Developing Characters

I recently had a conversation with my buddy Bobbi about where my characters come from. The answer? Everywhere.

They usually start as an inspiration from someone I knew or have met. I need to add another thought here - a fellow author recently lamented he needed to make sure his characters had their own thoughts and not reflections of his. To quote him during his editing process, "I'm struck today by noting the difference between MY voice vs. the CHARACTER'S voice." I hear ya, buddy.

I wrote a character once based on a "bad friend." Unfortunately, I'd written her as my heroine's best friend. People commented. They didn't like her. I'd given this friend too many of my bad friend's attributes and not enough good friend attributes. I did manage to tone her down in that book - LIVING CANVAS - and then decided I needed to give her her own book to address the unlikeability. Find out WHY she was so unlikeable. This is also where I point out she was "based on" and not a direct characterization of a person. Moving on, I made Cinda her own person, no longer "based on." In RETURN TO HOFFMAN GROVE, people got a different look at Cinda. She has a VERY strong personality, but her friends aren't afraid to call her out on it when she gets out of line. She needed a very strong hero, another characterization I borrowed from real life and added artistic license to. The resulting characters are much different from the original models.

In future books, I often got stumped on my characters - why they acted the way they did and the undeveloped parts of their personalities. To "round them out," I looked up enneagrams and used a method my editor recommended to me that provides personality traits, how they're developed, what makes someone respond the way they do, the good, the bad, the redeeming, the damning. The book and the process it offers have helped me multiple times.

The other thing to consider is that each character needs an arc. They have to evolve from one thing to something else. I'm writing my third Elspeth Barclay novel. She had to face her fears in Book 2, and in this one, I've had to give her a new challenge. However, she was whiny about some things in Book 1, which escalated in Book 2 (this woman is neurotic, I'm telling you!), and in this book, she's absolutely driving me crazy with all the whining. She doesn't like change, and she's being bombarded by it. I almost feel sorry for her, except I'm tired of listening to her complain. With that being said I'm hoping to tone her down a tad before she reaches you guys, but in the meantime, she's making me nuts! The goal here is to develop her arc. Among these changes is one that will settle her neuroses. She isn't alone in this anymore. This, too, is an example from real life. 

Once upon a time, I knew someone who was very insecure. (Elle isn't insecure, but some of her responses are similar.) That person was difficult and responded poorly in certain situations, but they reached a crossroads and made a life change that transformed them. I'm hoping to use that same sort of situation to calm Elle down. 

Have you read a book with a character that annoyed you? Were you able to stick around until the character found their way to being sympathetic?

Don't Try So Hard

Quite often when I start a new book, I get stuck with "what am I doing?" "What happens next?" Then, when I sit to write, I struggle with words. I generally know what's going to happen in the story, but the words just won't come. 

Writing a novel is NOT easy. 

I knew I was going to write a book around my trip to Bar Harbor before I left Maine. In fact, my buddy Jennifer was asking me what the story might be, and I told her what was taking shape inside my head. I also told her about my stumbling block (there's always a stumbling block when I first get going - how am I going to get around "this"?). She suggested a workaround, one that made a lot of sense, and I was ready to start writing when I got home.

Here's another pointer which I've covered before. As with anything you want to be good at, you have to practice. Every day. It had been a month since DEMON FROM THE CRYPT had gone live, and I'd been waiting to start the new one until after my trip. Which means the only writing I was doing was here at the blog. Which means I was developing rust. Not to be deterred, I dove into the new book (with the catchy, placeholder title of "Elle 3"). Creative juices are dammed up. Still, I started writing.

As I wrote, I found myself getting sidetracked with subplots. Words were making it to the page, but they didn't belong there. So the day after they were written, I'd go back at the chapters with a seam ripper and remind myself "this isn't the story." Then I'd press onward, trying to break the dam to get those juices flowing. Let me tell you, it has been a struggle. Some books are like that. 

Yesterday, I was brainstorming with my critique partner and she proposed some additional subplots to write toward to kickstart "the rest of the story." I'd reached the end of my writing day, so I made a note of them and saved them for today. Then, when I went to bed last night, I let my characters take over my subconscious and they showed me something fascinating. While I'd been struggling with getting them to do what I want, they've been playing out the story. One of the things my critique partner had suggested had already been foreshadowed. Well, something similar, anyway. Conflict has already been established. Possibilities have already been suggested. 

