the major-ness of minor characters

keekum · Jun 22, 2009

so, i'm working on a story right now with a very complex plotline, so much that i've had to rewrite my outline a couple times and i went through and wrote profiles of all my main characters. but i've found that even though i know most of my major characters, there are several minor ones that i've had to invent as i go, just for functional purposes, but then i sit them down with my MCs and have them share their stories and realize that they could play a much more major role than i intended. not only that, but i figure so many important things out as i'm getting to know my own minor characters (and most of the time i'm getting to know them at the same time my MCs are). they're like humble sages, guiding me through the total realization of my story. it's incredible, how the writing process quite literally has a life of its own. i think in most of the stories i've written, my minor characters are some of my favorites. i teach high school english, and i always spend some time focusing on minor characters in literature just because i think they're often a lot more important than people think.

so, has anyone else had an interesting experience featuring a minor character? or just invented a minor character that you come to love almost as much as (if not more than) your MCs? do you agree/disagree that minor characters can, in fact, be important?

ORION · Jun 22, 2009

My minor characters just appear when I need them. Often times they combine with other minor characters to form a new one. I do find that I overwrite them at first so I know where they fit into the story and then ordinarily much will be cut except for a few lines that give the character depth. Marty the diesel mechanic is an example of one in LOTTERY.

Caramia · Jun 22, 2009

I think of it kinda like an ensemble cast. Each character has an important part to play and all deserve their own turn with the spotlight, even if it is a second's worth of time. If they are important enough to be given a name and a spot within my 'cast of characters' file, there is a reason. Been really enjoying seeing which ones are stealing the show and which ones prefer their spot in the quiet corner. They compliment each other perfectly

Apsu · Jun 22, 2009

Yeah, I'm on the first rewrite (I'm anticipating more) of my first novel. I've been enjoying the artistic side of things more this time around. I really pushed the first draft through. I felt sick, like I had to vomit and writing was the only thing that got it out, but at the end of the process, I mostly just had a big mess.

Now things are really coming alive, and discovering secrets of minor characters is definitely a part of the fun. I get the same thing with painting though. Often, other people see a whole picture when looking at a painting, but during the slow process of painting each line, certain things come alive which are hard to put into words. But I tend to focus and explore them; they're really where the joy of the art comes alive for me.

Writing a novel feels very similar. At least it does in the second draft. I'm crafting more now, looking at the details and understanding (often remembering) why they're there and what they imply. Not just characters, but places, scenes, landscapes -- all kinds of elements are coming alive in ways that truly take me away. I tend to spend 30 minutes, to sometimes an hour, trying to get into my book so I can write, and then, while looking over what's already there, I just get sucked in by the details that are coming more and more to life as I work with them.

ChaosTitan · Jun 22, 2009

Most of my minor characters are nothing more than names and vague descriptions during the first draft. As I write and rewrite, they tend to come alive much more vividly. A completely throw-away minor character who is only seen in the final few chapters of one book ends up a strong supporting character in the next two books. She's actually become one of my favorites.

Matera the Mad · Jun 22, 2009

My #1 MC started out in life as an instantly made-up minor character. He was so intriguing...then he took over. Then he wanted his own novel.

Diana W. · Jun 22, 2009

I just created what was intended to be a minor character but she's demanding to be a major player in the finale.

KTC · Jun 22, 2009

I have a character in my YA that I am madly in love with. She's a middle aged spinster and she's a hoot and a laugh riot and crazier than a cut cat. I love her. She pops in for five minutes near the beginning and then for five minutes near the end. My 8 readers while writing the story said "you must have her appear later...I don't care how you do it...but you have to!" SO...I did. I found her irresistible. She wrote herself. I don't feel it an insult that my readers tell me she is one of the most memorable characters in the manuscript. For me...every single character that I place on the page is of the utmost of importance--both the stars and the extras.

ishtar'sgate · Jun 22, 2009

keekum said:
so, has anyone else had an interesting experience featuring a minor character? or just invented a minor character that you come to love almost as much as (if not more than) your MCs? do you agree/disagree that minor characters can, in fact, be important?

Yes, I had one of my minor characters begin to grab more of the spotlight than I intended for him. Unfortunately he was slated for the chopping block and I was awfully sorry to have to kill him off. But - that was his part. :Shrug:

Pepper · Jun 22, 2009

A character I thought was going to be a blip on the page suddenly turned into a major driving factor to the story. Sure caught me by surprise!

