 Short Stories: September 09, 2009 Issue [#3268] |
  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
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Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.
Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs.
Shrek: NO. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
[sighs]
Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions.
- Shrek, 2001 Dreamworks Animation
Greetings! I am one of the editors for the Short Stories Newsletter, and I hope to share some of my thoughts on writing short stories, and perhaps about writing in general. I suggest you treat these not as pearls of wisdom dropped from on high, but rather musings of a fellow writer, written to inspire, provoke or stimulate your personal muse. I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions. Ben Langhinrichs
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Sidekicks, Relatives and Other Wacky Secondary Characters
No matter what the medium, movies, television, novels or short stories, secondary characters often play a crucial role, whether as comic relief, as a foil for a main character's musings, or as one who can say or do something no main character could do. For an author, secondary characters can be a lot of fun to create, as the rules are a lot looser for secondary characters. A main character who doesn't speak English may be hard to carry off, but a secondary character who doesn't speak English can provide the perfect opportunity for clarification, as others try to explain in simple terms. A main character who does something wildly reckless may be unbelievable to the reader, but a secondary character is capable of anything, and thus may move the plot along in surprising ways.
Since this is a Short Story newsletter, let's focus on how you can create secondary characters to make your readers laugh, move the plot along, and reveal deeper truths about the main characters, all without chapters and chapters to spare. In a novel, a secondary character can be brought in early and developed slowly, but in a short story, you often need to develop a secondary character quickly. Also, since the secondary characters we are discussing are often the wild and wacky ones, you are best off showing their wackiness rather than telling about it.
This is where relatives come in. While we may not all have a Cousin Itt like the Addams Family, we all have relatives who make us cringe or smile or groan. My wife's Uncle Grover loved jigsaw puzzles, but kept a sharp knife on hand so that if the pieces didn't fit, he could make them fit. I never met the man, but I have heard everybody tell this, and feel like I have a grasp on his character. On the other hand, I know my Aunt Heidi well, but just by telling you that she used to drive a VW bug with no floor left, scaring us nephews half to death as the road roared by just under our dangling feet, you might get a sense of her character.
In your short story, when you feel the need for comic relief, don't hesitate to throw in a quirky neighbor or visiting uncle. Since the character is not a main character, try leaving out any physical description and just having someone tell an anecdote like one of those above. Nobody needs to know the neighbor's hair color to establish her eccentricity. Nobody needs to know the uncle's height to establish a sense of humor. Of course, while there are fewer restrictions for secondary characters, there are a few things to keep in mind.
 Stereotypes are inherently two-dimensional. While it is always wise to avoid stereotypes, it is particularly important with secondary characters, where the temptation is to use a stereotypical character to avoid the effort of describing him or her. We all know what a Jewish grandmother is like, right? Wrong! Even if the stereotype might hold true in some cases, it makes the character feel unreal, or two-dimensional. On the other hand, if you create a potentially stereotypical character and give him or her a strongly non-stereotypical trait, the character can feel real, or three-dimensional.
Example: Luna Lovegood appears at first to be a batty bit of comic relief in the Harry Potter books, but she turns out to both have elements of bravery and insight that completely contradict that early impression, while still feeling true to her as a three-dimensional person.
Every secondary character is the primary character in his or her own story. This does not mean you need to tell the secondary character's story, but if you can't imagine it could be told, your readers won't be able to imagine it either. (Besides, you may later decide to write that story if the character is compelling enough)
Example: Miss Havisham is a truly bizarre and crazed character in Charles Dicken's Great Expectations, living out her days stuck at the moment when she was left at the alter by a wretched swindler named Compeyson. There is no doubt she could be the entire focus of the book, except that this book is about Pip.
Secondary characters don't mind cameo roles. You can develop a strong secondary character who never appears directly.
Example: Lord Sauron is one of the most compelling characters in The Lord of the Rings, but never appears directly, although we feel his presence throughout.
Whether they supply comic relief in a story that is getting too intense (Merry and Pippen in The Lord of the Rings, R2-D2 and C-3PO in Star Wars), or act as foil for the main character's philosophical musings (as Donkey does with Shrek in the scene shown above, or Scarecrow does in The Wizard of Oz), or say things that none of the main characters could say (Luna Lovegood talking to Harry Potter about death), secondary characters are worth a primary focus in your short stories.
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All is not what it seems in this story of curse and counter-curse.
Sometimes primary and secondary switch places.
Great secondary characters, but do we every actually meet the fiancé, the brother, the fifteen year old, or are they just doing cameos?
Two stories of mine where the main character of one is the secondary character of the other.
In this story, every secondary character is determined to become the focus.
Watch how the stereotypes of both main and secondary characters are challenged.
Broken into separate "chapters", this short story has a vibrant main character, but still depends on three-dimensional secondary characters who bring the story to life.
A tale of the Wild West. Can you tell who is primary and who is secondary in this tale?
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 Reader Comments
Submitted By: Just an Ordinary Boo!  I agree, Ben, my favourite kinda tale - the one with a twist.
I am a great fan of Frederick Forsyth's shorts (the stories I mean, for those whose minds are twisted!) - especially "No comebacks". Jeffrey Archer is another maestro, I adore his tail twists (still talking about the stories). 
I like to put this device into my tales, I have even achieved it in a couple of my 55-word writes! So here's to Twisting! *raises glass in toast*
Submitted By: Coolhand  Congratulations on your first newsletter! I enjoyed it very much. The Gift of the Magi is one of my favorite stories. O. Henry was the master.
Submitted By: Joy  Great newsletter, Ben! Nice take on twists. I love to read twist endings in stories, even if they startle me a bit. 
Submitted By: NickiD89  Great Newsletter, Ben! I agree, a good twist is a true work of written art. Thanks for including an off-site link for further reading on the topic along with great examples from our talented community members. I'll be sure to check them all out! ~Nicki~
Submitted By: Zeke I love twists too. Foreshadowing is a great way to give the reader a real pleasure in the final twist. Thanks for the reminder.
Zeke
Submitted By: Tadpole1  Hello Ben,
I enjoyed your article. I just reread my recently rejected short story and realized that it did need some foreshadowing. Too bad I didn't read your article a few months ago!
Happy thoughts,
Tadpole1
Submitted By: dmack  I enjoyed this newsletter. As I write very mostly flash fiction, I can tell you, the shorter the story the harder it is to surprise the reader.
Submitted By: francie I read the story you referenced and remember it well. It provided an excellent take off point for the newsletter.
I enjoyed reading a few of the stories you enclosed. Thanks for the entertaining and informative newsletter.
Submitted Items
sarahreed: Thank you for writing about story twists and suggestions for making them effective. I'm not very good at writing twists into stories, but I keep trying. I've had one success so far, but it wrote itself more than I wrote it.
Lauriemariepea : hallo, ben--
a fine debut! i appreciate your point about foreshadowing, and not leaving readers feeling cheated by our twist endings. your newsletter makes me want to look up O. Henry and read his stories again. thanks!
i include for you one of my stories; it's not quite finished, but i like the twist i gave it and the clues i planted along the way. i hope you enjoy it, too.
Raven : Howdy. This story is, I hope, one of my better ones. :) Thanks, Raven
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