Can supporting characters sometimes be more fun to write?
Ever written a supporting character you end up falling in love with? You know, the one with a quirky personality or abrasive manner or even an annoying trait such as always being late/rude/unreliable.
My theory is that for some reason we feel a certain freedom in giving the supporting character the traits we don’t feel the main character should have. It allows us a certain license because we don’t have to look at them too closely and can gloss over any drawbacks that kind of personality may have.
This of course can lead to very colourful and engaging characters we don’t want to let go. In my first book I wrote in an octogenarian private investigator. She only had a relatively small part, but I loved her so much I gave her the lead role in my second book.
Have you written or read a supporting character you like so much they’ve stuck with you?