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Sep 22, 2020 · The three common ‘levels’ of characters are primary, secondary, and tertiary characters. These aren’t titles you’ll prescribe to them in your story, but it can make your plotting and story development a little smoother behind-the-scenes.
- Protagonist. The protagonist is likely a pretty familiar concept for most of us: this is the main character, the big cheese, the star of the show. Most of the action centers around them, and they’re the one we’re meant to care about the most.
- Antagonist. If you’re an antagonist, you antagonize — it’s what you do. Specifically, you undermine, thwart, battle, or otherwise oppose one character: the protagonist.
- Deuteragonist. Most stories have a primary protagonist and a secondary deuteragonist (or group of deuteragonists). This is the character who’s not exactly in the spotlight, but pretty close to it.
- Tertiary characters. The reason that tertiary characters aren’t called “tertagonists” is because they’re not important enough to really agonize anything or anyone.
In the hierarchy of characters, a tertiary character is one level down from a secondary character, who is one level down from your primary character—your hero. If all eyes are on the hero, the secondary characters are slightly less in focus, and then the tertiary characters fill out your worldbuilding from the story’s fringe.
Secondary main characters, also known as deuteragonists, are the most important characters after the protagonist. They’re present in a good part of the story, and their role is almost as important as that of the main characters, but without carrying the final weight of the main plot.
Nov 13, 2020 · A secondary character is someone who plays a significant role in your book(s), but your plot doesn’t revolve around them. They probably get dragged into it by your main character, though. Subplots usually revolve around secondary characters, too.
Apr 16, 2019 · If a significant part of a story is established or pushed along by a personality, then we’re talking about a secondary character. And a tertiary character? Well, those critters are barely characters at all.
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Apr 2, 2019 · A major difference between the main character and secondary characters is that you're not in the head of a secondary character. You have to use a different point of view, such as: The main character's impressions or observations of the secondary. The narrator's impressions or observations of the secondary.
