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.
I’m taking a three day break from blogging to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and will enjoy these older posts of mine. :) This post originally ran June 8, 2009. Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and all the best to my others!
Have a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving.
Have a good break and thanks for reminding us that characters need a purpose.
Enjoy your richly-deserved break, Elizabeth!! And thanks for the post – it’s always good to think about what our characters are doing in our books.
Happy Thanksgiving!
You have no idea how much trouble it is to get turkey and all the trimmings here in Australia, but I keep up the tradition. Although, I do have to compromise, such as roasting butternut pumpkin to make my pie from scratch (and there is no Crisco). Enjoy yourself.
Happy Thanksgiving Elizabeth!
Loved the advice on snipping useless characters.
Pink slipping characters – I love it!! Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving :)
Enjoy your holiday! And Lorel, my daughter’s in Northern Ireland. Thanksgiving is a tough meal there, too.
We were in South Africa two Thanksgivings ago — no such holiday. We ended up at a Mediterranean seafood restaurant. Good food, but not turkey!
Happy Thanksgiving. Love the idea of characters each having a job in the book. Nice analogy!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Elizabeth.
Thanks for this, Elizabeth. Happy Thanksgiving! We had ours in October. :-)
Glad to see you’re trading in the old “foul play” for “fowl play”.
Happy Thanksgiving – enjoy your time off, your family and the blessings in your life.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Elizabeth. Eat, drink and be merry.
Elspeth
Happy Thanksgiving!
We will not be celebrating it here, of course, but we celebrate Advent as a family by singing some of our beloved psalms together so this weekend will also be special for me!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Elizabeth! Your blog is one of the many thing I’m thankful for this year.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! Many blessings!
Mason– You too!
Cassandra–Thanks for coming by!
Margot–Thank you! And you, too.
Lorel–No Crisco! Ack! Good luck pulling it all together.
Tamika–Thanks!
Jemi–We’ll just fire them right and left! :)
Helen –Thanks. You too!
Terry–Nothing wrong with seafood for Thanksgiving…but then, I *love* seafood!
Carolina–Thanks! And thanks for dropping by.
Carol–Thanks!
Bobbi–And maybe the fowl play will lead to some ideas for foul play! :)
Happy Thanksgiving to you!!
Blessings – Teresa
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Elizabeth!
I’m hopeful my characters all have jobs. Perhaps one advantage of not outlining is I invent characters on-the-fly. Don’t have any created before I began, so, the chance that I’ll end up with someone I thought I’d need, but don’t, is maybe a bit more remote.—I hope.
Best Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
Have a great break!
Elspeth–I think we will! My mother is cooking and it looks like quite a menu.
Dorte–That sounds like a beautiful tradition. My children will start opening their advent calendars on Dec. 1 and look forward to it!
Diane–You too!
Ingrid–You are so sweet! And everyone should check yours out for some great tips on keeping our furry friends healthy over the holidays.
Stacy–Thanks! To you, too.
Galen–Oh, I like inventing characters as I go along, too. If any don’t pull their weight, I just throw the bums out!
Martin–Thanks, Martin!
Teresa–To you, too! :)