Secondary characters

Your novel should have two main characters Cl and C2 (a man and a woman) and two secondary characters C3 and C4 (also a man and a woman). Cl should fall in love with C2 during the course of the book, or, if already in love, their love should deepen. A subliminal attraction should also exist between Cl and C4 to increase tension. Character Cl should have a special skill that will help him (or her) solve problems presented in the book. 

Since the nature of chemical combination is electrical it is natural to inquire whether there is any essential connexion between chemical activation processes and ionization. From the early days of the electron theory experiments have been made with the object of establishing such a relationship, but most of the evidence seems to indicate that any ionization accompanying ordinary chemical reactions is very small and probably of a purely secondary character. ... 

Rust Hills, a well-known editor, characterizes the short story as a story that tells of something that happened to someone. Second, the successful contemporary short story will demonstrate a more harmonious relationship of all its aspects than will any other literary art form excepting perhaps lyric poetry."1 He also suggests that the story is dynamic, that the character is moved in the course of experience of the story, and that there are few secondary characters and no subplot. Often the story will unfold around a choice that presents itself to the character, who never returns to his or her former state closure is attained by virtue of making or avoiding that choice.2 Rust Hills s observations about the short story could be as readily applied to the short film. 

Curly is not just comic relief in the film but a secondary character who plays an important role in the last third of Chinatown. The emotionalism and lack of guile we see here and in the rest of this first scene make him an ideal target for Gittes manipulation later, when the detective desperately needs help in arranging a getaway. 

Let s begin with character types, of which there are two categories main characters and secondary characters. 

Secondary characters have much simpler roles in the screen story. Often they are almost stereotypic. They have a purpose, and they live out that purpose in the course of the story. They too have goals, but their goals are more or less related to that of the main character. Their reason for being in the story is either to help the main character or act as a barrier to the main character s goal. Secondary characters should also have visual and behavioral characteristics that help the story. 

The most important secondary character is the antagonist, whose goal is diametrically opposed to the goal of the main character. Often the antagonist is the most complex of the secondary characters. 

The main character s position in the story is only one issue of positioning you will have to consider. The second concern has to do with the positioning of the secondary characters in relation to the main character. This is crucial because only through interaction with the other characters does the main character move through the plot. The rungs of the dramatic ladder are, in a sense, built with the secondary characters. The issue for the writer, then, is how to deploy the secondary characters for maximum impact in the story. 

Given the issue of scale in the short film, writers employ fewer secondary characters than in the long film. The amount of time devoted to developing the secondary characters is also far less. Although this may mean disproportionate reliance on stereotypes for the secondary characters, a more productive approach is to relate the secondary characters to their functions in... 

In this sense, the secondary characters may be considered catalysts for the plot. Generally, there are two types of secondary characters those who propel the main character toward his or her goal, and those who stand as barriers to the achievement of that goal. In Incident at Owl Creek, the Union soldiers are clearly barriers to the main character achieving his goal. His wife is also a secondary character, but one who helps move the main character toward his goal. 

Finally, the tragic character needn t be sacrificed in vain. To redeem" that sacrifice, you need a witness, a secondary character in the narrative, someone who will proceed with life differently after having observed the main character s struggle—a person, in other words, who absorbs the lesson of the narrative. When the main character is a victim, we subtly shift our allegiance to the witness, thus surviving for another day. 

Their toxic effects are of secondary character and can be eliminated by selecting the appropriate CD type or derivative or mode of application. 

MINOR (approximately 15-35 pages) Fleming is a prominent secondary character, who actively participates in the story, but his involvement is generally limited to only a few chapters. Worth seeking out, but not essential. 

The sporadic distribution of these bases, the irregularity of their occurrence in closely related species, perhaps indicate that their production involves processes which are not inherent to every cell plasm, but possess a more secondary character. 

---