In the majority of cases, your main character is going to have people. Humans are social creatures, so it's only natural for them to not be alone. A lot of times, you find main characters with 0-2 friends. Real people have other people in their lives, even if you don't use them as characters. Here are some examples of characters you can use to beef up your MC's social life.
The Bestie: Usually, a main character has a best friend (if your MC is a high school student especially). This is just what I notice in a lot of other people's stories. But it makes sense. The majority of people have 1-3 best friends that they text and hang out with, someone they tell all their secrets to even though another friend said don't tell anyone. These characters should be involved in your story at least a little bit. Your main character is close to this person, so naturally, they'd have some interaction.
Family: In some situations, your MC may not have any family. But if you're working with a teen in a suburban neighborhood, you're likely to have 1-2 parents and maybe a sibling or two. They don't have to be important to your story line if you're worried about them interfering, but if your character has family, they would be someone he or she worries about when facing danger or something along the lines of this. Family can pose as an obstacle. Maybe your teen MC can't go to their friend's house, aka a secret meeting for demon vanquishers, because they flunked Math. Maybe the demons kidnapped your brother and you need to go save him. Like the Bestie, family is close to the MC and should be involved in the story at least a little.
The Name-Drop Ghost Friends: Your main character may have a handful of friends and acquaintances that never influence the story line at all. If you want to give the illusion of your MC having a lot of friends, drop a few names of people that will never actually be shown. "I was supposed to meet Joe, Tyler, and Rachel yesterday." Who cares who Joe, Tyler, and Rachel are? But it tells the reader that you know these people. If you're meeting them, and you're on a first name basis, they're probably friends.
The Foil: Not a necessary character type, but fun to have. The foil highlights your MC's strengths and weaknesses by being opposite of them. This doesn't have to be any specific character (friend, family, enemy). An example from Shakespeare is Romeo and Benvolio. Benvolio (Romeo's cousin) is Romeo's foil. He highlights Romeo's romantic sentiments by not being a romantic at all. Also, by being a clear-headed, rational thinker, he makes Romeo's rash and hasty decisions even more apparent.
The Comic Relief: This is the guy that's there to loosen the tense moments. This is the funny guy that cracks a few jokes every now and then. This doesn't have to be any specific character (friend, family, enemy).
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Writing Tips and Techniques (Writing Help)
RandomWriting help from an English/Creative Writing major. This is practically a free writing class. It's full of useful writing tips and tricks that I've picked up in my writing career/common mistakes found while editing others' work. I hope you can find...
