Ever write a scene and struggle with a supporting character, especially the villain? They seem flat, one-dimensional? Or the conflict between this character and the protagonist isn’t palatable on the page?
In my work-in-progress, Love at the Mayo, my protagonist, Celine Monroe, has left her boyfriend. (Finally!) Since she left abruptly, he confronts her at her office. Although he’s an emotional abuser and selfish, I wanted to ensure he didn’t come off as just a villain who only exists to create tension and conflict. I wanted him to have an arc beyond his inflated ego, where we see his pain, especially when he confronts Celine.
But how do you pull that off, especially when writing in the first person? When the narrator is his ex-girlfriend who doesn’t think he has deep convictions or worthy of her sympathy.
Write a craft scene from his POV.
After I wrote the scene from her POV, I wrote the same scene from his. I was amazed. By seeing things through his lens, I could clearly feel his hurt, angst, and disgust.
It became easier to write his character. So, in the confrontational scene, I focused on a large abstract painting hanging over Celine’s head. He thinks that she cheated on him with the painter who created the abstract. So, he glares at the painting with pain and anger. When she denies his accusation of cheating on him, he’s disgusted she’d have the audacity to lie. Why else would she suddenly move out and leave him with only a note? He was the best thing in her life.
He doesn’t relent about feeling wronged in the relationship and taken for granted. So when she argues that he was neglectful, unloving, and selfish, he interprets these words as lies, proving she’s unstable, cruel, and self-absorbed.
I was relieved to see more of his perspective and had fun re-writing the scene, weaving his actions, his snide comments fueled by hurt, and his obsession with the painting. While I don’t condone his behavior, at least, I can provide him some humanity.
Let’s try this in an Exercise:
1.) Find a point in your manuscript where a supporting character needs more dimension or just isn’t to clear.
2.) Write a scene where this character is interacting with your main character, but write it from the supporting character’s POV. Let us know what they think is going on and what they think of the other characters around them. And tell us what they’re feeling.
3.) Now input this perspective into your actual scene.
4.) Record your observations. Did this supporting character have more depth? Did you discover how they felt, what they are thinking? Did writing from this character’s POV enhance your scene?
What did you discover from this exercise? Please share in the Comments below. Thank you!
Featured Photo by Matthew Hamilton on Unsplash