Despite my best intentions to sabotage myself, I was writing a cohesive story. Sometimes I think my brain is just wired that way. How many times when I've been writing a story have a struggled with "I don't know where this is going?" only to discover I'd already foreshadowed my path forward? My problems come when I think too hard. When I'm trying to force things one direction while my creative subconscious has already laid out a clear path the other direction--usually, the right direction.

The dam has broken. My creative juices are flowing again. I've been trying to write every day, too, which makes a big difference. I'm letting the characters tell me their story and not trying so hard to force them into places they don't belong. 

Gee. Maybe Elle's neurotic influence is rubbing off! LOL 

Have I mentioned the new audiobook is live? Shout out to Jude Erin who did a fantastic job with THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. Have you listened yet? I'd love to hear what you think.

All Saints Day

Yesterday was Halloween (in case you didn't know). Years ago, my oldest sister made me this house. The roof has an opening in the back for handing out candy. I have been using this house, even when it's just for decoration, for decades. 

This house has more meaning to me these days. Now it also serves as a remembrance of my oldest sister who is no longer with us. She was "my person."

She was creative and had such a positive outlook and touched the lives of everyone who knew her. As this is All Saints Day, I wanted to remember her on my blog. 

I was blessed with three older sisters, and as I think of how much they have all influenced me, I'm grateful to have them as part of my life. It helps me appreciate my own children in a different way.

Sometimes, when FOMO hits or I'm missing my kids, I'm grateful to know they spend time with each other, expanding on their sibling bond. No one knows you like your sisters/brothers. Not even your parents. The sibs know secrets your parents don't (or do, but don't let on to). They share a piece of your DNA, the one that says, "I get you and I know the things that shaped your life." Built in empathy.

Something the world needs a lot more of these days.

Taking a moment to remember those souls who are no longer walking with us, and extending peace to those doing the same.

Producing an audiobook

I have worked with a couple different narrators and have gone through the process myself, narrating my own work. 

My latest narrator has just completed work on the audiobook for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. When she did the first book, HORNED OWL HOLLOW, she checked in when she had questions about how something might be pronounced, but ultimately, she recorded and mastered the whole thing before I was able to listen to it. 

When I commissioned my first audiobook, the narrator sent me chapters as she finished them to review. I appreciated that, mostly because I was able to catch something that didn't work right away and save rerecording later on down the line. I did discover working with her that there were more pickups - corrections - as we went. She did a second book for me and I think the one big thing I had to have her fix was the way she read one of the characters. She read his part with a sharp twang instead of a drawl that gave him a completely different sound from the previous book where his dialect had been very understated (as it was meant to be).

I used someone else for a different series, and she, too, did an "all at once" approach. She was a "professional," a member of the Screen Actors Guild. With the "all at once" files, there weren't as many pickups because she'd already reviewed the files, mastered them, and worked with someone else to error check her. She did, however, have one major hiccup for me - "that's not what this says." Inflection is everything. But that's what pickups are for. The opportunity to make a correction before the book is finalized.

I've discovered I like doing the interim "listens," if only to spot check voices or pronunciations, but I suspect narrators aren't as happy doing that because it interrupts their flow. Knowing they have to stop to make a correction slows down the process. However, if I'd had the benefit of interim checks for Horned Owl Hollow, I might have corrected how she pronounced some of the last names, and also asked for a different take on two of the voices. At the end of the day, it wasn't critical to the performance. With the files coming to me as a finished product, I let those things slide. Maybe that's another reason the narrators prefer to send it all at once.

With "Demon," there was a significant mispronunciation when I got the files back. I had to request "re-dos" for 34 instances of that word throughout the performance. There were other minor corrections to be made, and I have to admit that when I got the "sample" from her, I passed on pointing out the pronunciation of one of the character's names, which I should have done. Not worth correcting. Overall, she did an excellent performance of the story, and after going through the pickups, the audiobook is now slogging its way through the final production process. A newsletter will be going out once it is live.

Do you listen to audiobooks? What are some of the things that jump out at your during the narrator's performance?

Getting to work

Being an author is far from glamorous. 

For years, I balanced my writing with a day job. In many ways, that made me more disciplined with the writing because of my limited availability to disappear into an alternate universe. Now that writing is my full-time gig (and no, it doesn't support me. I have the years at the day job to thank for that), my writing schedule is somewhat more haphazard. 

