My First Book’s Main Characters
I do not have a formal character development method. Instead, I develop a plot and mold the characters to fit. The resulting characters rise to the drama, which is not how most writers work. They begin with a solid character and tailor the action, emotion, and drama to complement their creation. The resulting character traits will contain firm physical attributes, clear relationships, unique personalities, and solid backgrounds. Yeah… Not my cup of tea.
Long before I began writing, I thought up stories inside my bonkers mind. My character had simple traits, essentially fictional versions of myself. They would build race cars, travel to wild Africa, or meet amazing women. I was daydreaming. What were my characters like? They were older and more mature. All the physical traits and relationships with people in my life were identical. My support characters were one-dimensional and quickly forgotten. I did not even give them names or noteworthy characteristics.
I had to take a more formal approach when I became an author because readers expect more than a daydream. This quality increase included naming my characters and giving them unique physical traits and flaws. While I tried to distance my main character from my life, I did not do a great job. Why is this important? Readers easily see through a character based on a pumped-up author. Common traits for this kind of character are overtly brilliant, buff, arrogant, and unrealistic. You can see this kind of extra-bold character in popular action films.
I named my first character, James, in my first book. Unfortunately, in the first draft, he ended up being too similar to me, and it took intense editing to reduce the similarities, resulting in a more rounded and believable character.
One of my writing rules is to make a character’s weaknesses obvious because readers need to understand the motivation behind actions clearly. James is dishonest, shallow, not too bright, and has no confidence. This is the reason behind his ugly divorce and the plagiarism of his only successful book.
My plot is like a vampire story, but I invented a bizarre medical procedure instead of drinking blood to be immortal. One side effect is confidence, balanced by enough paranoia to fill a dump truck. This added confidence is key to James consciously deciding to better his life at the end of the first book.
Despite the similarities, there are significant differences between James and me. He is more liberal, writing is his only interest, and his background vastly differs from mine. I am more intelligent, confident, trustworthy, and intuitive, meaning that I would not have fallen into the traps that set the plot into motion.
What makes James tick? Nothing. He is dragged along by the plot until the end of the third book when he gets some backbone. I am sure you are thinking, “Hey, characters are supposed to lead the plot, not follow it.” Yes and no. Not everybody in our society is a leader. We have to go to work, criminals go to jail, and even kids have to go to school. So, it is reasonable that bad things happen to a character, forcing them down a path. In many ways, this is more realistic, yet I agree that this kind of plot is not the strongest.
If I were to meet James, I likely would not be impressed because he is the type of man who wants something at the expense of others. Yet, he is growing on me, and by the fourth book (in the outline stage), I would tolerate him enough to go on a bike ride.
I named the second main character in my first book Grace. Bold is an understatement for her. Grace is over 500 years old, incredibly rich, bright, confident, in control of every aspect of her life, pretty, in great shape, and a snappy dresser. Yet, as I mentioned, a character must have apparent flaws.
Grace could be compared to a head vampire. She is dominating, incredibly paranoid, 500 years out of touch, and hypersensitive to personal security. She will go to any measure when it comes to survival.
I introduced another side effect of my immorality procedure to her. People undergoing the procedure are very susceptible to substance abuse. She had a twenty-year opium bender, but that was in the 1800s. She has been clean ever since, but her desire to get high is ever-present.
Grace is courteous, kind, sweet, an excellent listener, a world-class chef, perceptive, honest, and altruistic. Yet, you probably can see the contrast. “Sweet” and “will go to any measure to survive” are the opposite. This makes Grace a super complex character struggling between these extreme existences. In one example, Grace prepares an excellent meal for James, but he accidentally drops his napkin. When he reached down to pick it up, she nearly stabbed him.
When I molded Grace around the story, the result had no similarities to anybody I know or a fictional character. This made her unique and intriguing. Would I like to meet her? Absolutely not. Grace is a hardened killer, and despite all her positives, every part of her screams, “Stay away!”
Grace studied James from afar, kidnapped him, and forced him to undergo the life-giving procedure. She then discusses her life and forces him to write her story. In the second book, James admits that he fell in love with her during their time together.
Thus, in the second book, he undergoes an epic journey to locate her, which brings up a significant inconsistency. I said I would never want to meet her, but James does. I partially explain that James can see her kindness, and I will explore their budding relationship in my fourth book. There are going to be a lot of bumps.
