I love creating characters. The background work for major characters takes a lot more work but it is so worth it to get inside the life of someone else, no matter how fantastic or terrible their life seems. Weaving the history of each character is fun. Yes, I said it is fun. Time consuming too of course but a total blast.
Between the 3 novels I have written, I have created close to
100 characters. Some are very minor and haven’t had a chance to speak. Others
are the huge integral beasts of characters that demand top billing. Constantly. A few
characters have only been mentioned in name.
In my trilogy, there are so many characters and they all vie
for my attention the second they step into a scene. They are all very strong
personalities and it is difficult to tell them to shut up and move on. As I am
working my way through the 3rd and final novel in the trilogy this
November, it is going to be difficult to get everyone the closure their stories need by the end of the novel.
Journey of Shadows introduced 5 major characters and a small
handful of other minor characters while laying out the story for some
incredible creatures. The 2nd book, Untitled, immediately picks up
where Journey of Shadows left off and introduces many more minor characters and
other creatures. The 3rd book will be the culmination of events,
leading to a final showdown of good vs. evil in a battle fought on the ground,
in the air, and in the water. I don’t know how it will end. I hope Dani and her
friends win with minimal losses. We’ll see how the story goes once the writing
happens. I'll find out during this year's NaNoWriMo!
The novel I wrote at the end of the summer introduced
another female heroine in a young adult urban fantasy. It is set in our world
with fantasy elements in the mix for a high school junior just trying to get to
class on time. She is snarky and resilient and smart. This girl is definitely
not the 1st half of Journey of Shadow’s version Dani that is a
simpering silly girl that spends most of her time crying about her misfortunes.
This kid is tough as nails and ready to take on the world, or at least Cincinnati.
So I’m trying to figure out what character is my favorite to
write. I think in Journey of Shadows, my favorite character to write was
Jorune, the giant sea turtle. His speech was so relaxing and helped me to find
an inner calm when I wrote his back story. In the 2nd book, my
favorite characters to write are two you haven’t met: a dragon woman and a
Shadow child. Neither of them got nearly as much “screen time” but their
stories were so captivating. I cried for the kid as much as I cheered for the woman.
In the young adult UF, also untitled for now, my favorite character to write
was the male best friend to the main character. Now his story is interesting.
I’m anxious to start writing the 3rd novel of the
trilogy as I want to know what happens! I can’t wait to share these stories
with you when they are ready. Journey of Shadows was a work in progress for over
2 years before I started to feel confident that it was ready for the public. I’m
hoping the 2nd book doesn't take that long but until it is ready, I
will continue to polish it over and over again. And I will do the same for the 3rd, starting with the 1st draft that I will be starting in... 2 days, 3 hours, 13 minutes? Crap. It's almost writing time!
Here’s to a very productive NaNoWriMo 2012!
Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS
