As usual at work in my lunch break, I have been busy scribbling down notes and ideas for my second novel, which is coming together much better than my first idea. In a book I’ve been reading called ‘How to write a mi££ion’ , the writer Orson Scott Card gives some interesting points on creating characters. As he puts it, not all characters are created equal. It’s hard to measure the exact importance of a character— but there are three general levels of importance, and distinctions that can be useful.
1)Walk ons and Placeholders: Just background people meant to lend realism or perform a simple function and then disappear.
2) Minor Characters: these make a difference, but your reader shouldn’t become involved with them emotionally—either negatively or positively. The reader doesn’t expect them to keep showing up even though their desires and actions may add to the plotline, but play no role in shaping the ongoing flow to the story.
3) Major Players: These characters that the readers must care about—Love them, hate them, or fear them; your readers need to know what makes them tick. These characters are the driving force behind your story, so you, the writer must get to know all you can about them before your reader can fully understand them.
This is why it’s important to make sure you have a full rounded character before you even begin writing your novel as it is the only way to make sure they come alive on the page for your reader.
This weekend, my much beloved and I are off to Whitby for the Goth Festival. I shall post all my pictures when I get back.
Have a great weekend and get plenty of writing done too.
J
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