: Re: How to compactly explain secondary and tertiary characters without resorting to stereotypes? Sure, I understand the characters, but that's because I've been thinking about them. But how do I transfer

@Caterina108

Vote Up Vote Down

I would like to provide a contrast to the other answers, don't transfer the knowledge to the reader, except in ways that come natural to the story.

So take for example Ron, a man of a poor family whose daughter is deathly sick. In order to quickly raise the money to save his daughter, he takes up highway robbery.

The MC is traveling down the highway when a man jumps out and yells "throw down your money or your life!". The MC laughs and runs him through with his sword. As far as the reader cares at this point, the highwayman was a bad man and jumped the wrong person, and deserved his fate. The fact his name was Ron, and why he was here is irrelevant to the MC at this point, so the reader doesn't need to know or care.

But if you decide the reader should care, Next chapter the MC runs into the grieving wife and daughter and tracks down the medicine. He gets back when they are having the wake and learns that the highwayman he stabbed was Ron, and the MC now knows the whole story.

Ask yourself "What does the reader need to know?" and "When does the reader need to know it?". Only dive as deep as you need to at any moment, and let the reveals come naturally. If there is something the reader needs to know about a background character that doesn't come up naturally from observation, create an event to show off that characteristic in front of the MC.

(0)

Login to post a comment!