This week’s topic grew out of my most recent read, Margery Allingham’s The Late Pig. It’s a short book, my copy is just shy of 140 pages. I could’ve read it in one day, but I read it in two because I had other things to do. It’s a nice little addition to the Campion series, notable in that the inimitable Albert himself is the narrator.
However, this isn’t a book review, at least not of any particular book. As I was reading The Late Pig, I noticed many delightful details, but realized many similar ones are present in most of my favorite golden age mysteries—and really any well-crafted book.
What are these details? Side characters!
The Queens of Crime (Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh), were masters of creating wonderfully round side characters for their stories.
A quick writer-speak lesson is in order. A round character is one who has depth. They have a distinct personality; readers get to know them. A flat character is the opposite. They have one or two traits, but they aren’t deep or detailed at all.
When you’re writing a story, it’s easy to spend all your time on your protagonist (main character). It is their story, after all. When you need a side character, it’s usually for a specific reason. Maybe it’s the upstairs maid who must be questioned. All that’s explicitly required is a little white apron and some “yes ma’ams” or “yes sirs.” But in the hands of a skilled writer, the maid becomes more than that. She has a certain home region and upbringing that affect her speech. She is young and petite or old and sturdy. She looks at her hands or gives the detective a defiant stare.
Suddenly, the maid is a real person instead of a plot device.
I’ve noticed that the Queens of Crime have some go-to methods to achieve this. The only clever name I could think of for them is “audio-visual.”
Audio
Great authors use dialect and speech patterns to develop characters. It’s about how they speak, not just what they say. Or, as I heard it expressed in a poetry course, sound as well as sense.
Really, this is an important part of developing any sort of realistic character, whether they have one line or are the hero. Most beloved characters have a catchphrase or distinctive accent.
Interestingly, though, I’ve noticed many authors seem to indulge in dialects, accents, and unique speech patterns even more in side characters. Perhaps it is because it could become distracting or caricatured on a larger scale.
However, in a side character that is sprinkled through a single book, speech is a quick and memorable way to add depth. In The Late Pig, Leo, an old country gentleman, has a unique speech pattern, which Campion comments on. “Leo really talks like this,” he said, after quoting a series of clipped and direct sentences. It’s as if Campion is telling us that, while it might seem unrealistic, Leo really is a practical, straightlaced, taciturn old country squire who utters cliches like “Truth must out.”
It makes sense for authors to use speech to help their readers envision characters. Just think about how many conclusions we draw about people based on the way they speak: their regional or cultural background, how educated they are, their age, gender, health, mood, motivation, and probably just as many more.
Obviously—like in real life—this writing technique can simply perpetuate stereotypes. And, unfortunately, many of the classic books I love fall into this from time to time, especially when we look at them through a modern lens.
But, there are just as many times when my favorite authors show a deep understanding and respect for humanity. If you’ve read any British mysteries, you’ve probably discovered how in touch many of the authors are with the various subcultures of their country. One of my favorite examples of this from my library is Sayers’ The Nine Tailors. This book is filled with side characters, and all of them are delightful vignettes of rural English people. Whether it was from research or personal experience, Sayers knew what she was talking about. While she probably generalized, she did not do it ignorantly or disrespectfully.
The keys to developing characters from the “audio” perspective is to pay attention not only to what they say, but how they say it, and to do so accurately and respectfully.
Visual
There should be something distinctive about the character that can be seen.
It could be a physical trait, in The Late Pig, Poppy, a slightly eccentric older woman is often identified by her curly grey hair.
Or it could be clothing or accessories. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes develops a character sketch based on a walking stick.
Or, it could be a gesture or mannerism. In Agatha Christie's The Mystery of the Blue Train, Mr. Goby is hired to gather information for a millionaire. His habit of looking at objects around the room instead of the person he is speaking to proves instantly that he is shifty. It also provides hilarious sentences like "gazed earnestly at the radiator."
Even a lack of physical distinctiveness could identify a character. Another example from The Late Pig is Gilbert Whippet, an old school friend of Campion’s who is notable for being unassuming and nondescript.
Just like the audio half of this post addressed, these visual techniques are just as important in main characters as side characters. Hercule Poirot needs his mustache, Albert Campion needs his large spectacles, and Holmes would be lost without his pipe.
Conclusion
I’m not a lover of description much of the time. I want the dialogue and action of a story to carry the freight. It’s hard to draw the line sometimes between necessary description and the dreaded purple prose.
It’s even more challenging when it comes to side characters. Because they are only used for one novel, and perhaps only in a handful of scenes, they don’t have the same time and space for gradual, measured development that the main characters in a series do. We don’t get into their psychology or watch them change through life experiences. All we have is the basics of how they look and how they speak.
For any skilled author, making those details do the work of character development should be a no-brainer. Learning to make description do double duty has been the secret to pushing past my instinctive adjective avoidance.
If you’re not a writer, this post may not be something you’re saving in the “useful advice” file. However, if you have a favorite book, show, or movie, try considering how it uses the audio-visual techniques to develop characters. Or simply think about how you notice those details in real life. You can learn a lot not only about other people, but about how we perceive them.
Below are Amazon affiliate links to the books referenced in this post. If you purchase any of the products these link to, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Please note: these editions may not be exactly the same as mine, however, they are all by publishers I have editions of other books from, so I feel confident they will be quality editions.
The Late Pig:
The Hound of the Baskervilles:
The Mystery of the Blue Train:
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