tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post6413822491951179638..comments2024-01-12T00:48:48.031-06:00Comments on Go Teen Writers: Dealing with Unnecessary CharactersStephanie Morrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-51454943469086071412011-10-07T17:31:38.774-05:002011-10-07T17:31:38.774-05:00That prospect is insanely exciting, Rachelle!That prospect is insanely exciting, Rachelle!emiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02042164350910286833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-6511308015540033792011-10-06T20:14:12.572-05:002011-10-06T20:14:12.572-05:00This has been really helpful for me at the moment,...This has been really helpful for me at the moment, I'm trying to write a novel and I have just realized that I can combine two people ( like Holly and Molly) <br /><br />Thank you:) <br /><br />- SuzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-65770453089044552282011-10-06T19:56:30.378-05:002011-10-06T19:56:30.378-05:00I echo, Faye.
:) Word of warning. Emii, you might...I echo, Faye.<br /><br />:) Word of warning. Emii, you might just come up with a new novel with that route! :) How fun would that be?<br /><br />I realize after talking it over with a writer friend that I probably have too many characters running around if she can't remember them all when they suddenly pop into a scene after five chapters out doing their own thing. Since I believe they all play a vital role I guess I'm going to play the merge game. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06150136011032761640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-90854389583818920162011-10-06T10:43:10.398-05:002011-10-06T10:43:10.398-05:00Hey Emii,
I think that's a great idea, too, an...Hey Emii,<br />I think that's a great idea, too, and who knows, you may decide that you want to actually put some of those random parts in the book! :)Becki Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14421459879883678878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-33296431606447169932011-10-06T00:23:59.814-05:002011-10-06T00:23:59.814-05:00That's quite a good reason for choosing the na...That's quite a good reason for choosing the name Holly. :Pemiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02042164350910286833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-1992842035180818672011-10-05T21:21:16.519-05:002011-10-05T21:21:16.519-05:00Nicole, you asked about which "olly" I w...Nicole, you asked about which "olly" I was gonna go with. It'll be Holly, because my brother-in-law now has a very serious girlfriend named Molly, and I don't want her thinking I named my antagonist after her :)<br /><br />Emii, sounds like a really fun idea! You might even wind up with some great new plot twists.<br /><br />Becki, that's a brilliant step to add. In fact, start with that one :)Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-77168185004020230862011-10-05T18:50:36.011-05:002011-10-05T18:50:36.011-05:00Ha ha. I especially like the fourth option, which...Ha ha. I especially like the fourth option, which is the one that I have to take, because I want one person's personality, but the other's looks. I would probably also add another step: prayer. Because things could get PRE-TTY messy without a whole lotta prayer and a whole lotta patience. But this post helps so much. Now I have more direction, even though I'm still not really looking forward to it (it's a lot of work to turn two characters into one!). :) Thanks for the help, Stephanie!!!Becki Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14421459879883678878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-22459791010358454812011-10-05T18:22:13.172-05:002011-10-05T18:22:13.172-05:00Great post! Go Teen Writers is da BOMB!Great post! Go Teen Writers is da BOMB!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-83956095418962691052011-10-05T17:50:44.727-05:002011-10-05T17:50:44.727-05:00Clare said something about putting her characters ...Clare said something about putting her characters in situations, which fit into a line I'd spent the previous ten seconds thinking in. <br /><br />What if I took my characters and wrote them into lots of random, different scenes and situations -- one's that wouldn't go in my book, but so that I'd know who they are? Could be just me, but that sounds like a fun way to actually find out who these people are.emiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02042164350910286833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-87133617779416654812011-10-05T15:49:27.988-05:002011-10-05T15:49:27.988-05:00It is oh so very hard to make all the characters f...It is oh so very hard to make all the characters feel like flesh and blood. In one of my second draft books there are a few characters that I'm considering cutting because they have absolutely no impact on the story and they're just "extras". <br />In the second draft I'm going to try very hard to make sure each character has a purpose! lolJazmine~https://www.blogger.com/profile/06246960020080246030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-25848851182571190502011-10-05T15:34:31.042-05:002011-10-05T15:34:31.042-05:00Oh, great post, and ever so helpful. I have wonder...Oh, great post, and ever so helpful. I have wondered about that, because I do want to have a full cast yet at the same time make each of them matter. Thanks :)Faithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03150290024386704712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-30791610494514638222011-10-05T15:24:11.113-05:002011-10-05T15:24:11.113-05:00Glad the post was helpful, guys!
Clare, your sugg...Glad the post was helpful, guys!<br /><br />Clare, your suggestions are great. I need to be more intentional about thinking that through during the editing process. Thanks for sharing!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-5715425988409590552011-10-05T14:41:04.485-05:002011-10-05T14:41:04.485-05:00I literally JUST dealt with this problem in my nov...I literally JUST dealt with this problem in my novel. I ended up cutting the character, but it was such a tough decision. Great post! :-)Shannon O'Donnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17299313309059235876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-91364765927013918812011-10-05T10:10:15.609-05:002011-10-05T10:10:15.609-05:00This was a great post! I'm working on a story ...This was a great post! I'm working on a story right now with a BUNCH of secondary characters. Most of the are just necessary fillers, but there are these two secondary characters that seem to want a story of their own, that seem really real to me, but I didn't know how to work them into the story! Now I do! Thanks :)<br /><br />-MicahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-87186204173311347812011-10-05T08:26:28.511-05:002011-10-05T08:26:28.511-05:00I really liked this one because I'm constantly...I really liked this one because I'm constantly trying to make sure that my characters are not only necessary, but real and people that my reader can love. The best part about a book in my opinion is the characters, so I always spend a little extra time with them. Making sure they have voices all their own, that their stories are real, and their problems relevant. This blog has helped me do that in more ways than before and I'm so grateful because now my book can be that much better. ;)<br /><br />One thing that I like to do to make sure that my characters aren't the same and all are different and vital, I place two characters in the same situation and ask questions like, "How does this person react to this differently than another person?" or "What would they try to do that's different from anyone else?" If I can't answer these questions a little differently for each of my characters, I know that I need to work on them more. It helps me out a lot, so I thought I'd pass that along. :)Clarebearhttp://www.unitedinhislove.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-41830585047395108632011-10-05T07:32:35.854-05:002011-10-05T07:32:35.854-05:00Thank you so much for this post!!! It's been ...Thank you so much for this post!!! It's been really helpful to me, because I sometimes struggle with making secondary characters work :D<br /><br /><br />- Paige TaylorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-26753286144813277322011-10-05T07:28:51.713-05:002011-10-05T07:28:51.713-05:00This is an excellent post! Great question from the...This is an excellent post! Great question from the reader. I also LOVE that your two characters were Holly and Molly!! haha Which "olly" name did you stick with? :)Nicole McLaughlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13467516937078644466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-4139986552425813362011-10-05T07:08:11.482-05:002011-10-05T07:08:11.482-05:00Yep, I had to deal with this in ANNAPOLIS. I tried...Yep, I had to deal with this in ANNAPOLIS. I tried number 3, cutting all but one passing mention of a character, not giving her any page-time. (That would be equivalent of "screen time", LOL.) Then my editor said, "I want to see Alice. What's her story? Put her in." So I went back, put in what I'd taken out, and added even more--and now I really don't know how I thought the story could work without her, because she became in a lot of ways a mirror to my character. The one who made her question her drive, her reasoning, her strength. Glad I switched options in this case. =)Roseanna Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02245767775900250399noreply@blogger.com