In which I rant about the Nobodies
I’m currently reading Hold Me If You Can by Stephanie Rowe, and I do believe I have found my soul-mate. His name is Richard Small, though all his friends call him Dick. Yes, my soul-mate’s name is Dick Small and he does have erectile dysfunction.
Hang on a second, while I fall out of my chair laughing.
Were his parents sadistic butt-faces? I mean, really. I only saw him in that one itty bitty little scene, and now I just can’t stop laughing at him. Think about everyone who actually knows him. All those bullies in school. It’s a wonder he hasn’t changed his name and moved to Siberia. Or at least spends all his time in therapy.
Okay so, this rant is short, like Dick, (hehe) but really how much is there to say about the Nobodies? (My nickname for all those characters like Dick – unimportant in the scheme of the story.) While we know nothing about them, they are the background noise to each story. Without the Nobodies, the hero and heroine, their friends and the villains would be walking around in a world all by themselves. Unless the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where there is literally no one around but the main character(s). Then, you know, there aren’t any Nobodies.
Even then, there are Nobodies. Take Joss Ware’s Envy Chronicles. That’s a post-apocalyptic world, with maybe a couple thousand people still alive. Of course the series centers around the core set of friends and the villains they fight. But guess what, everyone else is a Nobody!
[In a completely unrelated side note, has everyone seen the new covers that the Envy Chronicles are being re-released with? Holy crap! Very drool worthy. I’m seriously tempted to buy them all just so I can drool all over the covers, despite the fact that I already own all the books.]
Not all Nobodies are just background noise; some Nobodies are more important than others. These are the characters that interact with the main characters. Waitresses, cab drivers, bank tellers, cops, hookers standing on the street corner…They might not be vitally important to the plot, but they could have a conversation with the hero that leads to an important revelation later on.
Dickie boy played his part in Hold Me If You Can, getting about a page of action before leaving; but as much as I loved him (my laughter is my love) he’s not coming back. In fact, he’s not coming at all. (That was a horribly corny joke, I know, but I can’t stop laughing at it.)
While I continue to laugh at Dick and my horribly corny jokes, I do have questions for everyone.
- Authors: Do you make up the background stories of Nobodies, even though they never get told? Or are they just background noise to you too?
- Readers: Do you have a favorite Nobody? (Dick is mine! You can’t claim him.) Do you even pay attention to the Nobodies? Had you ever even thought about Nobodies before this rant?
