August 21, 2019
This section specifically discusses background characters, the often nameless, faceless masses that are meant to fill space, and their purpose in literature. We are not discussing supporting or secondary characters.
In almost every fictional work, there are characters that seem to just exist for the sake of it. Those unnamed masses, the soldiers destined to die in the shadow of the charging protagonist, or the stranger who kindly gives our frantic character directions and is never seen again. These are background characters. And calling them 'characters' is a bit of a stretch, as they do not exist to be characters. They simply populate the world and fill space. But they do not have to be useless. When used right, they can convey a great deal of information with a few short sentences.
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BACKGROUND CHARACTERS IN WARRIORS
Warriors has an absolutely massive cast, hundreds of cats gracing the fictional universe with varying degrees of impact on it. Its main and supporting cast are quite a bit larger than other fictional works. And its background cast is by far one of the largest out there. I guarantee that not a single fan could name more than 50 without the wiki...
But that did not stop the Erins from doing so.
Most of Warriors' background characters have physical descriptions, and all of them are named. And that is a problem. There is a reason why they are the "nameless faceless masses". A good 90% of all named cats in canon are more or less useless. Those that are serve to hammer home a point for a supporting character or be used in shallow plot devices. There are better ways to use background characters, but this is by no means a bad use case. They are throwaways. If anyone is to be sacrificed to a plot device it should be them.
The problem comes in the fact that they, useless background characters, confuse the reader as to who is important or not because they are named and described (looking at you, 'Allegiances' page). If a character is going to have a name, even a bad one, and a description, even a shallow one, they had better be useful to some degree. If they show up only to get hit by a car or killed by a badger, then why even describe them? It makes the reader think they are important. They spend precious seconds remembering who that cat is and what they do, only for their efforts to go to waste when they are never seen again after calling the protagonist a coward or something.
Background characters make great subjects for fanfiction, however. Among fandoms, some background characters even rise to MC-level popularity due to some weird quark or appearance. Still, it is rare to see a fanfic written with one as the protagonist. That being said, there are many things we should not do with our background cast.
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WHAT NOT TO DO WITH BACKGROUND CHARACTERS
First and foremost, you must remember these characters' place. They are background characters. They are to be tucked away in the back, thrown into the jaws of dangerous plot devices, or used in an expository manner.
But of course, there will always be nay-sayers who think otherwise. Some of them may even be reading this guide, thinking:
"But Tyto, there are plenty of popular books like Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire that are filled with named background characters. And some of them get really popular . Explain!"
- A very concerned Catstar
"Tyto, if background characters are so insignificant that they should not be named, explain shows like The Simpsons or My Little Pony: FiM. These shows' background characters are even better known and liked than their main casts. They have whole episodes dedicated to them and constantly generate fanart. Explain that!
- A very inquisitive Otherleaf
Do not do that.
Do not draw your inspiration to give every single background character a unique appearance and place among your cast from popular media. And here is why.
For starters, visual and written media have completely different ways of conveying stories; do not use it as inspiration for your writing. Visual media has the advantage of being able to display the description of a character. Even if they only show up for a second or two, they appear and the potential is there for them to be more than what they are in the future. Often they are not, and are swiftly forgotten by the viewer. As for written media, these characters are often treated like plot devices. They may have whole paragraphs dedicated to them, but what after that? Nothing. The one or two-time appearance of the character is what keeps them in the background. The formal name and the unassuming dress keeps them in the background. The same goes for your cats, who do not even have clothing to rely on to convey information.
Common in fanfiction, the background characters are given too large a role or a recurring role in the plot. At that point, they have ceased to be background. The reason books like Harry Potter can have so many named and described background characters and get away with it is because they are, in actuality, throwaway characters that serve only to move the plot forward. They are plot devices, they are obstacles, but they are never anything more. There is a big difference between being a plot device and moving the plot forward. And for every background cat you have moving the plot forward outside of a plot device is time taken from the main and supporting characters. If a cat rushes through the woods and warns our main character of an impending attack, they are background. If a cat raises our kit protagonist through the first thirty pages and then disappears and is never mentioned again, they were not background.
Then there is the argument that some fictional works get popular because of their background cast. This does not happen. Ever. And if it does, then the creator put the wrong characters and story front and center. When My Little Pony: FiM got huge, it did so because it was not another oversaturated lich draining the life from the parents who had to watch it with their children. Its characters, world, and writing actually held the attention of more adults than kids with its relatable stories. The background characters were an added bonus thanks to the massive fandom that sprung up around the show. Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire had many background characters, but started with good premises and characterization and were popular at a time when fantasy was a top genre. Fans flocked to them, and when their fandoms sprung up, their characters got fan art, were inserted into fanfiction, and were discussed on forums. All of them, including those in the back.
A diverse and interesting background cast does not make your story successful. And if your background characters really are that great, why are they not the main characters? Now that that information has been explained, we can get to the part about using them as intended.
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WHAT DO I DO WITH BACKGROUND CHARACTERS?
So if we should not give them too much of an image and not too big a role in the plot, what do we do with them? We treat them like the nameless, faceless masses they are written to be. We do almost nothing with them.
By almost nothing, I mean we use them as disposable plot devices (just be careful not to make these particular plot devices too important). They blend into the background as a crowd of unknown cats amids the gathering for the protagonist. They help build the world by being "well kept" or "scarred and tired". They have a few lines here and there, maybe a couple of appearances as that once-named deputy that died near the beginning. They are not given primary or secondary roles in our story. They are tertiary characters. And they usually exist because clans consist of more than just the protagonist (in most cases).
In Warriors, these characters have too many details attached to them to be great examples. But they are good examples. In a rare instance for this guide, I say use the Erin's background cats as inspiration for your own cast of masses.
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IN CONCLUSION...
Your background characters exist to populate your story and use plot devices that the main character cannot (due to plot armor, worldbuilding, etc.). Maybe they will have a name mentioned. Rarely they will be described for the sake of a plot device. Not everyone should be like this. Think of your background characters like the people you went to school with or lived around growing up. There were (possibly) hundreds or thousands of others. You might have known a lot of names and faces. But only a few were your friends and family. And the rest faded into the background of acquaintance. These characters make your world feel alive and do so much by doing so little.
This is a fanfiction, not a TV show or an engineered best-selling YA series. Not every cat should have the spotlight.
- Tyto