1. Yochanan Ben Carmel

    Yochanan Ben Carmel Banned for trolling

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    How do I flesh out an extra main character or two added out of necessity?

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Yochanan Ben Carmel, May 5, 2014.

    The book in question is about time travel

    Stewart is a translator, knowledgeable in French and Latin, and Leonid is a medical doctor. I do not know how to flesh these out, but it seems necessary to add them
     
  2. Duchess-Yukine-Suoh

    Duchess-Yukine-Suoh Girl #21 Contributor

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    Why do you feel it is necessary to add them?
     
  3. Yochanan Ben Carmel

    Yochanan Ben Carmel Banned for trolling

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    Because Silver, inventor of time travel, only speaks English, and doesn't have time to learn a new language, so he hires Stewart, and a medical doctor would be pretty useful to bring along.
     
  4. nippy818

    nippy818 Senior Member

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    Just throw them into the mix from the intro. three MCs seems legit to me.
     
  5. A.M.P.

    A.M.P. People Buy My Books for the Bio Photo Contributor

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    Why can't Silver know another language?
    Adding a random character just to fix a problem is just plain bad story telling; similar to a Deus ex machina.
    It's meaningless to magically give characters all the tools they need to survive the story as it takes away all suspense or makes a reader roll their eyes and think: "How convenient."
     
  6. MLM

    MLM Banned for trolling

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    Leonid is 5'8'', faked his medical degree, and is wanted in Illinois for tampering with the mail. His original name is Nate. Stewart is 5'10'', taught ESL in Kenya for a year, and wants to find a way to time travel further back to ancient Rome to master his Latin.
     
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  7. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    I'm confused. You've already fleshed some other characters out, right? What's different about the process for these?
     
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  8. Yochanan Ben Carmel

    Yochanan Ben Carmel Banned for trolling

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    How did you guess that Stewart was black?
     
  9. Acanthophis

    Acanthophis ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Contributor

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    Surely a man who invented TIME travel has the TIME to learn a new language. :p

    That probably sounded sarcastic, but I'm actually wondering how the man who invents time travel does not have the time to do things. Surely, he'd have all the time in the world?
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2014
  10. chicagoliz

    chicagoliz Contributor Contributor

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    I often find that if I just write the story, the characters that are needed will show up. They can then be fleshed out through the interactions with the MC.
    If you want to flesh them out more, spend more time with them. Write some scenes for them that will not appear in your novel. That way you'll get to know them.
     

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