Writing my first draft of a thriller story.. Realized that I HATE one of my secondary characters

[Guest]

She doesn't have a good story, & she's really not vital to the story. In fact, writing this character fills me with dread. So much so that I haven't even been working on the novel much.

I have to start over without this character, please send motivation.

[Caron]

Interview her, or fill in a character profile. What's her favourite colour? Favourite food? What does she do on her days off? What was her childhood like? Did she or does she have pets? What are her hobbies? What words does she love and hate? What's her lucky number? The aim is not to include this in the story, but to get to know her better.

[Ethan]

Wouldn’t it feel better to write her out of the story- a potential murder victim, or something? It is not like you would have to keep any of it in the final work, but that might ensure she never ever comes back (unless this is some sort of zombie thriller, then there is no hope)

[Kat]

If she's not vital to the story then cutting sounds like a good idea.

My advice would be not to start over, but continue as if you've already edited her out of the story so far. You're going to have to edit the whole 1st draft anyway, may as well save yourself some time and do it then. That way you won't lose your momentum in pushing out the first draft.

[Sharon]

Maybe she’s not meant to be liked. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Brenda]

Interesting dilemma. As we often have characters in our lives that we don't want there. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just write them out of our life stories? I say leave her in there and develop her backstory more than you have. Good or bad, there's already sone history with her. Just my opinion.

[Megan]

Um it's a thriller. Have her become a victim or if you think you may need her make her a weaselly chicken and disappear never to be seen again. Then it become was she a victim or not ..

[Susan]

I once read a novel about a woman with earl onset Alzheimers. The character was a bitch, was a nasty person before and after her illness. All through the book I kept thinking someone should just knock her off. In the end she goes out in a canoe and ends her life. I actually cheered.Lordy. Despised her. But if an unlikable character is secondary, it adds balance to a story. If she gets too obnoxious, you have "THE POWER" to knock her off.

[Elianna]

I had the same thing. I had many drafts and version to my story and a character that I loved at first, simply did not have a role after one part of the story. And that one part of the story was such a minor detail that it could easily be replaced with another character that had more depth and meaning to the plot. So I had to cut this character out.

[Dwayne]

I’ve had this dilemma before. I eventually cut the character after determining that he wasn’t that relevant and did nothing to move the plot forward. Lesson learned: Don’t waste creative energy on characters you’re forcing to be in your story.

Best of Luck.

[Julie]

That's part of being a writer. I had that issue with a story I was writing. My original MC turned out to be a really mean guy so I switched my MC to the woman who thought she loved him and it worked out great. Created a lot of tension and conflict. I eventually got rid of him, and she moved on and found a guy who really loved her. It wasn't my original plans for the story but it worked out better and one novel has now become a series. It always fascinates me how stories take on a life of there own. I feel like I'm just the person who has been chosen to write my characters stories. I love that about writing! I love to see how the story changes and evolves and what the story ends up being.

[Jeremy]

Maybe she's better off dead.

No, really. Would the story be better if she died suddenly? How would the other characters react? Would it move the plot forward? It could be worth a try, and maybe feel strangely satisfying, too.

[Jan]

Sometimes, it feels like a burden has been lifted off your shoulders when you "kill off" one of your "children" - the character that you created. When you feel better afterwards, you know you did the right thing,

[Mike]

If she does nothing to move the story forward delete her.

I've adapted novels into screenplays and sometimes have to merge two characters into one, or delete one, or more, completely to reduce the story length... all part of the job of a writer!

[Ashley]

Probably a good call. In the past, I've been able to keep the "role," but fill in with a different, pre-existing character that I preferred and wanted to give more "screen time."

[Ailie]

I hated my main male love interest, he wasn't even an aspect of the novel until recently until I decided...oh what if my female lead had a boyfriend when she was a teenager. He seemed so basic at the beginning and he was only going to be a small part of the novel and never mentioned again until I've changed a lot about him. Now I wish he was real

[Will]

Erase her. If she has nothing to do with the story just stop writing her entirely and leave an edit note to delete or rewrite all her scenes prior to this. If you want to keep some stuff, replace her with a character who matters to the story.

[Matt]

It will make the book better! (Fellow thriller writer here) trim the character OUT, start over and do not look back. It’s all part of the process and you’ve realized something GOOD! (If painful). But shake it off, congratulate your instincts and start over.