Friday, October 23, 2015

Scene Stealers

Characters who steal scenes.

As an author, I love all of my characters--good, bad, horrid, awesome--they're my babies, and I relish the instant when a supporting character steps into his or her role with zeal, bringing the plotline to life. They're the characters who light fires, challenge the protagonists, and fight for their own ideals every step of the way, sometimes unleashing epic struggles.

Did someone mention Scythe? (Also known as "Pet" from Prophet.)
While such characters do add wonderful life to stories, and sometimes provide much-needed comic relief, they present a charming danger to every plotline, even affecting the way that readers might eventually feel about your main character, whom you also love as a parent-author.

They become major scene-stealers, and it's not always a good thing. In Valor, a vibrant supporting character was threatening to completely overshadow the female main character, whose introverted nature made her vulnerable to fading away in the lesser character's glow. By the third chapter, I was consciously "shushing" the lesser character to allow my main female lead to speak for herself, and allow the reader to live in her quiet but no less admirable thoughts. (Dear character kids, you really do have to share the scenes!)

Fortunately, in Valor, my supporting character understood perfectly. As for Scythe/Pet in Prophet ... well, yes, he's another story.

Blessings, Dear Everyone!

Image: Shutterstock.

4 comments:

Esther Hadassah said...

I am really looking forward to reading your next book. And I love the illustration of Scythe (Pet). It definitely brings the scene to life in a way.

RJLarsonbooks said...

Hadassah, yes, I love this image of Scythe indulging in a stare-down with Kien--the expressions are perfect! I hope you enjoy Valor; I've loved writing it, even if it saddened me. On the second read-through, my stoic editor noted that he was still affected by the ending. *Sigh.*

-blessed holy socks, the non-perishable-zealot said...

I gotta lotta scene steelers, dear...
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RJLarsonbooks said...

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