Daily Archives: May 11, 2012

CREATING REAL LIFE CHARACTERS

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            My characters are all fictional, but that doesn’t mean I don’t use “real” ones for inspiration.

            Have you ever read a novel that contains a character so compelling you picture him or her coming to life and stepping right out of the pages?

            I have One of the most memorable is from Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity – and the main character had the name of Bourne. Actually, I don’t believe Bourne was his real name, but that theCIA, or whatever alphabet organization, gave him the name. At any rate, the character grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. To this day he occupies a special place in my memory.

            However, what I mean to talk about today is using a specific incident, or type of incident, in a book, one triggered by a real life event by a real person. That incident can trigger either something major or minor connected to the protagonist, the hero, or the antagonist or the bad guy. But, the type I’m referring to here would definitely be because of something a real person did or said. And there’s no reason why the situation could not result in a bit of humor to lighten a serious book, or even provide an important clue.

            Earlier today (Friday), I heard an unbelievable story from a friend. By no means was it funny, but it could easily be written in a humorous vein.

            My friend had flown out west to go to her mother-in-law’s funeral, held in a Buddhist temple as the in-laws are of mixed heritage. Everyone was there, including those who had flown in fromJapan.

            Well, the sister-in-law took one look at her mother lying in the coffin and demanded the presence of the make-up artist. Then, with all mourners present, she had the woman re-do the dead woman’s makeup. Additionally, after that was finished, she was dissatisfied with the way her mother’s boobs looked and had the make-up artist readjust them in some manner.

            As horrified as my friend was, she now recognizes the humor in the situation, but only, she said, as a tool for writers. She also recognized that it could also represent something quite serious. And, as I write this, it occurs to me that this type of person—the sister-in-law—could provide the idea for a clue in a mystery, or even the impetus for the mystery itself.

            While I haven’t yet used this type of character in a novel, I recently had an experience that is probably going to end up in my next Mollie Fenwick mystery.

            I recently started a new mystery series involving a young Chicago P.I. woman, and while that book is on the shelf for now, it is often on my mind. A couple days ago I had a dream where I ended up going toChicagoto take a P.I. exam, took a side trip toEvanstonto take part in a music event, and then the police arrested me for possession. My time studying voice at Northwestern, my new P.I. novel and my finished but not published police procedural all figured into the dream. From that, I got the beginnings of the plot for my next book in the Mollie Fenwick Series, not about music or a P.I. exam, but about my character’s

 arrest while investigating a football player she thinks is involved in some nasty stuff.

            While I was the person who triggered the above idea, there is an incident in my first mystery, Murder by Mistake, that resulted from a person I met in real life, and I had to put it in my book. In this scene, Mollie’s neighbor chases after her cat and then lectures him for leaving the apartment when she’d left the door open. Her rationalization – she told the cat to stay inside. The lady I met actually thought her cat would understand her instructions to “stay inside.” .

            In short, people do some strange things, and many of them can contribute to any number of fictional scenes, whether they be funny, poignant, or dark. I’ve read many books with fascinating and wonderful characters that are hard to forget, and wonder at their origin. Did a real human “suggest” the character, or were they perhaps a composite of several. Whatever the case, there’s a lot out there for us writers, and I look forward to reading about many more memorable characters.

Joan K. Maze

Writing is the Best Therapy

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Often I have reread something I’ve written and I’ve discovered parts of myself that even I don’t want to see.  I find my heroine knee deep in a muck of trust issues and I can’t help but recognize the direct connection to myself.  I don’t think it’s unusual for parts of ourselves to be trapped inside the persona of our characters.  Just like food, we are what we write.  We write what we know.

As authors, we practically bleed onto the pages of our books.  As anyone who has edited their manuscript with a red pen knows it’s not far from the truth.  When I write, I listen to music that sparks an emotional response, in that I am able to portray those feelings into the scene.  For example, I’ve been working on a piece that takes place during Christmas.  I listen to Christmas music, burn a sugar cookie candle, and maybe put some red and green flowers by my desk. In doing so I create an environment that allows that emotional connection to the holiday to flow through my brain and out to my fingertips.

Yet the things I write about, the deeply ingrained and often wordless emotions locked away in my psyche, are what really brings my stories to life. Well, for me anyway.  In my first novel, I wrote about a girl who loses her fiancé in a random act of violence.  The story is a romance, but it’s also about her journey from the pit of despair, through the valley of grief, and finally back into happiness.  Of course, I’ve also mixed in a serial killer, frat boys, and a hot detective, so it has much more substance.

I’m trying to rework the beginning and I’m struggling with making the changes.  I believe it’s so difficult for me because I have matured not only as a writer, but as a woman.  When I began writing the story I was dealing with the aftermath of my divorce, the upheaval from my home, and separation from my friends.  My heart was broken and I was fragile.  On any given day, I would have told you I was fine, that I was coping and things were good, and they were, but my inner self was just a scared little girl afraid of what other hurts might come my way.

As I wrote that little girl inside found a way to talk, a way to communicate and find strength again.  When my character withdrew from the world around her, I knew exactly how that felt.  When she found support in someone else, things didn’t seem nearly as scary.  In telling her story, I was healing a part of me I didn’t even realize needed a Band-Aid. The overall theme of my book went outside the proverbial box and into one of reawakening and growth.

I’ve never been one to keep a journal or a diary.  First, it’s too easy for others to read your personal thoughts should it be discovered.  Second, finding the time for such a task is very difficult.  (As Ane pointed out in a recent blog post, my spare time is spent cleaning out spam email) Lastly, it’s hard work putting your feeling down on paper.  It is not hard however to put characters into a fictional situation, that helps to express what things you are going through.

As writers, do you feel like the deepest part of your emotional core comes through your writing?  As readers, what have you read that resonates with your psyche?

I know its a deep topic for a Friday, but I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Toodles,

Michelle