Cutting Characters You Love
Posted by annastan on March 2nd, 2010. Filed under: Craft, WIP, Writing Rants.At some point, all writers have to do it. There’s a character you love, one that makes you laugh or cry. But alas, your story is getting too crowded and the plot too winding. You, beloved character, must go. Cut. Snip. Goodbye.
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n the past year I’ve had to cut out three major characters from two manuscripts. Each time I was resistant and pouty. But when I finally did it, I realized my story didn’t miss the characters at all. In fact, it was stronger because they were gone. However, it can be hard to step back and realize that your characters need to be cut. Here are a few scenarios to look out for:
1. The final resolution could happen with or without her. No matter how big Jane’s role seems earlier in the story, if she gets a lot of screen time but her involvement in the story doesn’t actually affect the end result, chances are she doesn’t need to be there. Either that, or she needs to be more intricately woven into the story, so that she is part of the final resolution. (Note: This generally doesn’t apply to truly minor characters who are only there to serve specific smaller purposes.)
2. The character takes too much attention away from your main characters. Some minor characters are so charismatic that they want to take over the story. Don’t let them. While Jane’s witty puns might add a lot to a story, once her jokes start overshadowing your main character’s lines and making him/her seem boring or unlikeable, it might be time to cut (or at least cut down) Jane’s role.
3. Another character already serves the same purpose. One of my writing group members has a great saying: Pretend each of your characters is a guest at a potluck; are they each bringing something new to the table? She couldn’t be more right. You don’t want two of your characters bringing fruit salad, right? Jane’s fruity goodness is more than enough. So if your main character has three bubbly friends or two annoying siblings, make sure they each contribute something to the story that no one else could.
4. The character isn’t distinct enough from other characters. This is related to #3. If your characters aren’t distinct enough from each other, readers will tend to get them confused. In order for us to keep them all straight, remember to give them each individual voices and to have them serve different purposes in the story. If you keep getting feedback that your readers are having a hard time keeping all the character’s aunts straight, for example, the solution might be to cut out one or two of the aunts and use the remaining aunts to their full potential.
I’m sure there are lots of other scenarios where characters might need to be chopped from a story, but these are the main ones that came to mind. Now it’s your turn. Are there any other scenarios where you’ve encountered characters that needed to go?
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
I had to cut several characters from my wip for all the reasons listed above. Glad I’m not the only one whose had to do this.
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Fantastic, Anna! Sometimes it is hard, but I find time away from my characters makes it so much more obvious which ones need to go!
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:37 am
Wow, you are totally speaking right to me, aren’t you?!
I have a picture book that I am rewriting and feedback stated that not only should a certain character go, she is detracting from the story. The funny thing is, she was originally supposed to be the MC, but I changed that before I wrote the first draft. Cutting a character out of a 700 word book is far harder than one may think, in fact it totally hyperbolizes your point.
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:46 am
Also, your photo is totally freaking me out.
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:52 am
Ha, I love that picture! But of course I love creepy things.
Great checklist, Anna.
I’ve had to cut a character who as in your checklist — another character already served one of my purposes.
But that’s okay. The great thing about characters you create is that you can just plop them into a future story.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:06 am
Stina, you are certainly not alone! I think cutting characters is one of my least favorite parts of writing.
PJ, I think you’re right that time away does make things clearer. I still always feel guilty, though!
Jon, I was just talking to one of my students about cutting a character from her picture book. She realized the character wasn’t adding anything to the movement of the story (even though she was a great character on her own). It definitely is harder in picture books – they’re so slim to begin with!
Thanks, Karen! This is what I tell my characters when I’m forced to cut them: Don’t worry, I can always use you in a future story. They still look pretty resentful, though.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:14 am
Right now one of my characters that used to play a major role and I loved, is now a nameless bystander with one line in the whole story but no speaking parts. That is what I had to reduce him down to. That’s how I kept him in the story, but no one will ever know his history but me.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:18 am
Well covered, Anna. I agree with Karen about how a character can become the protagonist of a new story, especially a character from your second point. (And I’m with Jon on the photo.)
