Here at Inspy Romance we write contemporary Christian romance.
We love contemporary Christian romance.
In fact, we love people who read contemporary Christian romance.
We also kind of like our characters, too. Heroes, heroines, extended family, children, friends, and even strangers on the street who drop a sage word of advice in passing.
Characters make fiction come to life, true. Characters are downright vital to romance, though. After all, at its heart, romance is all about relationships, and you can’t have powerful relationships without powerful characters.
We’re not going to talk about heroes and heroines today, though. Instead, I want to ask you about the cast of characters that makes up the book. The secondary and tertiary characters.
We authors can sweat bullets over how we build our characters and how to use those “other” characters to help enrich our story and enhance the reader’s experience. We might pay a lot more attention to the details involved in that than the reader does. In fact, we should. If we’ve done our job right, the story will flow seamlessly, and you won’t have a clue that we spend hours agonizing over whether to make Aunt Matilda tall and matronly or short and bubbly. Or – gasp – a combination of the two!
I’d love to hear what you, as a reader of contemporary Christian romance, like to see in that extended cast of characters.
Do you like quirky?
Wise?
Comic relief?
Or something else entirely?
Tell me what you think, want, or expect from that extended cast of characters when you pick up book. And if you have any favorites where that extended cast of characters just absolutely made the book come to life, tell me about it!
In the meantime, have a marvelous day. I have a heroine’s brother that needs some work, so I’ll be busy developing him into a solid secondary character today. ^_^
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
I’ve always enjoyed a quirky character. Good luck with your heroine’s brother, Heather! Have a great day!
Hmm, interesting thoughts. I like comic, quirky secondary characters in a contemporary romance, but there is also a place for the wise ones too. Characters who are hiding problems behind a devious exterior, snarky characters, basically those with room to grow and develop- have stories of their own! In some ways (speaking from zero writing experiences!!) I imagine secondary characters are just as hard, if not harder, to develop!
The problem with my secondary characters is that they start clamoring for their own books. :) But I try to get a good kid of personalities in there. But the snarky ones are sometimes the most fun.
Interesting question. The character traits or characteristics of secondary characters depends on the primary one. Opposites attract. Opposites, whether their appearance or actions create tension or conflicts to move the story’s plot. I prefer characters with imperfections be it physical or some quirk.
As a literature and creative writing teacher, who analyzed many stories, their plots and characters; I understand how difficult it is to write an inspiring story with realistic but fun characters. As a reader, I enjoy characters that a little out of the ordinary – I want to be entertained, not relive the mundane every day life around me. Therefore quirky, fun, comical, bonehead secondary characters makes me come back to another story.
I like the secondary characters to provide insight into the heroine/hero, but also like them to be fun and I admit that I look forward to them having their own story. Hope you have a successful day with the brother Heather! (I have 2 and would have gladly given them away as a kid, but am very thankful for them now.)
I enjoy comic and quirky, but in reality it takes all kinds to make a community!
I didn’t realize how much time you invest in secondary characters, but I can easily see how they are important to the flow of the story (and sometimes we even like them so much we want to read their own stories).
I like how you’ve set An informal christmas to have Zach’s niece as a key secondary character and how supportive Rylie’s mom is so supportive of her working even on holidays. I can’t even imagine how hard it is to come up with them.
I like secondary characters that are quirky and encourage the leading characters to do their best. I definitely dislike setbacks caused by secondary characters. It’s just seem so unnecessary.
Hi Heather,
I really enjoy the quirky sidekicks/friends. Yet, I find it REALLY good when there are wise, truth telling characters who are someone to point the hero or heroin towards God’s amazing love.
Sometimes I enjoy those characters so much that at the end on the book I want more of them.
Quirky characters are the best! And I think I gave my heroine’s brother just enough quirk to make him fun! :)
Secondary characters ARE hard to write – you want them to be fabulous in their own right, but you don’t want them to overshadow the main character. It’s kind of like a Thanksgiving dinner where you have lots of dishes on the table. The turkey is the star and while each side dish needs to be delicious by itself, they should all compliment the turkey so that the turkey can really shine. (I can’t believe I just compared characters to turkey…) ;)
I love a good, dry, snarky sense of humor in a character. But I like other kinds, too. Like you said – variety is key. Especially as writers, right? We don’t want to write the exact same kind of characters over and over again. How boring would that be for our readers (and us)?
