On Writing Memorable (Minor) Characters

Photo credit: Rubin 110 on Flickr
Everyone is the center of their own universe. Really, think about that for a moment. Each of us have our own lives, families, friends, memories, dreams and fears. We all have regrets and joys, disappointments and celebrations.

And your characters are no different, or at least, they shouldn't be.

It seems like a no-brainer, especially when we're writing our main characters— most of are aware that we need to know their fears and dreams and all the little intricacies that bring them to life.

But what about our less important characters? I don't mean the second lead here, I mean the bell boys and bus drivers and bartenders that populate your world. Writing them tends to be a secondary thing— characters that arise out of necessity and convenience rather than careful planning and development.

But even our least important characters have their own personality, experiences and lives and if you aren't utilizing it, you're missing out on a huge opportunity.

Writing less important characters doesn't have to be boring— in fact if it is boring, you probably have a flat character on your hands that needs some revising. Let's take a quick look at a hypothetical example. Say you're writing a scene in which your male MC (Mike) and female secondary (Sara) are going to have a conversation at a bar downtown, so naturally you need a bartender. In your first round of writing you slap down Bartender A.

Bartender A is named Greg. He's butch and bald and over-muscled and smells like beer. He grunts when Mike orders his drink and hands his order over silently. Your characters have their conversation and are able to ignore Bartender A easily.

It could work. But it's boring. Let's try Bartender B.

Bartender B is named Rachel. She's young and pretty and smiles at Mike when he orders his drink and even flirts back a little when he says something flirtatious, which makes Sara jealous. A little better, but still stereotypical.

Bartender C is named Holland. She's in her late twenties and relatively attractive, but hides behind her rectangle glasses, stutters a little and ignores Mike when he says something flirtatious. She interrupts their conversation to ask Sara if she'd like a refill frequently but never asks Mike.

Then she leaves Sara her number.

We could go on and on with various bartenders, but I think out of the three we know which one is going to leave the biggest impression.

Every character you write has their own motivations, fears and desires and provides an opportunity be memorable. Are you using your minor characters to their fullest potential?

Who are your favorite minor characters? What made them your favorite?

21 comments:

Alice M. said...

More goodness on this subject from my fav anonymous fantasy critic, Limyaael:

http://limyaael.livejournal.com/131075.html

&

http://limyaael.insanejournal.com/310529.html

Ava Jae said...

Nice links! Thanks for sharing. :)

Jennifer Bennett said...

I totally rolled my eyes when you mentioned the last bartender. I guess the impression was strong enough to cause a reaction in me :)

Ava Jae said...

lol I didn't say it had to be a positive impression :D

Charlotte Tarrant said...

Great to read this. I like your idea here of missing opportunities by not knowing the minor characters well enough. They do play a role in moving the action forward - and I think the narrative feels more authentic when the minor characters aren't just puppets.

Ava Jae said...

Agreed! I think it's one of the things that made Harry Potter such a popular series--even the minor characters were interesting and fully developed. 

Krista said...

My two favorite minor characters right now are Fflweder Fflam and Gurgy from the Prydain chronicles. They are funny, loyal, and loveable. But they also have depth which is great!

Stephen M Swartz said...

I promoted a minor character into a protagonist in the next book because he was cooperative with my vision.

South paw said...

Good point. You can really enhance a scene using this technique.

Jen Daiker said...

When I first submitted a novel I was told that I had carboard cut-out secondary characters. It wasn't something I fully understood until I looked around my life an analyzed the 'secondary' characters in my life. Turns out they've got quite the personalities themselves! I can't believe how much it helped in writing!!!
 
Fabulous blog!!!
 
YA Tournament of Heroines: Hermione is my Heroine... Care to join?

nick_hight said...

I've never really though about that before - good point.

Although, do you think that trying to stress or show the traits and mannerism of minor characters (who really have very little part in the story) could detract from the actually story or event at hand (in this case, Mike and Sara's conversation)?

Ava Jae said...

I've promoted minor characters as well. Sometimes they really surprise you if you give them the chance! :)

Ava Jae said...

Absolutely! 

Ava Jae said...

Thanks, Jen! Sometimes it's hard to see those kind of flaws until someone else points them out to us. We're all probably guilty of writing a couple flat characters throughout our writing journey (I know I certainly am), and the best thing we can do is be aware of the tendency so we remember to take the time to get to know every character. :)

Ava Jae said...

Like everything else, I'd say it requires a balance, but I think if done correctly, the emphasis could actually add to the scene. Rather than being invisible, minor characters could add another layer of tension or conflict (or even symbolism) that would not have been there otherwise. 

Of course, there's a time and place for everything, but it's certainly good to be aware of the opportunities every character (minor or not) presents. 

Jessica Silva said...

What makes Holland any less flat than the other two? Because she gives Sara her number? Rachel could've flirted with Mike all night and then left Sara her number, too. Is that less flat? What if GREG left Mike his number? I'm not sure this action is more-or-less just surprising and unexpected due to social norms, rather than fleshing out the bartender with, essentially, a "backstory" (dreams, fears, etc). If you want Mike to get hit on, instead of a girl bartender, make it a boy. If you want Sara to get hit on, make it a girl. Is that any less flat, or just playing on reader expectations?

Ava Jae said...

You make a great point, Jessica. I suppose my example was more playing on reader expectations to make them memorable rather than fleshing them out with a full background to give them depth. 

What I was mostly trying to get at was that every character provides opportunities to do something memorable--to be unexpected or funny or quirky or anything but the invisible I'm-just-a-bartender (taxi driver, bell boy, etc.) whose sole purpose is whatever job you give them. 

Daniel Swensen said...

Media is full of minor characters who were supposed to disappear and then became fan favorites. Spike from Buffy being the example that most often comes to mind. He was supposed to die after two episodes.

Babylon 5 also had a couple great minor characters. They didn't really impact the big plots, but they acted as observers and audience surrogates, commenting on things from without as they happened. To me that's one of the big draws of the minor character.

Ava Jae said...

I never watched Buffy, but I've certainly heard of that happening and I know I've on more than one occasion really loved minor characters in books I've read. 

Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games trilogy, for example, is one of my favorites. 

Daniel Swensen said...

For good or ill, I'm way better at picking these things out of TV and movies than books...

Ava Jae said...

For whatever reason, books tend to stick in my memory better. I tried to think of a TV show or movie I could use as an example, but The Hunger Games came to mind first. :)

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