Day 14
For the past two days we’ve played with protagonists and antagonists/villains. But these are not the only characters who appear in a story.
The Prompt
Write a story that includes a sidekick
Tips
- secondary characters play a vital rule in a short story: they highlight characteristics of the main character
- You must resist the temptation to give a secondary character/sidekick their own interesting story in this short story. This is not a novel.
- I use the word “sidekick” in the title for this post for a reason. A sidekick is an almost cartoonish, two-dimensional character. Of course this character does have a life of their own. You’re just not telling that story in this story.
- The entire purpose of a sidekick is to ask the difficult questions, to let the protagonist show off, and perhaps to be rescued.
- Think of Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes, or any of the assistants in the 80s episodes of Doctor Who. Their main functions are to show Sherlock Holmes and The Doctor as the geniuses they are. The sidkicks mostly slow down the brilliant characters’ pace so the reader/viewer can keep up.
- Sidekicks introduce complications (think of all those twisted ankles and all the times a sidekick blunders into a trap and has to be rescued).
- Sidekicks ask the difficult questions questions (such as “why don’t we just got back in the TARDIS and fly away?”).
- They can also point out your characters flaws something that the modern Doctor Who’s assistants do very nicely.
- Write a story in which you give your sidekick who can show off the protagonists best features, draw attention to their flaws, and perhaps even cause complications in the story.
Leave a comment to let us know how you got on today. What kind of sidekick did you write? Or, if you’re using your own prompts, how’s the challenge going? What are you writing? What’s going well?
My sidekick is helping my character through a tough time. Hehehe.
https://lindaghillfiction.com/2016/09/14/pler-plerpex-perpul/
Here’s today’s piece with a sidekick, kind of: https://fallonbrownwrites.wordpress.com/story-a-day-september-2016/story-a-day-september-day-14-rough-patch/
Not sure I handled the sidekick right, he’s really more of a mentor. But, I think I’m going to like this side character(he only showed up when I was writing Xavier’s back story).
Love sidekicks. But never realized how important they are outside the classic Caped Crusader universe… and Whoniverse. …
https://atomicindigo.wordpress.com/2016/05/14/the-doctors-companion/
Well, here’s what the sidekick really thinks about being “the sidekick”: https://storiesin5minutes.wordpress.com/2016/05/14/not-just-a-sidekick-storyaday-post/
After all the arrogance and angst of the last two days, what a relief to have my comedic sidekick – who is actually a comic with schizophrenia. He definitely is an antidote to darkness! =)
This gets just a bit saucy.
https://shanjeniah.com/2016/05/19/robin-kissing-batman-stad-kifo-project-for-may-14/
I’m catching up today, I almost gave up but, decided we’re almost to the halfway point. I’ve done it! I’ll catch up with all your stories fellow wordsmiths over the weekend.
https://theencouragingscribe.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/story-a-day-the-sidekick/
Finally posting this, after some work:
https://notwhereilive.wordpress.com/2016/05/14/story-a-day-may-day-fourteen/
Had fun with this one. Your prompt prompted me to make it cartoony. And sci fi. Had fun with writing in that genre, as it’s not my norm. kind of a parody like the Dr. Who example you gave.
The sidekick is the assistant of the lead character. But in reality, the assistant has his own visions of grandeur. Day 14. Yey.
a story told through the sidekick’s pov – https://promptlywritten.wordpress.com/2016/05/14/braving-on-flash-fiction/
I think Connie the Sidekick is just what Gwen needs: https://only100words.xyz/2016/05/14/connie-wants-to-be-a-sidekick/
Here is my attempt at this one… https://angietrafford.wordpress.com/2016/05/14/story-a-day-day-fourteen/
I used the sidekick prompt to write the second part in a serial story I started this month called Digging Graves. (Link is live Sunday afternoon, 4PM CST.) http://adanramie.com/2016/05/15/digging-graves-part-2-serial-sunday/