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:38 am
Anna,
Great post!
When cutting characters there might be another bright side. If the character is strong enough to stand on his/her own, you may have just found the understudy who will be the star of your next show!
(btw…I agree about the picture! *shudders*)
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:43 am
Just because you cut them doesn’t mean they’re dead.
The first short story I wrote as an adult was accepted for publication. It was a three-chapter subplot of a novel that didn’t workâbut the character did and the weeks of research I did for that character’s development worked.
I got paid for the story, too; in the high two figures, as Calvin Trillin used to say. The hourly rate probably worked out to $1.50 USD.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:42 am
Laura, that’s so sad. The poor guy. But hopefully he understands that it was all for the greater good of the story.
Andrea, I think those attention-grabbing characters are happier in their own stories. They’re just waiting for us to notice!
Thanks, John! I think that’s a great way of looking at it. Instead of cutting the character out of a story, you’re putting her into a new one. She can’t get mad at you for that, can she?
Anne, thanks for sharing your cut character success story! I don’t think anything we write is ever a waste of time, but if we can actually use the things we cut in something new, that’s even better.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Anna–thanks for the great post. I have a group of minor characters, that I think need the small part they play, but this post was food for thought. I haven’t had to cut major characters as of yet. I think they would cry a ton.
I’m also intrigued by Laura’s comment. I think she should publish a side companion book about that one character.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:42 pm
This is so true! I had to cut a character from my manuscript and it was for all the reasons that you mentioned. Great post!
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Heather, I’ve found that some characters cry more than others. In fact, I think some know it’s coming long before I do. They’re perceptive that way.
Thanks, Kirsten! It sounds like you made the right decision cutting your character. Hopefully you’ll be able to find a new home for him/her one day.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:53 pm
We could start our own reality show, “Written Out”.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Ha, I love that idea! At the very least, we should put together a book that has a bunch of written out characters in it. Though I hate to think what would become of characters who get written out of THAT book too. They might lose the will to live.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:25 am
Haha, that’s funny. A collection of short stories along those lines could be hilarious.
March 4th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Regarding the book of written out characters, I’m thinking more something like “The Land of the Misfit Characters” (ala Land of the Misfit Toys) where characters from all sorts of genres find themselves when their respective authors don’t want them anymore.
The story could be about them coming terms with their misfit status and the reasons they don’t quite work. (Character self-aware, self-improvement in action?) Forming alliances, plotting and scheming for and against each other. All of them vying within the story to be the main character in a new story of their own as they all try to free themselves from the island forever.
What a read (and a write) that would be!
March 4th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Okay Jon and John, one of us is going to have to write that book! Or I suppose we can each write one for our own written-out characters. Mine would be about a giant talking bird, a drunk fairy, and a mouthless princess. Talk about a colorful cast of characters, huh?
March 4th, 2010 at 10:10 am
For sure Anna! Hm, mine would be about an innocent little girl with an affinity for trapping insects and a French mime.
Now you know why the were cut.
March 8th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Your scissor spider is the scariest freaking thing I think I’ve ever seen. Seriously.
Also, great post!
March 8th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Thanks, Carrie! Haha, I know the spider is really creepy. I found it when I did a Google search for “scissors” – once I saw its sharp little limbs, I knew I had to use it.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:20 am
What a great article! I haven’t necessarily had to cut too many characters completely (yet), but I have definitely altered the focus of a story or two by changing POV characters. Sometimes, when my story isn’t working, it helps to look at it through the eyes of another character.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Thanks, Mary! You’re absolutely right about a change of POV giving you a new perspective on a story. I tell my students that if they’re stuck, they should try writing the scene from the POV of the kitchen table.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Very useful post. So many beginning novels suffer from too many characters. They make the plot sprawl. This is essential advice I haven’t seen often enough.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Thanks, Anne. You’re right about sprawling plots caused by too many characters! I was guilty of one of those myself. Luckily some character-hacking did the trick. Happy writing!