It’s a rough world out there right now, job-wise.
It’s even rough for characters in manuscripts. I’ve found that if one of my characters isn’t doing their job in telling the story, then it’s time for them to get canned.
After all, we don’t have all the time in the world to just let a story meander around. If I’ve written a character in, they need to perform. Some of them need to create conflict for my protagonist (like the interfering son who won’t let my sleuth do her investigating.) Some of them need to provide clues or red herrings for my detective. Some need to be killed, some need to be murderers, and some of them need to be bystanders….but even the bystanders have a job to do. They should be entertaining or colorful in some way.
I need quieter characters, too—like Ratty and Mole in The Wind in the Willows. They were gentle, quiet creatures—and great foils for Toad. Some of my characters are straight-men for my funny protagonist. Some of them are sounding boards so my sleuth isn’t having long conversations with herself, wondering who the killer is.
But if I have a character that isn’t really doing anything, or if they’re just kind of hanging out in my manuscript without a purpose, it’s time for them to get their pink slips. Let them mess up someone else’s manuscript.
Wonderfully written – I think it is a good test of a character if you can define in one or two sentences why they are necessary. They are there to… If I can’t answer that then the character probably isn’t needed. Or, like a certain character from one of my drafts, he has too many jobs. He’s supportive at times, comedic at others, helpless whenever I need someone to be in trouble, and generally a link between two characters that probably don’t need to interact. I seriously need to revise this character, assign some of his jobs elsewhere, or just get rid of him altogether.
Thanks for such an interesting post, and I like the idea of thinking of it as firing. It feels better than killing them off or disappearing them.
This is a fun way of saying that each of the characters have to have a purpose — a good reminder for all of us. Thanks!
That’s a great way to think about your characters–by their function in the story.
And I like your comment about the bystanders. Sometimes they’re the most fun to write–you can make them off-the-wall colorful for a few lines (something no reader would stand for if you had pages and pages of it).
Another problem with characters is stealing the stage. My book has what was supposed to be a relatively minor character, Spiderwoman. She was there to provide local color, and to contrast with the protagonist. But, at book clubs when I asked who was a favorite character, I got the answers I’d hoped for, but, to a surprising degree, I also got a consistent mention of Spiderwoman. Totally unexpected. To me, she did what she was supposed to do. To the readers, she was something else entirely. Very interesting.
Best Regards, Galen.
GalenKindley.com
Very good points here, and well stated.
The Old Silly From Free Spirit Blog
And sometimes characters need to be there as a diversion or as part of a crowd, but should not be given names lest the reader think this specific character is important to the story. That’s a good reason to label characters with their occupation or a descriptive characteristic (the barber, the guy with the dragon tattoo, etc.).
Patricia
Interesting post…I have one character that may have the potential to be cut, but maybe not. I may have to rethink this!
Galen, now Spiderwoman may need to be a protagonist in another book! Funny how some characters can take over.
And Patricia, good point on not naming some bit characters. I get easily overwhelmed when I’m reading a book with too many named characters. I really don’t want to do that to my own readers. Labels are a great way to get around that problem.
Elizabeth
What a great perspective! I love this post! It’s very true, if there is something about the book that is not moving it forward, it ends up getting cut in the edits. That definitely includes characters.
Nancy, from Just a Thought…