Characters

I honestly thought I was going to set up a Facebook page this weekend, but Real Life has intruded once again and I'm going to have to postpone it. Someone in my life outside the computer needs some help, and that takes precedence over any social interaction inside the computer.

The same someone suggested this topic when I mentioned that I had no idea what to blog today, so we both helped each other.

This weekend I read a book by an author who has written many novels using a main character and a background character who eventually became another main character. As this author explored the two characters, it was evident what they meant to him because he treated each with respect and curiosity. He gave them a clear view of the world, although each character sees it a bit differently, and he wrote with passion about both of them, as well as the events and people that shaped them. You might say he gave them souls, or he revealed a bit of his own while he wrote about them. This latest novel was about a new character, and while I enjoyed reading it, it didn't seem to have the same heart and poetry as the other novels. Maybe that's just me, but I think the first two characters are more real to him than the new one is, at least so far.

That made me think about my own characters. They are the driving force behind my novels: as I learn more about them, that gives me more stories to tell about them. Whenever I wonder about an aspect of one of the characters, I know I'll be off on a journey to find the answer. For example, I wondered why Nick Bartucci wears that cap all the time, so sooner or later I had to have him tell me (and you). It sounds kind of dumb, but that's how storytelling works: the storyteller wonders about something and then tells the story to answer the question.

I love my characters and I have a lot of fun exploring them. I hope that's clear in my writing. Which of my characters is your favorite? Why? Is there an aspect of one of them that you think I should explore further?