On Writing Romance_ How to Craft a Novel That Sells - Leigh Michaels [73]
TERTIARY CHARACTERS
Tertiary or third-level characters are the walk-ons, the extras who probably have no recurring part in the story. Because they're less important to the plot, they may not have names at all, or they may have only a single name. Examples might be the butler, the waitress, and the secretary, all of whom function in the story without being a critical part of it.
It's a good idea to check all the tertiary characters to see which ones are really necessary. Can you combine several of them into one?
The appearance of large numbers of tertiary characters can be a tip-off to poor scene construction. For instance, if a cab driver appears once in your story, is he really necessary? Unless something important happens during the heroine's cab ride—something that seriously impacts the story—it might be better to begin the scene with the heroine's arrival at the party, rather than with her getting in the cab. Eliminating the cab ride also removes the need for the cab driver.
The goal is not to do away with tertiary characters altogether but to avoid using precious space on them unless they're a real benefit to the story. In her long contemporary Cinderella Christmas, Shelley Galloway's heroine meets a shoe salesman, a tertiary character who will fill the role of fairy godmother:
She ventured in farther, all too aware of how her own sneakers stood out among the beautiful sandals and designer pumps.
But those feelings were quickly forgotten when she saw the gold sandals.
"May I help you?" The same salesman who'd approached her the day before appeared by her side. His voice was curiously comforting, as if the question that he probably asked a hundred times a day was actually sincere.
"Yes, please. I'm interested in this pair of sandals."
His eyes flicked to her outfit of faded Levi's, black turtleneck sweater and worn tennis shoes. "In size ..."
"Sorry. Size five, please. Narrow, if you have them."
"Narrow, too?" As if he favored small feet, the corners of his lips turned up, stretching his thin face. "Very well, ma'am. If you'll have a seat?"
Later the heroine finds out that the salesman's first name is Warren. Notice, however, that we know little else about him—despite the fact that his assistance is what allows the heroine to have her very successful evening at the ball.
SHOWING YOUR CHARACTERS
Now that you've gotten to know your character options, how can you best convey your characters to your readers? You can tell the readers about them. That's the easiest—and least effective—way. Saying to the readers, "Sally was a nice and compassionate person" really doesn't convey much information. For one thing, definitions of nice and compassionate differ from individual to individual. And for another, you're asking the readers to accept without question your judgment of Sally rather than coming to their own conclusion.
Alternatively, if the character is an important one, you can use the character's thoughts, words, and actions to show the kind of person she is. And you can say a lot about a character through what she doesn't say or do. If, for example, she has the opportunity to make a perfectly justified sarcastic comment—the kind it's very hard to resist—but restrains herself instead of speaking, the readers suddenly know a lot about the sort of person this character is.
The most effective ways of illustrating character allow the readers to see the evidence, then reach the conclusion for themselves. Showing your characters draws readers into the story and keeps them fully engaged in figuring out these people. Slowly sharing the pertinent information about important people—as opposed to just dumping it all in one long passage—adds a sense of realism to your story.
Think of how you learn about the new people you meet. You usually don't exchange complete life stories on first introduction.