DECEMBER, 2018
CHARACTER TRIAGE—WHO’S IN? WHO’S OUT?
By: Alice Orr
Character Triage—
Who’s In? Who’s
Out? Every character
you start out with in
your story may not
carry enough storytel-
ling weight to be al-
lowed to stick around.
Some will most likely have to go. Which
characters do and do not belong in your
story? How do you decide? First, let‘s
make a couple of general lists. Then we‘ll
move on to my personal specifics.
Character Triage—Who’s In?
Characters Who Should Stay in Your
Story:
They sparkle with contradiction and
controversy.
They enhance the main characters in
the story, make them more intriguing.
They aggravate the main characters
in the story, make them more conflicted.
They have often dark secrets the
main characters would like to know, or
should know, but don‘t.
They have hidden dreams the main
characters would like to know, or should
know, but don‘t.
In other words, they generate plot by
adding more complications to the story.
Character Triage—Who’s Out?
Characters Who Should Leave Your
Story:
They don‘t make anything happen.
They get along with everyone, nei-
ther creating nor enhancing conflict.
We aren‘t interested in knowing
more about them.
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They are not connected with either
the main characters or their stories.
In other words, they don‘t generate
plot by adding more complications to the
story.
Here are some specific character
types I especially want to boot out the
door.
Character Triage—My #1 Exit
Candidate: The Lackluster Character.
Especially when you are creating the
main characters of a series who must be
extra unique and compelling. In fact, any
continuing character must stand out in
order to hold a reader‘s interest through
several stories. Be careful not to focus on
thrilling plot at the expense of thrilling
characters. This can be fatal to storytel-
ling success.
Character Triage—This One
Really Gets Under My Skin: The
Character Who Cloys. Especially as
your romance heroine. She‘s cute enough
to kill, and the alleged hero scampers
along in her wake for far too long. At
first, she may be lovable for the reader as
well. Then, we become exasperated with
her and, eventually, out and out irritated.
She‘s a distraction from the story and
undermines your hero‘s portrayal too.
Character Triage—Out with This
Guy: The Character Who Fails at His
Story Mission. Especially as your mys-
tery-suspense hero. He‘s the detective
who doesn‘t detect. A murder is commit-
ted, and he should be intent on finding
the murderer but does too little to further
that quest. He avoids real investigative
questioning. He lets others to do the leg-
work. He slows the pace instead of enli-
vening it. He must thrust himself into
danger and battle his way out again.
Character Triage—All of These
Must Go: The Interchangeables. Es-
pecially as your secondary characters. For
example, three sisters or friends or who-
ever that would be better as two. The
extra sidekick clutters the story. She isn‘t
distinctive enough and her lack of sub-
stance drains story vitality. She should be
folded into one of the other characters to
streamline plot and pacing or rewritten to
reveal her individuality.
Character Triage—This is Only
the Beginning. I‘ve shared my personal
sampling of characters who need to go if
you want to write a strong story, and of
course you do. Now, you must make
your own list, from your own work, but
don‘t be discouraged when you do. There
are ways to save these characters from
the no-hope heap. Every character, like
every human being, has a story. Your job
as storyteller is to dig deep, discover that
story and give your creation life on the
page. When you do that, all of your char-
acters will not just belong in your story,
they will be embedded in your reader‘s
heart.
Alice Orr—www.aliceorrbooks.com.
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