Thinking about Ancillary Characters

In my current WIP (Fired Up and Feisty), suspicion swirls around a group of seniors in town for the annual alumni weekend at Ocean Alley High School. My mystery series books always introduce new characters or "pull to the forefront" people who were incidental in prior books. But they don't usually have a group of outsiders coming into town.

I'm thinking through what to reveal about each of them -- appearance, high school experience (good or bad?), attitude (snooty or friendly?), type of humor (endless possibilities there), and more. If I spend more time on one character than others, readers may think I'm establishing that person as the villain or future victim. If I say an even amount of fairly little about each person, they'll all be flat.

I decided to say or show one distinctive thing about each one the first time they appear. Sometimes it takes few words, sometimes more. For example:

Madge walked toward them. “Did anyone see Catherine? And what about Sandy Cotton? They were both on the third floor.”

The woman with red curls said, “Someone in an SUV came to get them. Sandy told a policeman where they were going.”

“Ah. Good,” Madge said.

“Too good to stay with us?” a man asked.

Two or three people said, “Shut up, Harvey.”

That tells you Harvey is a smart-aleck and others don't hesitate to let him know that.

As guests who had to leave the hotel because of a fire sit in city hall, they show their impatience. Who wouldn't?

The woman with iron-gray hair asked, “Can we get this show on the road?”

A grumpy looking man asked, “You wanna drive the bus?”

“I could do it better…”

“Hey, folks.” The man had an air of authority about him. “Doesn’t help to grouse.”

Madge remembered him as the man dressed as a college professor at last night’s diner gathering. She didn’t recall that he’d introduced himself. He had at least managed to wear shoes, slacks, and a collared shirt, albeit wrinkled.

The grumpy man said, “Put a cork in it, Redford.”

What you most learn from this brief banter is that Redford is not popular. And is perhaps precise.

I've slowed down a bit to develop better back stories for the B&B guests, all of whom are new to the series. I don't think I want the level of detail as for continuing characters, but I may surprise myself.

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