But why, you may ask, spend unnecessary
time on insignificant characters? Some may be so negligible that they won’t
even get names: the servant who brought the drinks; the hotel maid who cleaned
the room, the policeman who jumped out of the way of the speeding car and so
on.
They deserve care because, although the reader
isn’t supposed to care much about them, they still have a job to do. Their
individuality may set a mood, add humour, make the story more interesting or
complete. They may also reveal something about your main characters.
Be warned that if a character who isn’t
supposed to matter starts distracting from the main thread of the story, you
either cut him/her out entirely or you figure out why you, as a writer, are so
interested in her that you’ve spent more time on him/her than you meant to.
There’s nothing wrong with a background
character attracting that kind of attention—as long as you realise that he/she isn’t
part of the background anymore. The readers will notice him/her, and they’ll
expect his uniqueness to amount to something.
John Dean
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