Minor characters?

[Darkfantasy]

I never know what to say about minor characters, like how much to plan them in a character profile, how to make them stand out. I know you should plan them as much as needed but I always seem to get stuck when it comes to planning these "flat" characters.

Not just for Fantasy, but anything.
Any advice?

 

[Chilari]

I don't plan minor characters in advance any more. It got boring to do it that way and when I came eventually to writing their one scene, I had forgotten what I imagined and had to check notes. What I do is make a note when I reach them. I've got a character list containing name, brief description and page of their first appearance. The description is tweet-sized, so I have to be to the point, but it's enough for a couple of key traits and their position in the story. Like for one minor character I have something like "X's friend, well-spoken knowledgable ex-librarian who ran away to marry peasant girl, tries to keep head down." He's appeared in once scene so far and I expect will crop up once or twice more, and if I get that far might be a bit of a bigger player in sequels, but that's all I need for now.

I'd suggest you don't worry about minor characters standing out. Just think about what they want and what their background is, and you've got a motivation and a voice, and that should do for a minor character. What they want can be very simple - such as a peaceful life, to be able to provide for their family, to become rich, or to humiliate a rival. So when your protagonist comes along and wants something, how they react will be informed by that.

 

[ThinkerX]

I sometimes use an old trick from my gaming days (before they moved to computers).

Make up some one or two word numbered lists. For description, say:

1. Fat
2. Thin
3. Bald
4. Hairy
5. Tattoo
6. Handsome
7. Ugly
8. Tall
9. Short
10. nondescript

Break our your D10 and roll.

For personality:

1. Friendly
2. Annoying
3. Charming
4. Upset
5. Exhausted
6. Curious
7. Alert
8. Sleepy

And roll again (D8 this time). Work said words into the characters initial description.

Both lists are examples only.

Ye olde AD&D handbooks (DMG) used to contain tables which would let you 'roll up' fairly complex characters in just a minute or two - literally.

 

[Kit]

I often start by giving the character the basic personality of someone I'm already familiar with- someone I know in real life, or a character from another story or TV show. Then I have an initial idea of how that person will react to things, and it doesn't take long for the character to start taking on a life of its own.

One of the things I *HATE* to see in amateurish writing is minor characters who are identified by one single trait. Every time the character is referred to, the author is beating us over the head with that one trait, and the character never develops beyond that. So son't do that!

 

[Saigonnus]

I generally use the same formula for "secondary" or "tertiary" characters and make them all the same way. They are ALL fully fleshed out with three or four character traits each, wardrobe, mannerisms and all physical aspects of the characters even if the aspects don't make an appearance in the story at all.

 

[Sheriff Woody]

I like making every character feel as if they truly exist within that world and were not just thrown in for plot convenience. Develop them as much as necessary to achieve that feeling.

 

[shangrila]

I plan them out usually half as much as a main. I give them a brief history (making sure to get a motivation for them), a description, some minor mannerism if I feel it's important and a basic personality (sarcastic, reserved, that kind of thing).

That's about as far as I go. Planning them as much as a main gets tiresome, especially for minor minor characters (e.g. people that appear in one or two scenes). I'll only go deeper if they're an important part of the story or character development for the main.

 

[Penpilot]

I give my minor characters their own personal goal that's outside the story. I use that to shape their actions, but other than that, I just write and let their personalities come out on the fly, quirks and all.