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The role of friends in fiction

9/2/2012

I’m editing a book at the moment and looking right now I’m looking at the role of the secondary characters in the book. Mostly, I’m looking at the friends.

I love secondary characters in books. Often I love them more than the main character. Ever since I studied Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead back in high school I have been fascinated by the minor characters and what they do off the page (or stage).

In fiction, I love the role friends play in showing us more about the main characters, revealing parts of the story and of course calling them out on their ridiculous behaviour. My daughter and I were watching The Princess Diaries yesterday…I love the way Mia’s friend Lily is always frank with her, but kind. Just like good friends in real life.

In honour of the theme here is the theme song from that long-running TV show.

I’d love to know if you have a secondary character that stays with you.

Comments

Rob Kennedy
9/2/2012 05:17:28 pm

Yes some of the secondary characters in books stay with you always. For me, it’s not so much the friends but people like co-workers, waiters and such. Saw the Australian movie Country Life based on Uncle Vanya by Chekhov the other day and the “servants” made the movie come alive.

They provide a good offset to rigid characters, by bringing them back into reality. I wondered what a book would read like if it was filled with these characters.

Reply
Monique
9/2/2012 07:05:04 pm

Co-workers are a great example…have you read And Then We Came to An End, Rob…the ultimate co-worker book…in my opinion…

Betina Miller
9/3/2012 10:48:53 am

I’ve been reading books by British chick lit author Jill Mansell – she is the one author that immediately comes to mind when I think of secondary characters with a large role in a book. I agree with you – it gives a main character more depth and makes the setting more three dimensional. With her books, it’s almost as if you read several books in one.

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