October 26, 2025

Why Secondary Characters Need Private Lives

Secondary characters fail when they exist only to serve the protagonist's development.

Readers sense that artificiality immediately, even if they cannot name it.

I try to give every recurring character a private pressure the lead cannot fully see.

That hidden life changes line choices, silences, and loyalties in subtle ways.

In practice, this means writing short character notes that never appear in the final text.

They are not for the reader; they are for the integrity of the scene.

Clive