.
We do love us a backlist post -- and this one from Kim Falconer is Grade A! We invite you to read on and enjoy. :-)
Supernatural Sidekickin'
This month, I want to explore the qualities of a 'good' sidekick/wing woman/man, what traits they have, their roles in the storytelling and how to write them.
Buffy -- & the Sidekicks!
What Sidekicks Are Good For
Back story:
A well written, three dimensional sidekick can help with back story,
allowing the reader to see and hear about things that came before page
one without wading through heavy exposition. We see this in Star Wars
with the sidekick Chewbacca, where his adventures in the past with Han
Solo help shape our understanding of the man. Also in the sidekicks
C-3PO and R2-D2. We learn much about the world through their commentary.
World Building:
The sidekick can represent a culture or social group as Gimli and Legolas do in Lord of the Rings.
Gollum, a 'minor' character, but with a major goal, provides a talking
point for the long and complex history of the ring. What life was like
in the past, the roots of the hobbits as a people. He is kind of an
'anti-skidekick' to the anti-hero Frodo.
Contrast:
The sidekick can have different values, ethics, goals and motivations,
making for a contrast to the main protagonist. Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries,
for example, hasn't much of a moral compass. At all. His buddy Alaric
Saltzman, however, does, and watching that friendship grow is a measure
of the main character's arc and emotional evolution.
Alaric & Damon
Humor and wit:
The protagonist has to be pretty serious at times, playing it 'straight'
as they work out how to fight the baddy, retrieve the lost treasure and
save the day. The sidekick, however, is free to use wit and humor at
times when the hero cannot. We see this in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
with Xander (one of Buffy's many sidekicks). She may be in deep
emotional angst and he can pop a one-liner that lifts the moment without
throwing away her feelings.
Throw-aways:
Similar to wit and humor, there are times when a scene is too
intense, deep or meaningful and the sidekick can be just the one to
lighten it all with a 'throw-away' line. Clive and Ravi do this on iZombie
when Liv is too deep into the fact that she is dead, turned into a
zombie and has to eat brains to survive. It can turn a scene around in a
flash.Xander & Buffy
Liv, iZombie
Freedom of Speech:
The sidekick can say things the hero might be thinking, or wish they could say, but can't. In the Quantum Enchantment Series,
Rosette has a sentient familiar, a temple cat who links with her
telepathically. She might be having a conversation with a mentor or
rival while her familiar does a running commentary on the whole thing,
adding a new element to the scene.
The "Quantum" series
Sympathy:
The hero may also relate to the sidekick in ways they can't to others,
allowing the reader to gain more compassion or understanding. This works
especially well for main characters that are not fully sympathetic.
Eric Northman's compassion for his progeny, Pam, is an example from True Blood, aka Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries.
Eric, True Blood
Writing the Sidekick
The first question to answer when developing a sidekick in the story is why are they there? They have to move the plot forward, be part of the part of the story. They also have to have their own GMC - goals, motivations and conflicts, internal and external. In a shorter work, these won't be explored to a great depth, but with novel length stories and series, there is room for these subplots to be woven.
...
To read the full post, click here