What makes Grace tick? Simple, money and security. Her motivation is one-dimensional, but she does have hobbies and likes the people who work at her companies. I suppose readers would consider Grace to have an icy exterior and a small but warm heart.
On the journey to locate Grace, I introduced other immortal characters who wish to harm James. But Arturo is an exception. Yes, he is paranoid, ruthless, and out of touch with reality, but he befriends James, and they go on an adventure together.
Arturo is pleasant, respectful, intuitive, and reliable. This friend provides a breath of fresh air in James’s life. The two can be honest and help each other down the path of immorality. I think it would be fun to meet Arturo if he were a real person. I can imagine us being business partners or playing sports. Yet, his core contains a ruthless killer, so I must be careful.
Meeting Arturo leads up to the most prominent character in my first book series. Pharaoh Cleopatra taught the life-giving procedure to Arturo and Grace, who passed it along to James. He has heard of this fantastic woman but doubts she is still alive.
I went to great lengths to portray Cleopatra as astounding. She possesses incredible beauty, wealth, and sophistication but shares all the same flaws as Grace, especially being out of touch with reality. In addition, she is vain and cares little for others. Still, James falls head over heels for her, which brings up another inconsistency. In the second book, he undertakes an extraordinary journey to locate Grace because he cares for her and is attracted to Cleopatra. Yes, I will thoroughly explore this complex three-way relationship in my fourth book; it will be a bumpy ride. Why? Imagine dating somebody who is half a century or more out of touch with reality, a ruthless killer, vain, and you are also dating her twin?
While there would be positives to meeting a ruler of the ancient world, I would run away from Cleopatra as fast as my legs would carry me. She is beyond ruthless and would kill a nobody like me in less than a heartbeat. Yet, I share James’s fascination, and I will explore this interest in the fourth book.
My biggest character flaw (yes, that was a pun) was making James too similar. I now clearly see this unintentional choice hampered my creativity. I know what and who I am, which added many limitations. Creating James from a blank person would have made him more interesting and realistic to readers.
Yet, that was my point in making him what he was. James was supposed to be an average or below-average guy, a random person selected to be part of a big story. I am average, making me the perfect subject to model a character for this adventure. So, I think my creation was better than I am giving myself credit for.
Creating my characters and getting them into all kinds of messes was fun. I am now intimately familiar with their personalities, quirks, and traits. I suppose it is like we are already friends. Or at least neighbors. A ruthless killer? Umm, how about pen pals? Actually, that works.
You’re the best -Bill
December 18, 2024
Long before I began writing, I thought up stories inside my bonkers mind. My character had simple traits, essentially fictional versions of myself. They would build race cars, travel to wild Africa, or meet amazing women. I was daydreaming. What were my characters like? They were older and more mature. All the physical traits and relationships with people in my life were identical. My support characters were one-dimensional and quickly forgotten. I did not even give them names or noteworthy characteristics.
I had to take a more formal approach when I became an author because readers expect more than a daydream. This quality increase included naming my characters and giving them unique physical traits and flaws. While I tried to distance my main character from my life, I did not do a great job. Why is this important? Readers easily see through a character based on a pumped-up author. Common traits for this kind of character are overtly brilliant, buff, arrogant, and unrealistic. You can see this kind of extra-bold character in popular action films.
I named my first character, James, in my first book. Unfortunately, in the first draft, he ended up being too similar to me, and it took intense editing to reduce the similarities, resulting in a more rounded and believable character.
One of my writing rules is to make a character’s weaknesses obvious because readers need to understand the motivation behind actions clearly. James is dishonest, shallow, not too bright, and has no confidence. This is the reason behind his ugly divorce and the plagiarism of his only successful book.
My plot is like a vampire story, but I invented a bizarre medical procedure instead of drinking blood to be immortal. One side effect is confidence, balanced by enough paranoia to fill a dump truck. This added confidence is key to James consciously deciding to better his life at the end of the first book.
Despite the similarities, there are significant differences between James and me. He is more liberal, writing is his only interest, and his background vastly differs from mine. I am more intelligent, confident, trustworthy, and intuitive, meaning that I would not have fallen into the traps that set the plot into motion.
What makes James tick? Nothing. He is dragged along by the plot until the end of the third book when he gets some backbone. I am sure you are thinking, “Hey, characters are supposed to lead the plot, not follow it.” Yes and no. Not everybody in our society is a leader. We have to go to work, criminals go to jail, and even kids have to go to school. So, it is reasonable that bad things happen to a character, forcing them down a path. In many ways, this is more realistic, yet I agree that this kind of plot is not the strongest.
