Building Your Fascinating Characters

 Last time we looked at plot. This time we’ll begin the process of character building.

First, start with a fragment of personality. Add to it until you can visualize a person. Give him a background. Add his attitude. Then pretend you are that character. Imagine how you would react emotionally under various conditions. Draw from your background, from impressions of other people, and from observations of people in similar circumstances.

After you know a bit about the character, give him a name that is unique to him in the story. It can indicate ethnicity as with O’Malley; or age as with Ida, Linda, or Sierra; class as with Reginald Smith vs. Smitty Smith; or maybe an occupation as with Slugger Jones or the Weasel.

To deepen character, write out a bio sheet for him. This may contain brief descriptions of family background, age, appearance, mannerisms, religious persuasion, relationships, education, career, hobbies, and his goals. After that, interview him. Let him have his head and say whatever he wants. You’ll be surprised how he takes over the conversation and reveals things about himself you didn’t know existed.

The following is a character interview for my book Echoes. The subject is a minor character, the popular, handsome, charismatic, 36-year old politician Emilio Cardenas. His grandfather emigrated from a fictional South American country that exports arms and revolution throughout the Americas. And, my goodness. What I learned about him.

Who are you Emilio?

A champion for justice. I work for the little man. The oppressed worker. The so-called immigrant.

How did you get involved in politics?

I was bred to it. My grandfather witnessed the exploitation of the masses in his country, Tierra Dulce. He fought with the communist revolutionaries until the movement was crushed by the regime, and he fled to the United States. Here he worked the fields and witnessed the same oppression as in his homeland. So he demonstrated, boycotted, and marched for justice. He married my grandmother, a descendent of the original land grant holders. This land was ours until the Europeans stole it from us. We will right this wrong. My extended family has mayors, assemblymen, union officials. We are in the media, academia, and Hollywood. I was an assemblyman then state controller. Now I am running for governor.

 Some allege you have some shady characters funding you.

Shady? I assure you, everything I do is perfectly legal. And, I would not accept funding from any illegal source.

Investigative reporter Troy Wasserman alleges you are accepting foreign funding, which is filtered through several organizations, from the president of Tierra Dulce. 

Troy. Well, I can expect that. I have to confess an indiscretion with his wife. I’m not proud of it. I’ve apologized profusely. But I’m afraid Troy is out for revenge. He’ll do anything, say anything to destroy me.

Troy says you are acquainted with the president of Tierra Dulce.  

Yes. While in the Assembly, I engaged in a cultural exchange between our countries. Troy accompanied me on one of my missions.

Are you El Presidente’s agent to promote revolution in the United States?  

This interview is over.

For me, creating believable story characters is the most entertaining part of fiction writing. We’ll continue next time.—Quinn                                           

What is Plot?

I’ve finished my 90,000-word novel Kokoweef. So, for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on a book proposal. The hard part of writing begins soon. Pitching to agents and editors.

Now that your nest is empty, you too may have dusted off that old dream of becoming a world-class novelist. But, you ask, where do I begin? With a plot and characters. These basic elements create the narrative, which consists of a beginning intent, a middle that contains a series of actions and reversals, and an end that is the logical outcome.

Let’s look at plot today. Plot isn’t the same as story. The story consists of a chronology of events. For example: She got up, grabbed some coffee, and caught the bus to work. This is all action, so it is story. Plot is the story, plus it answers the question why by using a pattern of actions and reactions. Example: Exhausted from cleaning offices all night, she overslept. She grabbed some coffee so the children could have the last of the cereal then rushed past her broken-down car to catch the bus to work. The story tells us about a woman that is late for work. Plot is revealed as we see a single mom struggling to provide for her family.

Basically, there are only two types of plots, either ones that address the physical or ones that address the mind. Physical plots are action driven and usually don’t answer any great moral or intellectual questions. They include adventure, mystery, thriller, western, sci fi. Those that address the mind are character driven. They explain ideas, human nature, relationships, beliefs, attitudes, and the search for meaning.

What fuels plot is tension. Tension in turn is created by opposition. As opposition grows, the tension grows until the narrative reaches a climax where there is some change to the main character.

Deciding on your plot is the first step in writing your novel. We’ll explore character next time.—Quinn

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

 Remembering those who died and those who were left behind.

Do You Have an Article in Mind?

After I graduated to the empty-nest phase of my life, I decided to write fiction. You, however, might prefer non- fiction. Articles are a good place to start, and you have a vast store of experience to draw from. People contemplating home education might benefit from a how-to article. Moms in the April doldrums might be uplifted with a humorous story or encouraged by how you handled similar circumstances.

As with story, articles have structure. A beginning, middle, and an end. In addition, they often include sidebars that contain tidbits that don’t fit into the story but add to interest, provide further information, or answer frequently asked questions.

