A pleasant companion will reduce the length of the journey.

—Publilius Syrus

Every protagonist needs a sidekick. Sidekicks serve myriad purposes. They can serve as:

  • confidantes
  • mirrors to your hero’s emotions
  • challenges your heroine’s assumptions, beliefs, decisions
  • court jesters
  • wing men
  • back-up
  • sub-plots
  • and more….

Write a character description of your protagonist’s sidekick, and don’t forget to include all the ways in which that character can serve not only the protagonists, but also the plot (and sub-plots).