Checklist for Minor Characters

Credit for picture




I'm finally getting back to my normal blogging schedule which means a creature post on Monday, a progress report on Tuesday, a Question on Wednesday, a Checklist on Thursday, and a review on Friday (although I might have guest blogs or interviews or other book news on Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday)



So it's back to a checklist. Today's checklist is specifically for minor characters.



1. Are your minor characters well developed?

2. Are your minor characters essential to the plot?

3. Would the story work if the minor character was deleted? (Note: you should then delete said character or change the story so that this is not the case.)

4. Does the minor character have an important (albeit small) role to play?

5. Does the minor character show up in more than one scene?

6. Is your minor character flat or 2-dimensional?

7. Is your minor character a caricature?

8. Does your minor character steal the scene away from the main characters? (This is not good, although it can help to create spin offs or sequels.)

9. Is your minor character's action and speech consistent throughout the story?