To pick up
where we left off in June about secondary characters in story or memoir, there are many types of secondary characters in writing. Some secondary
characters come to the writer at the time she begins creating the story. I
think of these characters as the primary secondary characters, the ones who are
most involved with the protagonist and appear the most in her story.
While I knew
my family would be in my memoir journey attending college, I never thought
about including some friends and professors. But they are secondary characters,
nonetheless.
Secondary
characters can be thought about like this:
Primary
secondary characters are the ones involved closely with your protagonist; i.e.
family members, close friends.
Initial
secondary characters are the ones that come to the writer at the beginning of
the story writing. Let’s say you need a pivotal character to help move the plot
along; i.e. a police officer or doctor, a co-worker, or murderer.
But
there is a third kind of secondary character. They are the ones who come to you
as you create the story. The unexpected acquaintance at a bar or café or the
cab driver or stranger you meet at the airport. Someone who offers key
information to help move the plot forward or to a satisfying conclusion.
Secondary
characters can help establish what’s considered normal in your story world. In
my case, my family establishes what life is like for Victoria prior to starting
college.
But
the family also becomes not so much enemies for the protagonist like in
fiction, but rather obstacles at times during Victoria’s college journey.
My
family’s role in the memoir is threefold. They set up the memoir story world
before Victoria begins her college journey, they become the impetus for her to
actually begin college, and they become both sounding board and obstacles along
her journey.
The
third kind of secondary characters holds important information for the
protagonist. In my college memoir, this kind of secondary character is a friend
who informs Victoria that she can attend a community college part time. A professor
encourages Victoria to slow down and listen to the students around her. The Phi
Theta Kappa Advisor informs her that the Ivy League is a possibility. These are
the characters who push Victoria beyond—she believes—her capability. They force
her to see and then seek the possibilities in her college journey. A scary
endeavor to be sure. They move the memoir story forward.
*Please feel
free to offer comments or ask questions on any secondary characters in my
memoir. This helps me to move forward in my writing.*
An example
of a secondary character who holds a key piece of information is like Moaning Myrtle
in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when she informs Harry where she heard
a male voice and saw the yellow eyes coming from the circle of sinks in the
third floor girls lavatory.
All characters
require a backstory to help them feel real to the readers. The backstory doesn’t
need to be as involved as it is for the protagonist. Remember, backstory is
what happened to the character BEFORE the story present. In Myrtle’s case, she
was a student at Hogwarts who was killed in the girls’ lavatory because she
wasn’t a pure-blood witch.
Secondary
characters should continue through the story so the reader isn’t wondering, “Hey,
whatever happened to Moaning Myrtle?” In J.K. Rowling’s Potter series, Myrtle pops
up whenever she has information to share with Harry and the reader. In other
words, whenever she can move the story forward. And that’s the key.
Why exactly do you need secondary
characters?
In reality, we don’t go through life
alone. Neither should our protagonists. We have [and need] family and friends,
work associates and strangers who help us with life issues or events. Don’t
cheat your protagonist out of needed connections throughout your story. No one really
lives in that deep, dark cave, seeing to their own personal needs. Never having
troubles. Content. Happy.
[Although
sometimes, I’d like to hide in a cave to be able to finish this memoir, one
with electricity and internet hook-up of course.]
The
protagonist is not the only character who affects the story world. Secondary
characters impact your protagonist’s journey. Remember, your protagonist is
still driving the story, but the secondary characters can support or impede the
main character’s journey. But all the characters need to move your story
forward. And each character needs to be different and have an important part in
the main thrust of the story.
This
is particularly difficult in memoir.
Story
is not only about the external plot details and obstacles. Remember that story
is the internal struggle of the protagonist. Secondary characters add tension
to the internal problems of the protagonist.
In
every story, the tension and problems are shown through scenes, the lifeblood
of story. These are the interactions between characters, not just narration.
Like I said before, in
memoir or fiction, each secondary character needs to have a specific
personality, a reason to be, that benefits the main storyline. As the writer,
you include only the facets of secondary characters’ lives that pertain to the
story you are telling.
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