Introducing new characters

New Characters

Coco82 said:

How do you feel about introducing new characters, or are there any particular rules pertaiing to this or is it up the author?

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In my totally non-expert opinion, it depends on a lot of things.

It's ultimately up to the author but needs to be believable. I assume you're speaking of introducing characters in the middle of a story. If this is wrong let me know.

For some characters I like to introduce them as minor early and bring them out later. In one WIP I have military involved, and some of the junior officers in this will be main characters in the next book after the others have moved on to other things.

Sometimes you can just bring a character in for the element of surprise, but when I'm reading I feel there has to be a very good reason for it. Otherwise I'm left with the feeling that the author just took the easy way out and brought them in to fill a hole in the plot.

Possibly have them interact with a main character first, for example one could start dating a character you already have, or work with them or something.

Hope that rambling helps some!
Jonathon

I don't think there are any rules for that. They come and go as they're needed. It's like in a movie or a play: "Enters Character X (25), beautiful girl." Sometimes they're mentioned in other characters' dialogue before they appear, sometimes not. Whatever works for the story.

Think of Star Wars:

1. Luke appears when the story calls for him...
2. Darth Vader is mentioned or hinted at (I think) before he appears on screen.
3. Leia appears when the story calls for her -- but we don't know who she is at that point (suspense). It's only later that we know who she is.
4. Han doesn't even appear until mid-way into the movie.
5. Obi-Wan appears when the story calls for him, but he is mentioned in Leia's message...
6. Yoda is nowhere to be found.
7. C3PO and R2D2 are introduced when the story calls for them.
7. Other minor characters also come and go when they have a part in the story...

How do you actually introduce them when they appear? A brief description is good enough. If the role is major, you might want to spend a little more time with him/her, but not at the expense of the story. In the case of Leia, for example, a brief description is good enough the first we see her. Later, when she has a bigger part, then we can describe her a little more in details...

One of my characters is referred to twice (once each by two characters) before he appears "onscreen." This establishes his reputation before the reader gets to know him for herself, so it colors her view of him. This could be useful when you want the reader to have a different interpretation of events than the viewpoint character has. mwahahaha and all that.

The usual advice (UJ has mentioned it on a few occasions in the Learn Writing thread, but I've also seen it, or variants, elsewhere) is that all the major characters should be introduced in the first hundred pages.

I've also heard "In the first third of the book", which might be how Susanna Clarke gets away with introducing Jonathan Strange after that point in a book where he's a titular character -- but for most people, the first hundred pages *is* the first third of the book.

But like all rules, there's a corollary - if obeying the rule damages your book, then don't obey it. The trick is understanding the structure and characters well enough first. I've introduced a significant character later than that (But then, I haven't sold the novel in question yet, so many grains of salt encouraged)

Good point.

In my first book, all of my major characters show up before page 50.

In my second book, however, it's more tricky, because the events span more than 75 years. There are major characters that show up at various spots of the timeline. I don't think it's necessary to introduce all the major players until they're needed, in that case.

i introduce them as needed. without having put the thought behind it, in my WIP one of the main side-characters isn't seen until halfway through, and not even hinted at because the protagonist doesn't know he exists just yet. it's the only story i've ever done, i think, where the point of introduction may be a source of contention with readers. instead, there's just a hint earlier about this alternate way of life, but beyond that there's nothing. when the protag discovers these people, that's where the book runs off a cliff, hopefully in a good way.

it's rather like life, eh? i mean, you *hear* about people all the time, and sometimes you come to meet them in person. others just pop in out of the blue, depart something or take something away, and you never see them again. from a dramatic standpoint, it's probably usually best to build the character's arrival up with some foreshadowing or drop a hint. then again, not knowing the sidekick has a sister who just drops in from the sky can work well, too, if that's the dramatic element you're shooting for.

but, rules? probably nothing written in stone, rather some techniques are better than others, and even then it probably greatly depends on the situation. for example, how many seasons did it take to get to know 'the smoking man' in the 'x-files' show? he was always around, though. on the flip-side, seems that one staple of romance writing is introducing the male through his reputation, creating a whole instant profile for the reader, upon the first time the chick sees him from across the room. 'she saw that raif wellington mingling with the prettiest of women, confirming what rachel had always heard about him being a womanizer. she decided to steer clear of men like that... but his eyes demanded her attention.' (pretty bad, huh? lol.)

maestrowork said:

In my second book, however, it's more tricky, because the events span more than 75 years. There are major characters that show up at various spots of the timeline. I don't think it's necessary to introduce all the major players until they're needed, in that case.

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I've heard someone argue that in multi-generational novels, the family is a character, and thus it's less important that individual members of that family be there throughout, so long as they are either carrying on or resisting the traditions and roles of thatf amily. Not sure if this applies to your case.

I would consider having other characters mention someone who doesn't appear on stage to be adequate "introduction" to cover the rule.

Yes, technically, rule isn't really the right word. But when someone new to writing is looking for advice, it's usually better to give them solid rules to start with, and teach them about grey areas later.

A good example is Yog's Law: "Money flows towards the author." At one time, there was one highly reputable agency that broke that rule, and I think even now there are rare exceptions - but mentioning that to a newbie is inviting confusion. Easier to stick with the rule that, while too black/white, is going to keep them out of trouble.

Since, from what I've seen on the boards (Months lurking before I emerged), you're not a newbie, but an experienced writer, you can probably treat the rules as loose suggestions, supplanted easily by the one true rule: It worked.