characters being characters.<\/p>\n Example: imagine that Miranda wants to buy Monkey Chow for her pet monkey, Mister Jigglejugs, and so she goes to the store to buy Monkey Chow. Easy. A straight line. She\u2019s created a plot \u2014 it\u2019s a fucking boring plot, though, so let\u2019s safely assume that she is not actually\u00a0alone in this universe<\/em>with her plucky helper monkey, and instead let\u2019s imagine that as she\u2019s heading to the store a car crashes into the store just before she gets there.<\/p>\n Crash.<\/p>\n This event isn\u2019t random. The car isn\u2019t flung there by the hand of the Plot Lords. Someone\u2019s driving. A character with, you know,\u00a0all the character traits intrinsic to the role<\/em>. In this case the driver \u2014 who we\u2019ll call Booboo \u2014 is a raging Cheetos addict and he\u2019s all high as shit on Cheeto Dust and he\u2019s frantically trying to pick a loose Cheeto out of his crotch area when he suddenly looks up and \u2013\u00a0wham<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 he crashes his Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight into the Monkey Chow store.<\/p>\n Booboo\u2019s problem (crotch-Cheeto) collides quite literally with Miranda\u2019s problem (no more Monkey Chow). Their solutions collide, too (pick Cheeto from crotch \/ go to fetch primate food).<\/p>\n If you wanna go back to\u00a0Die Hard<\/strong>\u00a0(AND WHY WOULD YOU NOT WANT THAT), it\u2019s easy to see how the entirety of the plot isn\u2019t some external event but is entirely orchestrated by the problems and solutions of a variety of characters. They have motivations and they act on them, but those actions and motivations are not necessarily in accord with one another. McClane is there for his wife, but that line of plot is broken by the actions of one Mister Hans Gruber. The actions taken by the protagonist (McClane) and the antagonist (Gruber) are shaped by the events of all the\u00a0supporting<\/em>characters \u2014 from Argyle and his limo to Powell and his Twinkies, all the way to the pair of lunatic FBI agents and to Rick Ducommun\u2019s character turning off the power inside that manhole.<\/p>\n It\u2019s like a series of magnets pushing and pulling on one another. A flock of birds \u2014 some pulling away from the flock, others pulling toward it. Gravity and antigravity, matter and anti-matter, a series of bouncy Superballs dropped from the top of a building, a pack of rabid orangutans given comically-large rubber mallets and loosed in a shopping mall \u2013<\/p>\n Okay, I\u2019ll stop.<\/p>\n To put this all a bit differently \u2013<\/p>\n The actions of a supporting character tend to be\u00a0parallel<\/strong>\u00a0to the plot (meaning, they support it, continue it, accelerate it) or\u00a0perpendicular<\/strong>\u00a0to it (meaning they block it, challenge it, or change its course). This can be clarified a bit by seeing how this relates to the motivations of a protagonist and antagonist. A character who tends to be parallel to the protagonist\u2019s motivations will likely also run counter \u2014 meaning, perpendicular \u2014 to the antagonist\u2019s scheme. (Characters don\u2019t need to be one or the other, either; looking at a show like\u00a0The Wire<\/strong>\u00a0you\u2019ll see characters who flip somewhat regularly.)<\/p>\n In\u00a0Die Hard<\/strong>, Powell and Holly Genarro are roughly parallel to the plot.<\/p>\n The FBI fuckos and all the terrorists and even cokehead Ellis are perpendicular to it.<\/p>\n Not an exact science (none of this is meant to be), but compelling as a thought exercise.<\/p>\n Consider that every supporting character should appear for\u00a0at least<\/em> three beats in order to fulfill some kind of arc — even if it’s a subtle, small arc. A character that appears early on is best utilized again throughout the story, even if only in a minor way. These beats might be physical, tracking location and action. Or they might be intellectual and emotional, tracking that character’s change (growth\/loss).<\/p>\n In\u00a0Empire Strikes Back<\/strong>, Boba Fett gets three solid beats in the script:<\/p>\n a) the part where he shows up and Vader’s all like “NO DISINTEGRATIONS, BECAUSE JESUS WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND ALL THE DISINTEGRATIONS”<\/p>\n b) he’s got his butt-plug-shaped spaceship and he’s flying around through space-trash<\/p>\n c) he takes the giant chocolate bar that is Han Solo, doing basically none of the actual hard work in terms of capturing the smuggler — actually that raises an interesting question because, it seems like Fett was working for Vader, but then we find out he’s\u00a0also<\/em> working for Jabba? Was he double-dipping? Paid twice for one job? BOBA FETT YOU CLEVER MOTHERFUCKER.<\/p>\n I mean, clever until the fourth beat in Return of the Jedi<\/strong>, where he’s basically reverse-pooped by a giant sand-encrused desert butthole. A sad ending, really.<\/p>\n You might also suggest that the supporting character’s\u00a0level of existence<\/em> be measured across three potential tiers of engagement\/support with the story:<\/p>\n Tier #1:<\/strong> Essential and present to the story (ex: Powell in\u00a0Die Hard<\/strong>)<\/p>\n Tier #2:<\/strong> Speaking role, ~three beats, probably still essential but not all that present (ex: Argyle in\u00a0Die Hard<\/strong>)<\/p>\n Tier #3:<\/strong> Barely a speaking role, useless as a donkey with an iPhone (ex: the wasted Al Leong)<\/p>\n Supporting characters are real characters, just partially seen.<\/p>\n They have their own wants, needs, problems, solutions.<\/p>\n Their actions and dialogue create plot —<\/p>\n — particularly when pushing against those of other characters.<\/p>\n Try to give them three beats.<\/p>\n Consider how present and essential their engagement with the story.<\/p>\n Do not have them be reverse-pooped by a sandy space butthole.<\/p>\n THE END OKAY BYE<\/p>\n *disappears in a puff of Twinkies and Monkey Chow*<\/p>\n <\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Oh, the poor supporting character. The best friend. The lab assistant. The cab driver. The sex gimp. How shitty they must feel, you know? \u201cHey, we\u2019re all blocks of flesh in the storytelling pyramid, meant to uphold the protagonist. Hey, pass me another bucket of plot, willya? I\u2019m getting dry. What\u2019s that? The antagonist\u00a0stole\u00a0the bucket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-theramble","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-5MN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22245"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22434,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22245\/revisions\/22434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}All Characters Think They’re The Protagonist<\/h2>\n
Every Character Is A Rabbit Hole<\/h2>\n
How Characters Create Plot<\/h2>\n
Parallel or Perpendicular?<\/h2>\n
Three Beats<\/h2>\n
Three Tiers<\/h2>\n
To Sum Up:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm7.staticflickr.com\/6145\/5939706319_a15076410f_n.jpg?resize=213%2C320\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm7.staticflickr.com\/6045\/6302650654_96dee442b5_n.jpg?resize=213%2C320\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7048\/6871822355_cf78feb7a8_n.jpg?resize=213%2C320\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7245\/7338313214_dcae9e967b_n.jpg?resize=213%2C320\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3512\/5709891080_7b74df06e1_n.jpg?resize=213%2C320\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm7.staticflickr.com\/6077\/6069244948_38024723bf_n.jpg?resize=213%2C320\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"