I think that's part of what makes writing fun- stumbling across ways to make the story stronger, linking every player until the plot becomes an intricate web. Plus, the moments of "Huzzah! That's GENIUS!" are priceless

KCathy · Jun 22, 2009

My critique group worried, at first, that a couple of my minor characters would take over the story because they were more interesting/likable than my protags. My groupies haven't mentioned it lately, so I'm hoping that's resolved itself as the main characters have had a chance to come to life more fully. But geez, I'm having so much fun with my minors that I'm giving them a romance and dead family members and everything.

I have to be careful not to let them steal the spotlight and take home Beyonce's Oscar.

maestrowork · Jun 22, 2009

Sometimes minor characters are the best because they don't have the burden on their shoulders like the main characters, so they can have fun or do what they do.

And remember, every character thinks they're the star of their stories.

There are a couple of minor characters in The Pacific Between that my readers absolutely love, and I had fun writing them. And there are a few minor characters in my WIP that I adore.

James D. Macdonald · Jun 22, 2009

Minor characters will save your life.

Just try to win a chess game without your pawns.

Rufus Coppertop · Jun 22, 2009

I've found that some of my minor characters are taking on lives of their own to the extent that they're now going to be at the end, participating in the climax because ... well ...because they're major characters as far as they are concerned.

KTC · Jun 23, 2009

James D. Macdonald said:
Minor characters will save your life.

Just try to win a chess game without your pawns.

That's why my 13 year-old son annihilates my front line first! He is ruthless. Me thinks he has figured out the importance of minor characters! (-;

calley · Jun 23, 2009

I <3 minor characters. They're the ones I never plan for, that just hop in when it's natural and lead the way through scenes.

Aggy B. · Jun 23, 2009

A minor character in my first draft turned into a major player by the third draft with a plot that parallels the MC's.

keekum · Jun 23, 2009

ORION said:
I do find that I overwrite them at first so I know where they fit into the story and then ordinarily much will be cut except for a few lines that give the character depth.

i can see that. i have a pattern that has emerged in my WIP where minor characters sit down and share their histories with the MC, around a fire, sitting on a bench, at the dinner table, what have you. in a way, i like it, because it helps provide background for the overall situation in my story, but at the same time it tends to break the "show-don't-tell" philosophy. i may end up cutting a lot of it in the rewrite, but at the moment it helps if only to give me a better sense of the story...

Perks · Jun 23, 2009

It's fun to remember that they are the major character of their own story, and then write them accordingly.

OpheliaRevived · Jun 23, 2009

I have to be careful not to confuse a minor character's amazing back story with their significance in the over all plot line. While the back story motivates said characters, I have to constantly remind myself that said minor character might not *ever* reveal his or her back story to anyone. [shrug]

errantruth · Jun 26, 2009

Mmmm. Nice. I've had that with a couple of mine in my WIP.

I had a minor character who guides the MC early on, but I realized I had to toss him out as that scene and the ones leading to it were basically a waste of space. Since he was the only character at the time with his own voice--and dialogue continues to be something I need to work on--I held off on removing him to the scrap folder for a little while.

(Okay, the underlying reason was to prop up my frail ego by finishing the manuscript and accumulating feel-happy word count before I delete entire chapters and re-read parts that are truly crap, to be more brutally honest.)

Then BOOM, I was lying about considering potential next steps for the plot, etc, and then I realized how to make him vital. And he's just acquired a pre-existing minor character as a daughter, both of whom have a backstory upon which the entire story rests--conflict, mystery, everything. Basically, he now has a role that needs playing. The story can't happen without him. He's the spark. Hurrah! Still minor, still barely appears, but the whole thing is n% stronger. Yay!

TheUnknownAuthor · Jun 28, 2009

In my most recent WIP I had a minor character that was going to be a minor info-dump and then was going to be "disposed of". But as I was writing the first chapter he became really easy to write for and I was able to use him to bring humor in an otherwise dark section of my book. He lasted a LOT longer then I originally planned and when he was "disposed of" I actually felt sad about it.

Nateskate · Jun 29, 2009

Interesting topic.

This is a philosophical viewpoint. In my head, all characters truely exist- in my fantasy world that is. And because of that, they all have a story, a history, and we may or may not get to know them.

Minor characters have become major characters, simply because at a point they demanded to be developed, and fleshed out.

So, none are truely minor- they're simply mysteries that pass by.

the major-ness of minor characters

keekum

ORION

Sailed away years ago

Caramia

Alliteration Afflicted

Apsu

Orange

ChaosTitan

Around

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

Diana W.

I'm evolving

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

ishtar'sgate

living in the past

Pepper

I IS PRANCING

KCathy

Writer when I grow up

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

Rufus Coppertop

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

calley

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

keekum

Perks

delicate #!&@*#! flower

OpheliaRevived

Real Men Have Gills

errantruth

TheUnknownAuthor

Nateskate