Let 'Em In: When an Unexpected Character Wants to Enter Your Novel

by Elizabeth Solar

So, you are having a dinner party and the table is set for twelve. Right before you serve dessert, a knock on the door. An unexpected visitor. They’re and old acquaintance and until now, you’ve appreciated their spontaneity. Sheesh. Could their timing be any worse? You hope you have enough flan. Flustered by this late arrival and a little embarrassed you hadn’t invited them before, it feels wrong to turn them away, so you walk them into the dining room.

Everyone around the table is now pleasantly buzzed from a few glasses of wine and welcome a little more conversation.  You pull up another chair. Each guest moves theirs just a little to make room for one more. Luckily, your guest is charming, albeit highly opinionated and fun. Coffee and dessert are served. Stories are spun, gossip is traded, current event discussions are avoided at all costs. 

 Rather than being a nuisance, the late arrival of your unexpected guest livens things up, adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the evening. Your tribe embraces this latecomer. New friendships establish.

All in all, the evening is a success. 

 Why the convoluted hypothetical about an unexpected late arrival at a dinner party? And what the heck does that have to do with writing?

 I hoped you would ask.

 For the better part of 18 months, I had examined, nay scrutinized, revisions of my novel, not quite satisfied with the hundreds of pages I’d written. I didn’t know what the story needed but it didn’t feel quite complete. Something was missing: An element or person who would not only inform but enhance the primary story and provide a complement and counterbalance for my protagonist’s journey.

In early August, after a walk on the beach with my trusty canine, an idea presented itself. Seems inspiration for me springs from dog walks. But I digress.

 One of my secondary characters needed a story with higher stakes to give both moral ambiguity and weight for a through-line of secrecy and self-protection. It had to be a secret they entrust/burden with my protagonist that would raise the stakes for her as well. Because secrets are not always ours alone, conditions necessitated the writing in yet another character, a late literary arrival. It also meant getting a closer look inside the mind of my secondary character.

So, one more time, I research (did I mention my supporting character is a real, now deceased, person?). There’s back story, correspondence, dialogue to figure out and write. It’s been fun. And if I’m being honest, it’s enlivened not only my story, but my creative practice.

Sure, I’ve added a few more months to my process, but this story resonates much more deeply. This late-breaking plot point feels urgent and emotional. It amplifies the other themes, and although it is a fictionalized addition to a historic figures life, feels plausible. 

 My wonderful writer friend and AoR contributor Nancy Sackheim encouraged me to pursue this newbie and with these words: “I think maybe all these characters have been ‘knocking on the door’ a while to tell their stories.  Time to let them in!”

 I have put out the welcome mat and extended hospitality. Time will tell if this late arrival enhances, detracts or overstays their welcome. In the meantime, I’m enjoying their company.