Getting to Know You

Sometimes starting a new book is easy. I have a clear picture of my main players and what they're after. Sometimes it isn't so easy.

Example. When I started writing BREAKING THE MOLD (Less than a month until release day! Woo Hoo!), the plan had been to start with Yolanda from COOKIE THERAPY. She worked in the bakery next to the bookstore. Yolanda is in the new book, for sure, but it's her family that takes center stage more than her, and her big brother who is my hero. As for the female lead, well, she stumbled into the story when I wasn't paying attention and stole the show. Wait. Wasn't I talking about clear pictures of main players? I suppose what I'm getting at is the two leads in BREAKING THE MOLD stepped right up to tell me their stories. 

When writing a series, main characters tend to be easier because you already know them from previous books, or at least you have an idea what's going on with them. Examples of when main characters aren't so easy? When I started EPITAPH, I couldn't seem to get Amy right. It took me several years before I finally discovered what was missing, but once I did, it launched the series.

Which brings me back to where I am today. I've written a first chapter, which introduces my main character, and I have a reasonable idea of who she is. Then there's the hero. I don't know anything about him other than his name, and two other peripheral facts about him - one of which even he doesn't know. Often, it can take me at least three chapters to get to know my characters and their journey, but I'm struggling with Chapter 2. I need to know more about this character. Blame it on taking a holiday break and giving my brain a chance to power down for a couple of weeks. It's time to jump start things.

When creating a character, it's good to start with a character sketch. What does he look like? What are his goals, his motivation in the story, and his conflict? Where does he live? What kind of car does he drive? What do you see when you walk into his house? Is he easygoing or structured? What's his fatal flaw or biggest weakness? What is his distinguishing characteristic/trait? What does his voice sound like? What does he smell like? What does he do for work? And then I need to worry about his support system. His family, friends and enemies. How is he going to grow over the course of the story? Does he have a catch phrase? (I'm actually hearing "yeah-yeah" with this guy, but considering how little I know about him, I could be wrong.)

These are the basics to help make a three-dimensional character - a person. When I've run into problems creating characters (like Amy), it's often because I've overlooked some of these basic questions. In her case, it was siblings. Once I discovered her brothers, the whole story/series opened up. 

So off to the drawing board to find out all about "Ryan." Very likely, once I've answered all these (and more) questions, I'll discover I've missed the boat on some of the answers and will have to make adjustments based on what I discover while writing his story. Characters can be cagey that way. They withhold something, or give you the wrong answer. 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year, and here's to health and new adventures in the coming year.