Mixing and Matching Your Stereotypes

I have noticed that we writers tend to use stereotypes in our writing when it comes to ancillary characters. Sometimes stereotypes are good - they are a shorthand. Other times it's just laziness that prevents us from putting a little more effort into a character that is essentially an extra. These are the types I often see in the scripts I have read over time:

If it's a waitress, she's either:

Buxom, homey and down to earth

OR

Skinny, chews gum, sarcastic and rude

Here are more either/ors that are common script-sightings:

Doctors and lawyers are either/or:

Kindly like Gregory Peck; good natured, honest
Cold, steely, uncaring

Young kids are either/or:

Freckles, blonde, playful, say funny things
Strange, silent, dark hair, brooding

Teenagers are either/or:

Gothic, cynical, sarcastic
Cheerleaders, football jocks, dumb and horny

Middle-aged Women are either/or:

Overweight, married, nice, bland, nerdy, blank
Horny, shrewd, desperate
Healthy, athletic, soccer moms, love their husbands

Senior Citizens are either/or:

Senile, funny, say crazy things, helpless
Mean, cranky, evil-doers
Blank props

Men are either/or:

Rude, crude, sports fans, beer belly, threatening
Clean cut, great dads, play with their kids, love their wives
Desperate, horny, lost all their money, scared

Policemen are either/or:

Dumb, Irish, brutal
Clean cut, handsome, rebellious, sexy
Earnest, naive, uber-ethical to a fault

Rural Dwellers are either/or:

Southern accent, uneducated, racist, dumb
Intellectual, bookish, getting away from the city

City Dwellers are either/or:

Harried, stressed out, scared of crime, tiny apartment
Rich, deceitful, huge penthouse, luxurious life, old or new money
Middle class, soccer, range rover, impossibly nice home

Again, sometimes these stereotypes can be helpful - and there are tons more we could come up with. But what if, just for fun, your police(wo)man were buxom, homey and down to earth? What if your lawyer was sarcastic, skinny and chewed gum? Mixing things up a bit can unearth new possibilities. Don't skimp on your ancillary characters. Mix it up and make it interesting.

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