I suspect all us writers have them. Background characters who serve to fill blanks, the waitress, the guy in the street who was in the way, the old lady who saw something suspicious.
They rarely get names, but occasionally a speaking part . . .
And like the crepe myrtle and the pecan seedling peeking out of my creeping jasmine, they are often doomed simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Poor things. Too close to the foundation of my house.
And sometimes, like this oak sapling, they threaten the plant you intend to have there and are removed with sorrow, or extreme prejudice.
How much page time the literary volunteers get varies according to the authors’ needs.
I tend to minimize. David Webber gives them brief histories and aspirations before gorily shredding them in battle. I think most writers are in between, but that’s according to what their story needs.
The volunteer trips and falls, and nice POV character helps them up. Or she’s in a bad mood and is rude to the little old lady. Or the pretty girl scorns the hero who stomps off and does something stupid . . .
Volunteer characters are so useful . . . and every once in a while they’re like the oak sapling that grew sideways to get out of the shade of the older tree . . . now gone, and suddenly you notice that you’ve got a really interesting tree that you ought clear the brush out from around and show him off to the neighbors.
And for a writer, those quirky odd characters that somehow pop up now and then, are so fun to run with . . . even though you had no intention of writing about someone like that!
Mad Genius Club 
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