nano_writers | Fast Start for NaNoWriMo - Day 9

On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points.
-Virginia Woolf

Secondary characters: the mentor, the sidekick, sometimes the love interest, all are characters that for the most part do not change during the course of your story and so are not as fully developed as the protagonist of your tale. But as Nancy Kress describes in her book, Dynamic Characters, these kind of characters can come in three flavors: "ordinary folks", "colorful secondary individuals" and "bit players." And a quick way to brief and unexpected descriptions for these characters may be only a roll away...

Pick up a pair of dice and print out these lists for some quick characterization from the National Novel Finishing Month web site (note: links to pdf files):

Character Trait List - a numbered list (1 - 177) of random descriptive adjectives (Examples: Generous, "Easy to Read", Devious)

Character Traits and Occupations - 100 random character traits and 100 random occupations for your secondary characters

And of course if you don't have the dice, the Character Generators at the Seventh Sanctum web site will do in a pinch:

General Character Generator
Sample result:
"This woman puts you in mind of a joyous songbird. She has narrow black eyes. Her fine, straight, midnight black hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a lion's mane. She is tall and has an angular build. Her skin is dark. She has hollow cheeks. Her wardrobe is revealing."

Quick Character Generator
Sample result:
"The weak acrobat with unusual luck."

So no more excuses for cookie cutter or "plot furniture" characters - roll the dice and give your secondary characters a little color. The results may surprise you!

Questions? Different character generators to share? Post your comments here.

Tomorrow we'll look at a different kinds of writing exercises that will get you into your character's head. Until then, keep writing Nano Writer.