In Today’s Journal
* Tertiary Characters
* Secondary Characters
* The POV Character(s)
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Please read Part 1 of this series first either
Tertiary Characters
Tertiary characters are typically well-rounded and play a significantly greater role than cardboard characters play, largely to advance the storyline. But in almost every case they advance the storyline by helping reveal the personality and character of the secondary or POV character(s).
Tertiary characters are usually on the verge of becoming secondary characters but they don’t quite make the transition.
Examples of tertiary characters are the mother-in-law who moves in, the old flame, the neighbor (grouch or flirt) who pays a suspicious amount of attention to what’s going on in the POV character’s or secondary character’s life, an intrusive government or non-government organization, etc.
For specific examples of tertiary characters in BO-36, see some of the professional contacts—the more bland Marián Delgado or the more entertaining ‘always on’ Bill Maysen—or the Betelmann Group, an organization similar to Blackwell Ops but who serves only criminal interests.
If you read BO-36, after you’ve read for pleasure, look back over it for how the tertiary characters enticed Jack Temple and the secondary characters to reveal more of who they really are, their personality and psychology.
From yesterday
To “see” the character types at work in real life, I recommend you purchase a copy of Blackwell Ops 36: Temple’s Dream. The examples of character types I use in this series come from that novel.
If you are a paid subscriber, I will send you a copy free if you want it. Just email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. Don’t limit yourself to genre.
A good story is a good story, and BO-36 is much more than a crime thriller action-adventure. If you like romance and/or delving into the human psyche, you’ll enjoy it.
Secondary Characters
Secondary characters are those who often play pivotal roles—again, usually by revealing more of the personality and character (usually through ‘complications’ or conflict) of the POV character(s).
In BO-36, two examples of secondary characters are the contacts Camille Marie Cignón or Delilah Schiff. (Note that some characters in the same role—Blackwell Ops contacts—are only tertiary characters. If you’re studying, compare them with each other.)
Secondary characters also have at least a chance of becoming a POV character in their own right—as I and probably Russ thought Camille surely would become.
The POV Character(s)
The POV character(s) is who the story is about and the point of view from which the story is presented.
In that way, the POV character is the character who is telling you or enabling you to see, hear, smell, taste and feel, physically and emotionally, the story.
You may also think of the POV character as the narrator.
Any part of the setting that is described in the story is described only through the POV character’s physical and emotional senses and his or her opinions.
And yes, this is true of any of the points of view as explained in college and MFA classes.
Note that ‘omniscient,’ ‘limited omniscient,’ ‘first-person,’ ‘third-person’ etc. are all terms coined by critics and English teachers, not by fiction writers. They are terms of construction and ‘deconstruction,’ not creation.
I know this is a difficult myth to leave behind, but if you always describe the setting through the POV character, you won’t need to worry about it.
In the case of the current subseries, the only POV character is Jack Temple, who of course is also ‘only human,’ meaning he has his own frailties and flaws, internal conflicts, etc.
I hasten to add that I didn’t ‘give’ him even one of those traits. He revealed them to me as his personality unfolded in the stories.
I should also say that as the recorder of my characters’ stories, I love witnessing and dealing with the personality and psychology of the POV and other characters as various aspects of those unfold.
In both BO-33 and BO-36, as those stories turned out, Cammy’s overriding primary role was to reveal more of Jack’s own character.
That was also Delilah’s (Deli’s) main role in BO-36. And—who knows—maybe in the future.
Jack might also slip back a little and do or say something that will enable Deli to reveal more of her own psychology and personality. I never know what’s going to happen next, or to what degree it will happen or what effect that will have on the POV or other characters.
That I know only a little of who Deli is thus far is endlessly exciting to me. I love learning new things about people (‘real’ or otherwise), as they reveal new aspects of their personality and psychology.
All of that said, as BO-33 unfolded, I mourned what happened to Cammy (Camille).
In fact, I mourned it so strongly that I opened the door on those characters again and gave Cammy and Jack another chance: a shot at an alternate history.
Then, in BO-36 when Chapter 14 gave me a sense of unease and then Chapter 15 hit me like the explosion of a concussion grenade, I was left reeling and frequently grabbing a Kleenex to wipe my eyes.
Like the event in BO-33 and Jack’s ensuing romance with another woman—who, as it turns out, was a secondary character who eventually slid into being only a tertiary character in the overall storyline (I can’t even recall her name at the moment)—the sequence in BO-36 is definitely not what I wanted to happen. But it’s what did happen.
I mentioned to Russ that I would recast the end of BO-36 a little to let both Jack and Deli give themselves a little time to breathe before they make any major decisions. As I reported recently I have done that.
That also served better to lead into BO-37. In another week or so, Russ and then whomever else will witness whatever happens in that one.
I sincerely hoped my email (and now this post) helped Russ with the pang of actual heartache Cammy caused him [through first what happened in BO-33 and then what happened in BO-36]. Rest assured, both Russ and I found both of those events unsavory at best.
But like ‘real’ human beings, one important aspect of real characters is that they occasionally fall victim to or do or say things that we find unsavory—or that exhilarates us and leaves us gasping for breath.
Still, I’m thankful the characters are actual human beings, making their own decisions, good or bad, right or wrong. I’m glad they’re being who they are, living their lives and coping (or not) with the results.
I wish the same for all of your characters.
Back tomorrow with some final thoughts on characters, a personality traits chart, and a bit about ‘storystarter scenes.’
Talk with you again then.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 1110
Writing of Blackwell Ops 37: Temple-Schiff
Day 1…… 2012 words. To date…… 2012
Day 2…… 2487 words. To date…… 4499
Day 3…… 4597 words. To date…… 9096
Fiction for February………………….. 14576
Fiction for 2025………………………. 135931 (corrected)
Nonfiction for February………………. 5580
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 37560
2025 consumable words…………….. 166981
Average Fiction WPD (February)…….. 2915
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 3
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 107
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 274
Short story collections……………………. 29
Disclaimer: Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.
Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.
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