I love your answer! I like to write stories that are realistic and believable…but not boring. The great love stories of our lives happen in the every day moments – whether it’s the love story we share with another person or the love story we share with God (two very different kinds of love stories there!). But as readers, we don’t want to read about the character spreading butter on their toast and tying their shoes day after day after day. ^_^
Every now and then I write a character on accident. They just walk onto the page, plop themselves down, and stare at me…until I give in and let them have their own story. ^_^ That’s one of the fun things about being a writer – discovering new parts of your story as you write. Even when you plot the story out ahead of time, surprises still manage to crop up. :)
You’re so right! I like comic and quirky in my characters, but in real life, I might tire out if everyone around me were funny all the time. I also have a soft spot for the curmudgeon character. :)
Thank you Priscila! Zach’s niece is a great example of a secondary character! It was easy not to let her take over the story, too, since she’s on another continent. ^_^ I was able to bring her in at just the right moments to let her highlight what was going on between the two main characters. She was fun to write. I still love the long-distance dance scene with her and Zach. You know he’s a great guy when he’s willing to dance with a tablet so his niece will feel special! :)
I sometimes get emails from readers who want to know when so-and-so is going to get their own book. It’s always interesting to me how different characters speak to different people. Some readers might fall in love with secondary characters X, Y, and Z – while other readers want to know more about A, B, and C. It’s one of the things that I love about writing Christian fiction – that God can use my stories to touch people the way He sees fit.
My thoughts exactly (re: dance scene).
The more quirks the merrier the story! I really enjoy prople who add some pizzazz.
Can’t help but like the mysterious characters either. Maybe it is the quiet one with some wisdom to share, but you can’t quite get a read off of them. Then when you go back to read the next book in a series, you find something altogether amazing about them which makes you fall deeply irrevocably in love with them.
Carol Moncado did that I think with a random couple of people, and I knew right away when reading about them, that they had their own story/stories to tell.
Anyway, thanks for all the time and effort you put into our “home away from home”‘s called books ;)
I love secondary characters like sarcastic big brothers, voice of reason moms, best friends that tell you, “yes, that dress makes your butt look huge,” irritating but lovable co-workers, or “love to hate them” bosses. Any character that provides insight or moves the plot along.
So glad you could stop by Rachael! Sometimes it’s those characters who have that tiny little cameo of a book scene that turn out to be the most interesting characters. :)
Hi Heather! Can I vote for all of the above for secondary characters? Because just like real people, there’s a little bit of each characteristic in each one of our own friends. We choose them for various reasons, personalities & even quirks! I love when secondary characters compliment the hero/heroine. They help bring out the best in them, in my humble opinion. :-) Those are the ones who the hero/heroine go to when they need to talk, vent, have a cup of coffee with, or just to be listened to (or any other various reasons).
And I whole-heartily agree that they do make the story too, helping to flesh out the details. If you’ve done your job right, you’ll have your readers making new friends right along with the hero/heroine! As for me, I LOVE great secondary characters, they’re my book friends & family too! :-)
In contemporary romance, I like to see a variety of characters. If the story is set in modern times, I expect it to feel more realistic so bring on the old folks, the kids, the pets, the annoying relative you politely try to avoid, variety is the spice of life ;)
You make an excellent point! It’s important for those secondary characters to move the plot along or to give character insights. If they’re just there for window dressing, then they tend to bog a story down. Characters should always serve a purpose…but they should do so in such a way that the readers don’t feel like they’re in the story to serve a purpose. ^_^
Every main character should have at least one coffee buddy IMHO. Of course, I do love my coffee… ;) But you’re right – when we think about what makes our circle of friends complete, we all know we have the person we vent to, the person who gives us advice, the person who makes us laugh, etc. Sometimes they’re all the same person, and sometimes they’re different people, but we all have them…and so should characters. Because you’re right! They do become our book friends and family. :)
Hi Beth! Ha! Your answer made me laugh. Sometimes we even forget to be polite…and those sorts of scenes make for some good writing, too, because there are always consequences… ^_^