Bad word count day, for the 4th. Only 502 words. *sighs* My electricity was off for the day, due to workers in the area. Battery back up alarms blaring scared the Collies, well, shitless. Otherwise, I would have crated them and headed to Starbucks for a day of writing. Naturally, I felt quite discouraged… I should add, I had spent the previous night pulling an all-nighter writing, so slept during most of the natural daylight hours with the Collies huddled on top of me which covered the noise of the alarms for me and kept me so warm I couldn’t even think of waking up!
Explanation out of the way, I found this nice tidbit on the NaNoWriMo Blog, written by Renée Watson and thought it extremely useful, so am sharing….
1. Do I have too many supporting characters?
I think of supporting characters as the inner circle folks. Either close relatives and friends or people who have the most impact on my character’s life. I only spend time thinking deeply about those people—not the teacher who only shows up in one scene or the stranger on the bus.
I try to make sure each supporting character brings something different to the story. If there’s too much overlap, one of them has to go.
2. What is the backstory of my supporting character(s)?
I don’t go into great detail, after all it’s not their story. But I do want to establish where they’re coming from.
Why do they have the dynamic they have with my main character? We bring the past with us, always. Either we’ve learned from it or we haven’t. I need to know a little bit about each character’s past so I can better write about their current circumstance.
3. Are my supporting characters competing with my main character?
I don’t mean competition in a way enhances the storyline. I mean am I spending too much time developing a side character, when really I should be writing about my main character. I try to be careful not to let my side characters outshine the main star.
4. Am I creating realistic relationships between my characters?
No one is always loving, always mean. Relationships are complicated—friends are sometimes jealous of each other, parents make mistakes, teachers don’t always have the answer. I try to make layered relationships that have both bitter and sweet moments. Even if I create someone who really is the “villain” I make sure I mention how they got that way (see question 2).
There are many more questions I ponder and other strategies I use when writing a cast of characters. But these are the ones I find myself going back to story after story. Answering these questions—especially when I’m revising—helps me fine-tune the story and better understand my character and her world.
Terrific words of wisdom and gave me inspiration – the scene I wrote during my all-nighter concerned a supporting character I’ve become quite fond of. M’kay, back to my writing, so I am so outtie….