Writing craft corner, reserved for coffee, post-it scribbling and the occasional almond croissant.
CHARACTER DYNAMICS
Who needs to play off who? And when and where might these interactions play out?
With a big cast, I like to create a map of how I see my characters. This helps me not only visualise them as an ensemble but track whose connected via conflict; who bounces off who. In other words, what unique challenges are they posing to one another in their respective character arcs. It's like an elaborate game of skittles.
I can become quite a muddle in written form or plotting lists. So I prefer visual cues to remind me of connections and causation. Sometimes I have a serial killer board with threads running between them.
The objective of course is that ALL tension and dialogue between peripheral characters either plays into theme or the protagonist’s central conflict at some timely moment or another.