In praise of the little people

[John Dean]

Following on from my previous blogs on creating characters, a word about minor characters and the care you need to take when creating them.
But why, you may ask, spend unnecessary time on insignificant characters? Some may have roles so negligible that they won’t even warrant names: the servant who brought the drinks; the hotel maid who cleaned the room, the police officer who drove the car and so on.
They deserve attention, though, because, although the reader isn’t supposed to care much about them, they still have a job to do. Their individuality may set a mood, add humour, make the story more interesting or complete, provide some plot information. They may also reveal something about your main characters.
So, although they may still not warrant much in the way of description, it is worth spending a little time getting them right so that they feel like real people.