Dealing with the same characters in stories

[ElectricBlue]

Conversely, you can also create a stable character whom you thread through several stories just to cue your readers that they're in the same universe. Mine is Gretchen, a barrista and sometime cross-country runner whom, it seems, all my other characters either know or have heard about. I've described her minimally and I don't think she's ever said anything beyond cashier banter at the coffeeshop, but a committed reader who pays attention could probably write a very vivid Gretchen Story just based on the hints my other characters have dropped.

She'll never get her own story, the poor thing.

I'm similar, but mainly because I'm lazy - I have two go-to male characters, the older Adam, the younger one, Alex. They're different aged variants of each other, and can be plugged quickly and easily into any story, thus leaving me free to write the woman (or women, sometimes there are two). It's the women who interest me, not the men, so this saves me time and, as you say, gives follower fans a known starting point.

It's the side characters, like your Gretchen, who are more likely to get a story of their own.

 

[Voboy]

It's the side characters, like your Gretchen, who are more likely to get a story of their own.

I've got a lot of Gretchens, and a lot of them HAVE gotten their own stories. In my mind, I picture them like kids waiting to get picked for kickball. Some get nabbed early and often; others languish eternally, waiting with increasing despondency.

At one time, I thought I would give Gretchen a more explicit role. But then I realized I liked having her around as a background figure.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've got a lot of Gretchens, and a lot of them HAVE gotten their own stories. In my mind, I picture them like kids waiting to get picked for kickball. Some get nabbed early and often; others languish eternally, waiting with increasing despondency.

At one time, I thought I would give Gretchen a more explicit role. But then I realized I liked having her around as a background figure.

My story waitresses are always cameos for the girls in my favourite cafés, so they change with time and locale. I think they've all got their own story, and those that are new, eventually will.

There's an older woman in some stories who overhears conversations - I know who she is, but she's there as an Easter egg for keen followers. She's already starred in her own story, and has had a few cameos in others. I should leave a note in my author's bio, to find out who is really a fan.