RS, Author, Novelist on Nostr: #WritersCoffeeClub Ch 16 Nbr 11 — Do you write or imagine a backstory for your ...

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 16 Nbr 11 — Do you write or imagine a backstory for your secondary characters, or do they pop into existence as required?

They pop into existence, then assert something germane to the plot, then I consider how that happened and why. Sometimes that generates a backstory, which often elevates the SC to recurring through the story. If I'm interested, the reader should be. When I ask myself why they're recurring, they sometimes end up modifying the plot going forward. Often this elevates them from recurring to their own side story as a MC.

That's my character generation pattern in a nutshell.

Though the co-MC in Reluctant Moon isn't a secondary character, I had a bridge sentence in the narrative that takes the reader from A to C without a few weeks B in-between. The sentence takes the reader from the moment it is apparent the MC pair are going to win their scholarships to him bringing her the news that both won scholarships. It, however, implied backstory for main series antagonist. Specifically, that the woman who runs the school, incidentally the ruler of the nation, is attracted the the co-MC and has secrets that need narratively to be shared. So, 30,000 words later, I'm still writing a backstory for that one sentence bridge with the main series antagonist as the major very affectionate SC. It might be a standalone novella, or it might get knitted into the main narrative.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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