If I were to meet James, I likely would not be impressed because he is the type of man who wants something at the expense of others. Yet, he is growing on me, and by the fourth book (in the outline stage), I would tolerate him enough to go on a bike ride.
I named the second main character in my first book Grace. Bold is an understatement for her. Grace is over 500 years old, incredibly rich, bright, confident, in control of every aspect of her life, pretty, in great shape, and a snappy dresser. Yet, as I mentioned, a character must have apparent flaws.
Grace could be compared to a head vampire. She is dominating, incredibly paranoid, 500 years out of touch, and hypersensitive to personal security. She will go to any measure when it comes to survival.
I introduced another side effect of my immorality procedure to her. People undergoing the procedure are very susceptible to substance abuse. She had a twenty-year opium bender, but that was in the 1800s. She has been clean ever since, but her desire to get high is ever-present.
Grace is courteous, kind, sweet, an excellent listener, a world-class chef, perceptive, honest, and altruistic. Yet, you probably can see the contrast. “Sweet” and “will go to any measure to survive” are the opposite. This makes Grace a super complex character struggling between these extreme existences. In one example, Grace prepares an excellent meal for James, but he accidentally drops his napkin. When he reached down to pick it up, she nearly stabbed him.
When I molded Grace around the story, the result had no similarities to anybody I know or a fictional character. This made her unique and intriguing. Would I like to meet her? Absolutely not. Grace is a hardened killer, and despite all her positives, every part of her screams, “Stay away!”
Grace studied James from afar, kidnapped him, and forced him to undergo the life-giving procedure. She then discusses her life and forces him to write her story. In the second book, James admits that he fell in love with her during their time together.
Thus, in the second book, he undergoes an epic journey to locate her, which brings up a significant inconsistency. I said I would never want to meet her, but James does. I partially explain that James can see her kindness, and I will explore their budding relationship in my fourth book. There are going to be a lot of bumps.
What makes Grace tick? Simple, money and security. Her motivation is one-dimensional, but she does have hobbies and likes the people who work at her companies. I suppose readers would consider Grace to have an icy exterior and a small but warm heart.
On the journey to locate Grace, I introduced other immortal characters who wish to harm James. But Arturo is an exception. Yes, he is paranoid, ruthless, and out of touch with reality, but he befriends James, and they go on an adventure together.
Arturo is pleasant, respectful, intuitive, and reliable. This friend provides a breath of fresh air in James’s life. The two can be honest and help each other down the path of immorality. I think it would be fun to meet Arturo if he were a real person. I can imagine us being business partners or playing sports. Yet, his core contains a ruthless killer, so I must be careful.
Meeting Arturo leads up to the most prominent character in my first book series. Pharaoh Cleopatra taught the life-giving procedure to Arturo and Grace, who passed it along to James. He has heard of this fantastic woman but doubts she is still alive.
I went to great lengths to portray Cleopatra as astounding. She possesses incredible beauty, wealth, and sophistication but shares all the same flaws as Grace, especially being out of touch with reality. In addition, she is vain and cares little for others. Still, James falls head over heels for her, which brings up another inconsistency. In the second book, he undertakes an extraordinary journey to locate Grace because he cares for her and is attracted to Cleopatra. Yes, I will thoroughly explore this complex three-way relationship in my fourth book; it will be a bumpy ride. Why? Imagine dating somebody who is half a century or more out of touch with reality, a ruthless killer, vain, and you are also dating her twin?
While there would be positives to meeting a ruler of the ancient world, I would run away from Cleopatra as fast as my legs would carry me. She is beyond ruthless and would kill a nobody like me in less than a heartbeat. Yet, I share James’s fascination, and I will explore this interest in the fourth book.
My biggest character flaw (yes, that was a pun) was making James too similar. I now clearly see this unintentional choice hampered my creativity. I know what and who I am, which added many limitations. Creating James from a blank person would have made him more interesting and realistic to readers.
Yet, that was my point in making him what he was. James was supposed to be an average or below-average guy, a random person selected to be part of a big story. I am average, making me the perfect subject to model a character for this adventure. So, I think my creation was better than I am giving myself credit for.
Creating my characters and getting them into all kinds of messes was fun. I am now intimately familiar with their personalities, quirks, and traits. I suppose it is like we are already friends. Or at least neighbors. A ruthless killer? Umm, how about pen pals? Actually, that works.
You’re the best -Bill
December 18, 2024
