The different categories your characters fall into help determine their role in the story.

Let's begin with protagonists and side characters.

What is the difference between a protagonist and a side character?

The protagonist is the main character of the story — the character who has the most screen time and usually serves as the anchor point of view. Even if your story includes the perspectives of multiple characters, there should be one that is most heavily focused on. This is the character who should be the most fleshed out.

Side characters (or secondary characters) can still be lead players in your story, there just is not quite as much investment in them. Your side characters should still have backstories, motivations, and a sense of agency in the plot. Don't let them just fill the pages. Give them a reason to be there!

What makes a good protagonist?

Protagonists can be on any side of the moral spectrum: good, grey, evil. They can really have any type of personality too. What is most important is giving the character a unique perspective on the world around them. A protagonist is memorable and interesting to read about when they have a distinct view on their surroundings. This outlook is usually a result of the past you've built for them, which is why backstories and motivations are a helpful tool in forming their identity.

What makes a good side character?

Side characters shouldn't feel like side characters. They should act as if they are the protagonist of their own story. While you won't spend as much time developing them in comparison to your protagonist, they should still have different perspectives that give them a feeling of individualism. It is up to you how deeply you flesh out their backgrounds and motivations, but usually the more you can do to make them their own person, the better!

What is the difference between an antagonist and a villain?

An antagonist is more of a plot role than a character type. It does not have to be strictly evil. They simply are working in opposition to the protagonist and their goals. The antagonist is not always human, either. In The Siren's Curse, the main antagonist is the curse itself.

A villain is usually the antagonist, but occasionally, they are the protagonist of the story instead. A villain is a character type, and is the bad person who usually instigates the main conflict.

What makes a good antagonist or villain?
* assuming the antagonist is a character

Antagonists most often should have a backstory and motivation for their goal just as the protagonist does. One way to check if your antagonist is strong is to imagine flipping their role to the protagonist of the story — are they a character with enough depth to gain interest from the reader, even if their goal is evil?

We'll be covering more concrete steps to building your characters in the coming chapters.