Secondary Characters

Secondary Characters are essentially those characters who are not the protagonist or antagonist. In the worlds of romance, secondary characters tend to be any character (other than the villian) who is not the hero or heroine. These characters inhabit the story and are fully drawn, but are the not the primary focus of the novel.

In romance, one concern writers face is creating secondary characters that are more compelling than the main characters. One reason for this is the tendency to make romance heroes and heroines too perfect, while secondary characters are more flawed.

Books with great secondary characters include Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Dream A Little Dream.