Minor Characters and Major Characters
Broadly speaking, a novel contains two types of character: Major Characters and Minor Characters. And still speaking broadly...
- The Majors are also known as Round Characters,
- and Minor Characters as Flat Characters.
The purpose of this article is not to discuss flat and round characters and how to create them - they are covered in separate articles.
It is simply an introduction to the range of fictional characters found in a typical novel, together with tips on how to handle each type during the novel writing process.
I also look at how to achieve a balanced cast of characters.
Types of Fictional Characters
Not all characters in a novel are created equal. Some are important to the story and will demand a great deal of your time and attention as you create them. Others might appear in just a single scene.
A typical novel contains dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of characters, though few of them will be significant enough to command much of the writer's time and attention.
In order of importance, there are four main types of character...
- The Protagonist
- Other Major Characters
- Minor Characters
- Extras
Let's look at them one by one...
1. The Protagonist
This is your leading man or woman - the person the novel is "about." They are also known as the leading character, the central character, or the main character.
Novels can have two or more protagonists, though it is generally better to stick to one if you can. Even if a novel has several leading characters, all of them of seemingly equal importance, it is usually possible to single out one of them as being at the novel's core.
In terms of time spent on characterization, it is your protagonist to whom you will want to devote the most time and effort.
2. Other Major Characters
Like I said, major characters can be virtually indistinguishable from the protagonist...
- They will receive a large amount of "screen time".
- They will possibly be the Viewpoint Character for significant chunks of the story - that is, they will have chapters of their own to be the narrator.
- They will most likely have their own Subplot.
The overall story will be "about" the protagonist, but the subplots - each of which should have a bearing on the main plot - will be "about" one or other of the major characters.
What do I mean by a story or a plot being "about" a character?
Simply this: if a plot consists of a character struggling against some form of opposition to achieve a specific goal, the character with the goal is the one the plot is "about"...
- The novel's central plot will be about the protagonist.
- The subplots - which should be closely related to the main plot, weaving their way in and out of it - will, generally speaking, be about the major characters.
Needless to say, each of your major characters should receive virtually as much attention, during the planning process, as your protagonist.
3. Minor Characters
It seems obvious to say it, but minor characters are the opposite of major characters...
- They will receive very little "screen time".
- They are unlikely to be used as a viewpoint character.
- They won't have their own subplots (at least not a subplot of any great length or significance).
- Their appearances in the novel will be brief and infrequent - although that doesn't mean that they can't shine vividly whenever they are in the spotlight.
Minor characters are essentially two-dimensional stereotypes, or flat characters, and there is therefore no need to spend much time fleshing them out on paper before you begin to write.
A few broad brushstrokes will be all that is required.
The difference between major characters and minor characters is clear, but won't there be plenty of characters who fall somewhere in the middle?
Yes, there will be. You will have minor majors and major minors (and perhaps even some straight mediums), but don't waste your time trying to categorize each and every one.
Simply come to a decision about the importance, or otherwise, of each of your characters and treat them accordingly.
4. Extras
Just as a movie needs hundreds, even thousands, of extra characters for the crowd scenes, so too do novels.
If your character eats in a restaurant or walks down the street and there is no mention whatsoever of the people around them, the scene will lack realism.
The good news is that extras in novels aren't really characters at all, more a part of the setting.
They are unlikely to speak or even be named, and if they are singled out at all, they don't need to be characterized so much as "labelled" - a young girl clutching a doll, a fat man reading a newspaper, and so on.
And what all of that means, of course, is that extras don't involve much work - hardly any, in fact. All you must remember to do is to mention them, just as you would mention other aspects of the setting.
So if your central character is travelling on a bus, for example, don't just describe the dirty windows and the uncomfortable seats, describe the passengers, too, perhaps singling out the odd interesting one.
Major Characters and Minor Characters
Having described the four types of character, I can now reduce them to just two broad types: majors and minors...
- The major characters are the small handful of principal players in your novel, the protagonist included.
- Everyone else - except for the extras, who really don't count - will be minor characters.
Though, like I said, there will always be fictional characters who fall between the two.
I have talked about the differences between major and minor characters in some detail but, in a nutshell, the single biggest difference between them is this...
Major characters are three-dimensional and minor characters only two-dimensional.
Or to put it another way, major characters are round characters and minor characters are flat.
Understanding the differences between round and flat characters, and how to create each type, is important. There are articles on each one immediately following this.
But before that, a quick final word about...
Balancing Your Cast
You should always strive to create a well-balanced cast. In practical terms, that means you should not make your characters too alike...
- If one is a self-appointed member of the cultural elite, make another a huge fan of fast food and trashy TV.
- If one is loud and flamboyant and never shuts up, make another cool and laconic.
- If one is a joker, make another serious.
Think of your novel's cast like guests at a party. To ensure the most interesting mix of people possible, you want the whole range of human behaviour to be represented.
And if some of those people occasionally rub each other up the wrong way - as they surely will - then so much the better!
Next Step...
So that has dealt with the fundamentals about the types of fictional character found in a typical novel.
Now it is time to take a more detailed look at major and minor characters - or round and flat characters as they are more commonly known.
Let's start by exploring Round Characters...
