Mac 2; Characters Part 1

Mac is not the first character I created, but she has been with me over half my life. Maybe that's why she's my favorite. Or maybe it's because I know her so well. After all these years, I've learned a lot about her childhood, about what makes her the person she is when the story begins. She's almost as real to me as I am.

Generally speaking, characters come in various 'flavors': Main characters, secondary characters, background characters and spear-chuckers, which some people call walk-ons. A good author knows what type each of his/her characters is, and devotes the correct amount of time to discovering their background.

Spear-chuckers/walk-ons are there only to do one thing; sell a movie ticket, deliver a meal or drink, or toss spears to ward off evil fire-breathing dragons (like a jet plane or spaceship shuttle). Probably the most you need to know about them is a bit of their culture (if it's different from the culture of your main characters) and whether or not they're having a bad day. A waitress having a bad day might dump a trayful of food on a main character, which can lead to interesting consequences.

Background characters need to be known a little better. Perhaps something they say to a main character, based on the personal history of the background character, will make the main character shift their thinking. So you need to know a few basics about background characters, maybe where they grew up; are they part of a large family or an only child; a poor family or wealthy?

Think about the walk-ons and background characters in your life; the post man, bus driver, store clerk, auto mechanic. How much do you know about them? You should know at least that much about the backgrounds of your 'less seen' characters in your stories. In my opinion, walk-ons can be pretty cardboard. Background characters need a bit more depth.

To be continued…

Mac

Have I ever told you about Mac?

Mac is my favorite character. I have a soft spot in my heart for all my characters, or I can't relate to them long enough to write their story. But Mac is my favorite. When she gets angry in her story, I lash out at the world in anger; when she feels hopeless, I get depressed; when her libido is aroused, I get—Well, I'm sure you get the idea.

Mac is a complicated woman, hardly more than a little girl in some ways, but well able to defend her honor, as well as aware that it sometimes needs defended. Although friendly to most of her shipmates, there are few who manage to earn her trust. And those few reciprocate that bond, even when she completely exasperates them!

I'm not sure you'll ever read Mac's story. I think of it as a trilogy, and I've never managed to finish the first installment, even though I've worked on it – exclusively – twice now, for at least a year each time. Even what I've got done – maybe ¾ of the first installment – is huge, and every time I peek at it, I think of another scene to add to 'enhance' it.

Some authors have stories they just have to write, even if it never gets published, and they will work on that story every chance they get. I guess I'm different; I have a story I don't dare work on, because it will monopolize all my time and I wouldn't get anything else done (let alone anything else written). But there is an up side to this. If I never finish Mac's story, Mac is one 'child' who will never leave the nest.