Thursday, September 23, 2010

Developing Characters

I have had a cozy mystery series in mind for several years now. I know that the lead character will be female, that there will be cats involved, and a touch of esotericism and magick. Where I am right now is in the process of defining my lead character. I have given her a name many times – only to let it go, as not the “right” name. So I decided to define her character first – what makes her tick, what her back story is, why I would ant to know her, what she has to tell me. In doing this, I know that she will tell me her name, which is how it should have been all along!

Once I have my lead character defined, I will know what type of secondary character she would surround herself with – sometimes intentionally, sometimes incidentally. Life happen, you know! I am sure that one or more of the “support cast” will want a larger role. My hope is that they will be satisfied with a recurring role.

I also know that the plots will often revolve around my characters back story – what she has gone through will be more important that what she is currently going through. What got her where she is has greater relevance than where she is.

Out of this murky past will come both the victims and the villains – all painted in shades of gray. Bright colors cast into the shadow of their deepest, darkest secrets.

Is every ending going to be a happy one? Every ending will be an ending, but it will also act as a beginning for the next book. This is a series, after all!

How long are my books going to be? I will start writing, and stop writing when the story is over. If I go through a publisher, I may need to cut down words, or add words. If I self publish, I get to be as wordy as I want to be – within reason! If I self-publish, I will avail myself of the services of en independent editor, who hopefully has the guts to tell me where my story needs tightening up, what I need to let go of, and what I need to expand.

Life is good!

© September 2010 Bonnie Cehvovet

No comments:

Post a Comment

Long Chapters Or Short Chapters - What Is Your Preference?

Does it make a difference to a reader whether the chapters in a book are long or short? It does to me. I like shorter chapters, as they feed...