This month we have a very basic topic --how do you go about developing your characters for a story? How much time do you spend or does it just happen in the writing process? What inspires it?
Oh, characters – my favorite subject! Of all the components that go into creating a story, of whatever length, it’s the characters that get my juices flowing. I’ve always been lucky in that my characters simply present themselves to me. I can see them, I know their names, and then I go from there.
Even though I have this very visual start I still complete my basic character outline. I start with looking for images that are as like my characters as possible. Even though I mostly write historical I will comb through glossy magazines, stock photo sites like Dreamstime.com and 123rf.com for these images. If the face is right I can imagine the costume they would be wearing. As an example, Lord Lucius Clifton, Earl of Avondale, looked remarkably like French actor Vincent Cassel whose movie list is extensive but might be more
recognizable for his roles in Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen and Black Swan. He was also, for a time, the face of an Yves Saint Laurent's men's fragrance.
recognizable for his roles in Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen and Black Swan. He was also, for a time, the face of an Yves Saint Laurent's men's fragrance.
I know their family backgrounds, their relationships, their strengths and weaknesses, their likes and dislikes, hopes and fears. I know where they went to school (unless they were tutored at home), I know who were their childhood friends and what influences they had when they were growing up. I do not do this for my whole cast of characters, only the major characters which makes life much easier for me by the time I start writing.
Lord Randolph and Lady Serena Buxton, the characters in my Cold Gold novella set in California, would not let go so I continued to write about them. Plus, I had queries from readers as to what happened to them when they returned to England and did they ever have children? Sorry, if you want the answers to those questions you’ll have to read the books. That first story was set in 1907, the subsequent tale, On Borrowed Time, was set in 1913 and the final part of what turned into a trilogy was Shell Shocked set in 1918. Those novellas appeared in one volume as The Buxton Chronicles.
Such is the way my mind works, when I started writing my first Regency, His Dark Enchantress, I wondered if there was a way I could link Serena back to the Cliftons: Lucius, Earl of Avondale and his younger sister, Juliana. Juliana was so intrusive while I was writing Enchantress that I promised her a book of her own which I did with His Ocean Vixen. I linked Serena’s family tree back through a whole set of characters and marriages that I may, or may not, one day choose to bring to life on the page.
These characters are like my best friends. Once they are in my life I’m reluctant to let them go. Although I have used the same characters in several of my books, each is written as a stand-alone. My current work-in-progress is another Regency, the third in my Berkeley Square series and this has been so easy to start because I have all the information I need on these characters, Lady Olivia Darnley and Lord Peter Skeffington who first appeared in His Dark Enchantress.
Do they surprise me sometimes? Always. Just as in life, something always crops up that throws them a curveball and presents a fear for them to overcome. As I write, I’m always looking for the opportunity to up the ante for them. Sometimes I just plain don’t like the characters I create but always try to give them some kind of credibility by including snippets of their backstory to at least explain why they are the villain or villainess of the piece.
Check with these authors to see what they have to say on the subject of their characters.
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.
A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Dr. Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-YV
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.
Marie Laval http://marielaval.blogspot.co.
Rhobin Courtright http://www.
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.
A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Dr. Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-YV
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.
Marie Laval http://marielaval.blogspot.co.
Rhobin Courtright http://www.
Interesting! I think it is very hard for most authors to let go of their characters. Not only readers wonder what happened to them.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth, Rhobin.
DeleteHow lovely! My characters reveal snippets as I go along, but I'm thinking I need to spend more time with them before trying to write their story. LOL
ReplyDeleteThose snippets are what make the characters interesting!
DeleteI'm impressed with your depth of instant knowledge of your main characters. Usually, with most of mine, it's like getting to know a new friend.
ReplyDeleteSearching pics for appearance is a good idea. I must give it a go.
:)
Bob
Thanks for the compliment, Dr. Bob. Pics really help me, although, because I'm now a more mature widow, my BFF insists that it's only legitimate way for me to look at handsome men!
DeleteI too, like to have my characters appear in crossover books. There is comfort in renewing a friendship--even if it is fiction.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Connie. Yes, I love having characters turn up where they might not be expected. It's hard to let a good one go.
DeleteHi Victoria, I also found a character, Daisy, who was intrusive while I was writing the story of a different character and had to write a book for her afterwards. Unlike you, I found it really hard. I think I took it for granted I would know enough about the characters but before I'd written two sentences, I had the actual hero speaking and disrupting it all; weird doesn't begin to cover the feeling. It was a tiny bit spooky. Anyway Daisy's Dilemma was born. Being a writer is great when things like that happen. anne
ReplyDeleteCharacters are a bit like best friends. For as much as you think you know them, they can still surprise the heck out of you.
DeleteI find it difficult to let go of some characters as well. Alright, most ... er ... all characters. Even my WWII novel, a stand alone if ever I wrote one, I kept trying to think of ways I could write a sequel because I wanted to spend more time with Megan.
ReplyDeleteWith such strong characters as we all seem to have, it sounds like all of us will be writing for a long time!
DeleteTaking a look at photos of people who might resemble my hero and heroine is one of the most enjoyable parts of researching my characters! I do like Vincent Cassel too!
ReplyDeleteI'm forever saving pics from fashion magazines and have a really good file now. One of the hardest things I find to describe is mens' hairstyles so pics help. Plus, the upside of buying these magazines is that I can write them all off as research material!
DeleteI found it interesting how much you learn about your character and even find pictures that resemble them. They are definitely friends by the time you start to write.
ReplyDeleteBeverley
And as such, usually give me pretty clear indications of what they will or will not do. Juliana, my 'virgin widow' from His Ocean Vixen, very definitely would not have sex with the hero until she knew whether she was or was not a widow. A strong moral for the Regency era, when engagements were often very short so the young couple would not get carried away before marriage.
DeleteVictoria, I absolutely love it when characters surprise the writer. It often can lead to good plot twists!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Rachael. There's always the chance that a character will do something totally off the rails for them. Puts me in mind of my parents. My Dad sold his rifle and bought a pistol for target shooting, he didn't tell Mum. "You never told me," she said. "Well, it wasn't your rifle," was my Dad's reply. I nearly fell off my chair as I'd never heard my Dad speak like that before!
DeleteWow! Wow! Wow! You really get into your characters. I think a lot of us have finished a novel and realized that the characters need more story time. If you have a great complex character, it's hard to let her/him go. The trilogy sounds very compelling. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I once entered a short story writing competition and was told by each of the four judges that my characters were 'too big' for a short story and I should put them in a book. I did, and ultimately Loving That Cowboy, my contemporary western romance, came out of it. You just can't keep a good character down!
ReplyDelete