For starters, there's exercise to consider. Sitting at my computer 24/7 is not an option. Three days a week, I take myself out of the house to a gym to exercise. The other four days, I take myself outside for said exercise, or the treadmill in the basement, or other concentrated efforts. Generally, the big guy goes with me, so if we go to the gym first thing in the morning, that means I don't settle in to write until lunchtime. Ooops. Lunchtime. Okay, so I'll start AFTER lunch. I strive to spend 2-3 hours after lunch at my computer. On those "home" exercise days, I might start writing in the a.m., or at least that's the goal. The exercise on "home" days more often falls closer to lunchtime (right before or right after). 

Add in other distractions. Currently, I'm waiting for the audio files for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. The lovely Jude Erin has promised them to me by the beginning of November, but her regular updates make me optimistic that she might be early. That means a couple of days to listen to the files and make sure she hasn't missed something (she's very thorough, so that isn't likely, but always better to check). Then, there's that part of me that procrastinates because, you know, those files are coming any day now.

Did I mention marketing? With each book release (do you have your copy of THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT yet?), time has to be devoted to getting the new book into people's hands. Creatives to create. Taglines to tag. Markets to tap. This is EXHAUSTING for someone who has trouble tooting her own horn, much less actually getting herself out to meet people. Even the "not peopley" parts. 

Then there's the creative process, itself. Generally, getting "into the groove" is the most fun part of the job. I'm working on Elle 3, as much as all these other things are getting in my way and providing me reasons to procrastinate. I'm not in the groove yet. I know what the story is, but because I also like to write romance novels in addition to the spooky stuff, I keep getting side-tracked by Elle's burgeoning romance. These books are about the ghosts. I remind myself of that on a daily basis. The romance is the subplot, not the main plot. 

Last, there's the weather. What does the weather have to do with writing a book? Speaking in broad generalizations, authors are often introverts and also deal with some level of depression. This is not true of all authors (broad generalizations, remember?). These generalizations, however, do apply to me. We have had two weeks of rain. Rain tends to dampen the mood/spirit. Add in the "getting out there to promote," which requires a lot of energy and effort for an introvert. Recovery time required. Usually, this is the best time to lose myself in my writing and escape the real world for a little while. Usually.

When all is said and done, I'm working on the new book. The process maybe isn't going as fast as I'd like it to, but it is progressing. 

So this is where I tell you I'll be sending the next newsletter as soon as the audio for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT is finished and on sale. You'll want to make sure you're signed up. Also, the audio for FAMILY ALCHEMY is on special (narrated by yours truly), so if you've been waiting to listen to a copy, now's your chance. The special is running at GooglePlay, Apple Books, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, and Chirp. I hope you'll let me know what you think! Pats on the back are always good motivators. 😁

Little Miss Muffet

If you’re squeamish about bugs - spiders in particular - you might want to skip this post…

I’ll start out easy. While on my trip to Maine, my buddy Jennifer very casually mentioned the big black spider in the bag she’d packed with car snacks. Eek! (After she’d properly disposed of it, thank heaven.)

Fast forward to back home. I sent the Big Guy out for groceries, and broccoli that was on sale. I washed half a head to cook for dinner, and something caught my eye in the sink. A big black - black widow! - spider. I very calmly called the Big Guy into the kitchen and pointed at the beast. After dinner, I told a friend about the spider and posited that it might have come from the broccoli since I’ve NEVER seen a black widow in my house. She said she’d never heard of spiders in broccoli. Well, I have, but black widows? So, of course, I had to look it up, and yep, it happens. Yeesh.  Now I’m nervous about eating the rest of the heads he bought, but I will soldier on. (The second meal with broccoli was spider-free.)

These sorts of unexpected things have a tendency to find their ways into my books. In this case, I wrote black widows BEFORE I encountered one (have you read THE ARCHITECT?). Shout out to editor Kelly for educating me on the wee beasties.

Meanwhile, I'm working on Elspeth Barcley #3 and contemplating what unexpected horrors... um, surprises... she will run into this time.

Have you read the new series? How are you liking it? 

More trolls

I just love these guys, so I had to share all of them. You can read about them in the pictures with their names. I found them in Maine, at the Boothbay Botanical Gardens, but the artist, Thomas Dambo, has been creating them all across the country from sustainable materials.

Roskva

Birk

Gro

Soren

Lilja

Here a link to when they were in my neck of the woods
In case you want to see more!

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Don't forget to get your copy of the NEW RELEASE! I can't wait to hear what you think!

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