No Paperdolls Allowed
My sisters and I loved paperdolls. Cutting them, dressing them and giving them dramatic lives. The only problem is that playing paperdolls is just about as exciting as moving a picture around. I mean, if you drop your heroine and she lands face down, Georgia Lee dancing at the ball suddenly becomes just a white outline.
They have limitations.
Your book is not supposed to be about paperdoll characters that disappear when you turn them over. Your characters should be like sculptures — so we can see them from every angle.
The key to multi-dimensional characters is to study them. Get to know them in every situation. It is especially important to know your protagonist (main character) in your novel. But let's take a moment to zoom in on your secondary characters.
You might think, "oh but they aren't important! I already know my protagonist inside out, isn’t that enough?"
Not if you want a story that has true depth!
Ok, so maybe some of your secondary characters have super tiny roles. Perhaps they have only one line in the story. Should we still study them?
Yes because sometimes seeing the entire picture for yourself is the best way to describe even a tiny part of it to someone else.
Even though the roles they have are often small, secondary characters have a whole story too, and we should see glimpses of it as they interact with your protagonist.
Kate dumped her merchandise on the counter.
“Hey hon!" The young cashier picked up the items and bleeped through them.
“Can you tell me what time it is?” Kate fumbled in her purse for her money.
“It’s exactly 3:00, hon. Will this be all for you today?" The cashier twisted the diamond ring on her finger and gazed dreamily at it. “At this time tomorrow I’ll be married . . ." she whispered, and smiled. “It’s only 3:00! Shoot. Two more hours till I get off."
“3:00! I got to go. Mom’s going to kill me." Kate zipped her cart to the door marked Exit. And that will not help Mom understand what I have to tell her!
“Have a glorious day!” the cashier called.
Kate whisked a tear away. Well at least she was happy.
Kate is the protagonist. It's her story. She's the one with the main conflict — the heroine, and the one we're cheering for. But as Kate goes along on her adventure, she brushes up against other people that are just as real as she is—like the cashier. Even though we will never read about the cashier again, we picked up on some simple details. She’s engaged, can’t wait until tomorrow, and very eager to get off work. This gives your whole novel a sense of depth. YOU know what you're talking about, and you have a purpose for each of your characters, even if that only purpose is to breathe some life into a scene.
Make a list of your secondary characters.
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I'm sure that these characters have faces in your imagination. Maybe they remind you of people you know. However, when I read your book, they are only names to me. They can blur together and get confusing. You know, paperdoll characters!
How can we make our secondary characters add to the story, compliment the protagonist, and bring a scene to life?
If you want to get a good feel for your secondary characters, write a paragraph full of information about them. They need specific contrasts between them.
Below are several examples. Karla is the main character. Everyone else is a secondary character.
Samuel Jones – Karla’s dad, likes to play his guitar, read the newspaper, discus politics with his older children. He is slightly balding, has crisp facial features. Strong Christian, and holds dynamic views on almost every subject. Occupation–dentist
Purpose: mentor character
Melanie – Karla’s older sister, age17, a social butterfly; but likes her time alone, talented in writing, music and cooking, drives Ryan to his softball games every now and then, thick brown hair, big light green eyes, winning laugh. Not emotional, bosses siblings, a little lazy, and independent – she has trouble submitting to her dad
Purpose: antagonist
Suggested Assignment:
Summarize ten of your secondary characters. Give brief info about appearance/personality. What is his conflict? How does he relate to the main character? How does he come across to others? What are his strengths and weaknesses? What is his purpose in the story?
2. Include the purpose of the character at the end
Feel free to send your Secondary Character Paragraphs to us using the contact form! We'd love to see your work. With a little practice, your secondary characters will give your novel a 3-d feel! Have fun!