Want an Unforgettable Protagonist? Your Minor Characters Are the Secret

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Explains one of the reasons Deputy Barney Fife was such a great character was because of the other minor characters on the show—and how you can use your minor characters to make your protagonist even more amazing.

Historical and speculative novelist K.M. Weiland offers tips and essays about the writing life to help other writers understand the ins and outs of the craft and the psychology behind the inspiration.

This week’s video explains one of the reasons Deputy Barney Fife was such a great character was because of the other minor characters on the show—and how you can use your minor characters to make your protagonist even more amazing.

Video Transcript: Your characters are the basic puzzle pieces in any story. You’re going to have anywhere from a couple to dozens of minor characters—all of whom are important because of their relationship to the protagonist. Need somebody to help your protagonist or get in your protagonist’s way—or just somebody for him to talk to? All you gotta do is introduce one of those minor characters. But in doing so, make sure not to overlook one of your best opportunities for revealing layers of depth in your protagonist.

So what is this great opportunity? It rests within the kind of relationship your protagonist has with each of the minor characters. You want variety. You want your protagonist’s relationship with each of the minor characters to be different. You want each minor character to reflect upon your protagonist in a way that is totally different from all the other characters. And if he isn’t creating a different kind of relationship, then you have to ask yourself why he’s in there at all.

The classic sitcom The Andy Griffith Show is a brilliant example of this. Sidekick Deputy Barney Fife is often a protagonist in his own right. It’s worthwhile to note how different his relationships are with the other characters. You’ve got the sheriff Andy Taylor, who is Barney’s superior, whom Barney looks up to, but to whom he’s also always trying to prove himself an equal. That’s the main relationship. But then you’ve got the dopey filling station attendant Gomer Pyle, who in turn blindly looks up to Barney and whom Barney clearly relishes treating as his sidekick. And then there’s the town drunk Otis Campbell, to whom Barney obviously feels superior but who refuses, much to Barney’s frustration, to take any guff off Barney. And the list goes on and on. Not only does this provide the show with many varied opportunities for conflict, it also does a wonderful job developing the main character of Barney by showing him reacting to many different kinds of relationships. Give it a try in your story.