The beginning is the opening paragraph or paragraphs, often called the hook. It is supposed to grab the readers’ attention and pique their curiosity. To avoid sounding preachy or like an encyclopedia, use a conversational voice and incorporate dialogue, description, or a bit of action.

The middle is the main part of your article. If the story is about something that happened, write chronologically. If it informational, supply details for the topic mentioned in the opening. You can show cause and effect, comparison and contrast. Embellish with quotes, anecdotes, and opposing points of view.

The ending can be a logical conclusion such as the finished product in a how-to article or the end of a journey in a travel article. You can also end with practical suggestions, an invitation to further exploration, or with a request for a new conclusion. As I am about to do, you may also return to your beginning paragraph with a slightly different focus.

If you are a serious writer there is one thing that might steer you toward non-fiction. It pays better. Much better. First, you’ll want to find a market that features your type of article. Many public libraries have directories of periodicals in their reference section. Look up a magazine that fits your story and follow their submission guidelines. A very popular guide is Writer’s Market, published by Writer’s Digest. Sally E. Stuart produces the Christian Writers Market Guide that lists periodicals covering everything from apologetics to youth issues. Both are available on Amazon.—Quinn

Do You Have a Story?

Today, I shall complete the final scene for my third adventure/suspense/speculative fiction novel. It took me about a year and a half to write Kokoweef. But the main character, Skip Jackson, had been flitting around my mind for several years before I had a plot.

How about you? Do you have a story you are longing to tell? It could be factual or fiction. It might be just for fun, and you’d never dream of sharing it with anyone except your family. Or maybe, like me, you’d want it published.

Now because of the way I am, I started by jumping in with wild enthusiasm. After I had completed a 122,000 word novel, I thought I’d read a how-to book on writing, just to confirm what a fabulous author I was. My ego deflated in about a half chapter. By the time I finished reading, I realized I had broken almost every rule there was, and I had an incoherent mess. Humbled, I spent the next couple years revising, devouring books on technique, and taking writing courses.

I found there are many classes available through colleges and universities. What fit my lifestyle were online courses where I could work at my own pace. Writers Digest offers several. A big one that is Christian is Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. I chose the Long Ridge Writers Group. It is secular, but there are many Christians in it and I didn’t find anything offensive.

In many areas across the country, guilds and writers conferences offer critique groups, workshops, and mentoring clinics for all levels of writing, novice through professional. Many specialize in non-fiction or particular genres like mystery or romance. A couple of the biggest Christian conferences are the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference and the Mount Hermon Christian Fiction Writers Conference. In addition to teaching, editors, authors, and teachers are on hand to give participants advice on their works in progress.

When a manuscript is ready for publication, it is time to write a proposal and find an agent or editor. The competition is stiff, so it is best to meet them face-to-face. So this fall, I am off to a conference to “pitch” Kokoweef. Wish me luck.---Quinn

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.---Proverbs 3:4-6

How Did Your Family Tree Grow?

Now that you have time for hobbies, you might consider finding your family’s roots. I started while still home schooling, intending to spark interest in history. It began when an elderly relative bequeathed some antique hymnals to us. One had a name written in a child’s hand. We did some detective work and found that the little girl was a 4-great aunt who was born in Canada in the mid 1800s and died young.

With that discovery, we dug deeper. Our family’s story paralleled America’s story. Missionaries came from Leiden to Plymouth. Advertisements written by William Penn drew persecuted Quakers and war-weary Germans who cleared the land and established farms, towns, churches, and schools. Familiar names like Alden, Standish, Adams, Crockett, and Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, kept cropping up. Family members served in each of our nation’s conflicts, starting with King Philip’s War. Uncles and cousins fought and died on both sides of the civil war. As the nation grew, our people followed the Westward Expansion. Perhaps the most interesting discovery I had was my husband and I are 12^th cousins, both descended from William Brewster, the spiritual leader of the Mayflower.

My fascination with genealogy continued after my nest was empty. Family anecdotes of the Dust Bowl and the English civil war inspired published short stories. Someday I hope to organize my material into a history of the United States.

If the genealogy bug bites you, you can get started by gleaning as much information as you can from family members. With your parents’ names and places of birth, you can find their birth, marriage, and/or death certificates. On these will be data about your grandparents. With that information, you can find great-grandparents and so on through many generations. My tree goes back to the 1580s. My husband’s goes back to 1066.

A good place to begin research is at your public library or the historical society in your hometown. Also, there are free online sites such as Family Search which has a huge data base. The USGenWeb Project covers every state and many counties. It includes census, land and cemetery records, history, bios, and picture galleries. Ancestry.com is excellent and has a free fourteen-day trial offer.

In many areas, like-minded people have formed genealogy societies where they share methodology and trade data. But a disclaimer. While this hobby is exciting and rewarding, it is also highly addictive.---Quinn