All About Characters, pt. 2
*This is a continuation of last week’s post. If you haven’t read it yet, click here!*
There are other roles to put in your story that can be optional, if you so choose. I like to include these next three roles because it helps flesh out a story and make it believable. You can write a story with just the three roles from last week’s post, but in my opinion it doesn’t feel like a full story without the Love Interest, the Best Friend, and the Mentor.
Love Interest: the Moon to Your Star
Everyone loves a Love Interest. There are so many different options for the Love Interest role, such as a damsel in distress or a fiercely independent business person…and anyone in between!
In my opinion, a great Love Interest provides the Main Character with something they’re missing. Maybe your Main Character is impulsive or hard headed; the Love Interest will be there to calm them down. Maybe your Main Character is confident and has a big ego; the Love Interest is there to bring them back down to Earth. Whatever the yin is for your Main Character, your Love Interest should be their yang.
A Love Interest doesn’t have to be there strictly for a romance plot, either. They can be the driving force for the entire story, such as Princess Peach getting captured by Bowser. They can be the villain, like Katherine from The Vampire Diaries. Sometimes, the Main Character doesn’t even end up with the Love Interest! The longing for a relationship can be the driving force for the plot, if you want it to be so.
Love Interests are optional, but I enjoy having them in my stories. I like to write about the intricacies of relationships (both platonic and romantic), so having a Love Interest in all of my stories is a given. I believe you can have a strong story without one. However, having a romantic B-plot is always an option, and if you focus on intertwining the main plot and the love story, it can make for a great read!
Best Friend: The Sidekick
Just like how everyone loves a Love Interest, everyone loves a Best Friend. The Best Friend role can almost be filled within any other role, or stand alone as a separate entity.
When developing and writing the Best Friend, I tend to think of my own friends and how their differences and similarities to myself enhance my life and decision making. Best Friends shouldn’t be “yes men” (that makes them Cronies…for the villain that is usually okay, but Main Characters deserve more intelligent company). Best Friends should be able to say “no” to the Main Character if the story calls for it, and they should be able to stand by the Main Character in their time of need. Best Friends always come back to help the Main Character through, no matter what. Of course, if the story calls for betrayal, that Best Friend can become a villain, maybe even the main antagonist! Like I said before, the Best Friend can take on almost any other role you’d like them to. They are the chameleon character!
Ron Weasley, Robin, Willow Rosenberg, and so many more great examples are available to look at for inspiration for the Best Friend role. Just like Love Interests, there are so many different types of Best Friend. I suggest, however, looking within your own friend group to find the dynamic between your characters. Real life examples have never steered me in the wrong direction!
Mentor: The Helpful Guide
Last but not least, the Mentor. Mentors act as guides towards the end goal of the Main Character’s journey. They can take the form of a teacher, a wizard, a parent, whomever. They don’t always have to be an authority figure, but they usually are to give the character a more realistic voice. After all, if your equal were to tell you exactly what you need to do to win, you might brush them off. A Mentor can say the exact same thing and because of their life experience (that you, the writer, created), the Main Character may take them more seriously.
Honestly, Mentors are important in fantasy settings in my opinion, but not so much everywhere else. I have seen really bad tropes in writing, and Mentors toe that line in fantasy in particular (look up ‘the Wizard’ writing trope and you’ll find every fantasy plot you know being dissected and destroyed, trust me). It’s important to remember that if a character doesn’t move the plot forward and is just there to cheerlead your Main Character, you are allowed to rewrite (and even cut) said character. The Mentor usually gets the axe from me whenever I am writing, but I don’t tend to write in high fantasy settings. Use the Mentor as you see fit!
In the novel I’m writing now, the manager of the band my Main Character acts as a Mentor of sorts, teaching the three band mates how to survive in the chaotic world of show business. I modeled him after teachers I had in school, as well as my own parents. Piecing together his character has been one of the more interesting parts of writing the novel, but I feel like it’ll pay off!
Mentors exist to help your characters stand on their own during the climax of the story. While they are sometimes unneeded in a plot, they are great for ensuring the story goes as planned. Take caution with your Mentor character, however! They are not the all-knowing eye, nor are they the deus ex machina that swoops in and saves the day with their wisdom.
Having a solid plot is important when writing in a Mentor figure. They are there to help you see the plot to the end…the Main Character learns from them and acts accordingly. At the end of the day, it’s their story, not the Mentor’s!
I really hope this two part mini series on characters helps future writers with their story development! Like I said last week, I would’ve liked to see another amateur writer explain characters in this way. I’m sure someone out there feels the same!
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