That's where your help comes in.
Major characters will be, wouldn't you believe it, actual main characters in the story and will have many interactions with the main characters of the story. "Extras" are just like they are in the movies, they will appear in the background when needed and will make occasional reoccurring appearances.
Do not underestimate the importance of an "Extra" though. They are, in reality, quite important and will allow me to add a bit of realism (well realism relative to the nature of this story) to a pet populated city without sacrificing too much attention to the plot. After all, what is a painting without shading, or food without spices?
The project strictly allows dogs and cats. It is in fact a plot-point. Also, keep all of this within the PG-13 rating, just like with the rest of the forum. One final cautionary note, once submitted I may have to change some details in the character to allow to it to fit within the universe of the story, especially plot heavy characters. I apologize if that offends anyone.
For writing Major Characters:
For those of you that are "Pet Friendly" fans, this process should be familiar to you. For those that aren't, that's okay. I have rewritten an outline of sorts for all of you to follow.
-Name-
Just about anything goes for this section here, a great deal of nationalities are involved in the project after all.
-Character Alignment-
This decides whether or not your character is a villain or a good guy. However not everyone is pure evil nor are they pure good, sometimes they fall inbetween. This Handy Chart should help guide your decisions on what alignment you would like your character to be. Just a note, I don't want too many good leaning characters nor too many evil leaning characters, but beggars can't be choosers.
-Species and breed-
Like I said earlier, cats and dogs only. However all breeds of either species are free game.
-Age-
I was never quite sure of how pets aged in universe, so this has been one of the mandatory fanfic writer canon deviations. I always figured they lived a long time, but anything beyond 45 would be considered "old." Just keep that in mind.
-Appearance-
The little nuances in your character's appearance. Color of their fur, any patterns on said fur, any clothing, their weight, their height. All of that wonderful stuff.
-Personality-
A rough summary of your character's personality. I would like, at the very least, three "perks" in their personality, and conversely I would like three "disadvantages" in their personality.
-Background-
This is where you tell me the history of your character, an explanation on why they are, well, the way they are.
-Misc. Notes-
A few more nuances in your character that won't fit anywhere else. Things like odd habits or verbal tics should go here.
-SPECIAL-
This part is optional. It might give me a little more insight into your character's capabilities, but if you don't want to add this part of the description then all is well. Also, the max points are 42, just like in Pet Friendly.
For Writing Extras:
Extras will be given more leeway since they are not particularly plot heavy. There are however a few things I would like from them.
-Name-
See above
-Appearance-
Like above, but no need to go too crazy with it.
-Species and Breed-
See above
-Personality-
Once again, like above, but don't go too in depth.
-Locale Preference-
Where would you most likely see this character? What would they be doing in said locale?
Okay guys and gals, that should wrap up my set of rules. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Thank you for your time and potential contributions!