I think creating strong, believable characters for a short story
or novel is one of the most important aspects of writing a fictional piece. The
greatest action-oriented or plot-heavy tale can fall flat if the readers find
the characters too one-dimensional or can’t relate to any of them in some way.
It’s not always easy to create interesting fictional
personalities but the term “composite” comes to mind when I think of how I’ve
developed my own characters. They’re a combination of real people I’ve known, certain
personality “types,” with a little dollop of myself thrown in.
In my novel, THE SIXTH PRECEPT, there are basically three main
characters and several supporting characters. The primary protagonists are Kim
Yoshima--Pittsburgh police officer, Wayne Brewster--IT professional and
super-hero wannabe and the nameless female shadow-tracker--an
animal/human hybrid.
I originally created Kim for a series of four short stories I’d
written before I was inspired to expand her adventures into a novel. The idea of
a female Japanese-American heroine in modern day Pittsburgh, PA, came out of an
interest I’ve had in ancient Japanese history and myth. I felt Kim’s ethnicity
would be an intriguing change-of-pace in the SF/Fantasy tales I started to
write. Oddly enough, the ancient Japanese history and myth I so enjoyed was
barely present in the short stories but came out full-blown later on in the
novel.
I found that I liked Kim a lot. I imbued her with a keen
intelligence and deductive skill, a strong and compassionate heart and the
ability to kick major butt! A couple of my personality traits found their way
into her makeup as well--the desire to make a difference and tolerance and
respect for our fellow humans, no matter how different they might be. She took
off on her own from there. That’s not to say she’s perfect. She has her flaws
like any of us--she’s a workaholic and tends to keep most people at a distance,
among others.
Wayne is a little different. He’s an IT guy like me and finds
himself being drawn into another reality where comic book and super-heroes
really exist (I was a big comic book fan growing up). He’s connected to this
strange world not by any physical means but through his dreams. He begins to start
acting like the super-hero ArcNight (one of my own making). Since Batman was
always my favorite hero, the name Wayne Brewster is a takeoff of Bruce Wayne
and ArcNight is taken from the Dark Knight. I’ve made Brewster a really
confused gentleman as far as his dreams and latent hero antics are concerned as
it would be to anyone. He has to adapt and he does, accepting the strange
circumstances he finds himself in, taking on all comers. On top of that, he
starts to have feelings for Kim (who wouldn’t?) and that allows another level
of conflict to enter into his characterization.
The character of the female shadow-tracker is one that took on a
life of its own. I didn’t intend to have her role become as big as it turned
out to be in the novel but I’m glad it did. She’s part of a human/dog hybrid
pack that’s been bred over the centuries to track down the eventual descendant
of the Yomitsu, the Great Enemy of their master, the Eminent Lord of
sixteenth-century Japan. It was interesting to write a point-of-view from
someone who wasn’t entirely human. I had to dig into my dark side but also was
careful to keep some of the shadow-tracker’s humanity present, a trait that
ultimately defines her in the end, making her more sympathetic.
So, even though a novel or story might be one of big ideas or
themes, it really all boils down to the characters in the end. They’re the plot
device the ideas will revolve around and will make the readers care.
Or not. It’s all up to the author. Or, in some cases, how the
characters will force the author to write them!
Genre – Urban Fantasy
Publisher – IFWG Publishing
Release
Date – November, 2011
Giveaway – 12 Signed printed copies
Thank you for hosting me on the tour, Monique!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Larry!:)
ReplyDelete