How do I decide which type of character to depict in my novels? Generally, I aim for distincitive personalities and character traits. Always I bear in mind my other novels as I start a new story. Unless the book is a sequel, I want characters in my books to be different from each other. I don't want a reader to think they've come across a character before, but by a different name. I want characters to be new and fresh in each novel. MEMORIES ARE NOT ENOUGH is a sequel to NEVER SAY GOODBYE, so here you will be reintroduced to some characters from the first book but they will be the same characters and you will recognise them. This may sound strange, but I don't really 'get to know' my characters until I'm nearly half way through a book. Once I do, I may have to go back to earlier chapters and make sure I have depicted them correctly.
I sometimes find that my support characters are stronger than my main characters. It's just the way it seems to play out. But so long as there are strong personalities in the book overall, that is what I believe is most important. Here's a few examples of characters I have purposely chosen for their 'colour' and interest. -
SECRET LIVES-Nancy Frobisher who runs a private charity - sharp and mean. Mr Humphrey, office manager, the middle-aged office pervert.
DEATH SPELL - Marie Marchmont - scary witch
LOYAL HEART - Roger Farley. Really nice guy but totally indecisive
DEATH OF MISS WETHERBY teenage Felicity with a wild imagination
MURDER ON THE CARDS -Sophie, Eastern European, manipulative on-line flirt. Peter - desperate unemployed man recoving from mental problems.
NEVER SAY GOODBYE - Tom - predatory tradesman
MEMORIES ARE NOT ENOUGH - Larry O'Keefe, the geek who collects fluorescent beach pebbles.
FAR SIDE OF THE LAKE - Donald, the cantankerous elderly man
THE TROUBLE WITH NEIGHBOURS - Chloe, the obnoxious young neighbour who upsets the entire cul-de-sac
TERMINAL FIVE - The totally obsessive admirer
ESSENCE OF EVIL - Archie Sykes, the staunch vegeterian. Mr Gray, the very insistent solar panel salesman.
MEG'S JOURNEY- Daughter, Zoe who thinks her Mum, Meg, is appalling.
POCKET MONEY - Rob, the boyfriend with a double life.
FANDANGO NIGHTS -Podge, the really nice fat guy. Loud Tracy.
I must have brought to life well over 100 characters, and many more when I include my book of short stories.
Each new novel presents an opportunity to introduce amazing characters, one of the aspects of writing I like the most. Bye for now. Julie
Hi All. I have for the first time written a short story for children (5-9). I envisage an adult reading it until the child can read for themselves. I have tried it out on a small group and a proficient seven year old can read it pretty well. There may be one or two words they don't understand but that's fine because it means they are learning something new as well.
A lot of children's books concentrate on talking animals. I therefore decided to concentrate my characters on talking flowers and one very wise garden bug called Birtie. With the seven short chapters I have included a problems which resembles true life and dear Birtie Bug has an answer. At the end of each chapter is a short, simple question for the young reader to think about or, possibly, discuss with an adult or friend. I would love to see this properly illustrated with child-friendly cartoon characters. For example the Forsythia branch on the front cover (below) would, ideally, be a cartoon of Freddie Forsythia. Unfortunately, I am not an illustrator so I have had to pull images from the internet. Inside, though, there is a great cartoon of Birtie bug.
Flowers that are humanised include Snowdrops, Crocuses, Tulips, Dandelions, Buttercups, Roses and Peonies. I will put this short 27-page book on my book page when it is published.
The back cover blurb will read something along the following lines:
Even garden flowers need friends. Freddie the Forsythia Bush can't wait to see who pops up once Spring arrives. He's spent winter all by himself thinking of new friends he can make once the days get longer and the weather gets warmer. When the time comes, it's Birtie Bug who climbs out of his cavity under the garden path and offers to be friends with Freddie. Pretty flowers poke their heads through the soil as Spring and summer arrive. Soon Freddie has more friends. Birtie is Freddie's best friend and a very wise bug. Whenever Freddie is worried, he always comes to his rescue with some very comforting words.
FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION
Okay. So I now have a theme for my next novel, a subject matter which interests me. What next?
For each novel I must construct a situation/environment which will enable me to play out my story with integrity and believability. Example. My novel, LOYAL HEART, which is about a supermarket delivery man, Roger Farley. First of all there had to be a supermarket. The lighthearted side of my nature named it MASDA! A supermarket deliveryman has to interact with clients, so I decided it would have to be in the suburbs where people tend to stay put for longer. That, in turn, means Roger can build up a relationship with customers which, in turn, opens up all sorts of possibilities, both serious and humorous.Let's take another example. ESSENCE OF EVIL. In fact it was the situation/environment, three isolated cottages, which inspired me. So my task here was to concoct a situation which would take advantage of this eerie set up. I thought it would be interesting if different things happened to different people. Because people would have to come and go, it followed that the cottages would have to serve different purposes. Hence, one cottage serves social service clients (who are not necessarily permanent); a second cottage is a holiday let (people come and go) and only the third cottage is in private ownership. The set-up is important. It must allow for many possibilities. Bye for now.