The Magic Character

 I'm within a gnat's whisker of finishing the new book and am in the process of making a few changes as per my writing group's suggestions. My original plan was to have the book completely finished by last August.

Oh, foolish woman.

Once I got into the rewrites, I realized that it isn't quite that easy. As I was pondering ways to expand one character's part and add a bit more legerdemain and misdirection, it came to me in one of those lightning strikes authors are so familiar with that if I add an extra character I'll be able to kill all my birds with one stone. In fact, the new character is tying up threads and making story connections that I  hadn't even considered before she came on scene.

It's interesting to see how her very presence affects the tale, just as the sudden insertion of a real person into a group changes its entire chemistry and dynamic. Adding a new character into a book that is to all intents and proposes finished gives the writer a jolt of energy right at the end of the process that is unusual, for the normal feeling for an author (at least this author) has as the end seems to get farther and farther away is a combination of weariness, loss of perspective, and and inability to let it go even though it's really done.

I don't expect that I'll have to make huge additions or alterations in order to accommodate the new woman, but that doesn't mean it isn't going to take some time. I foresee a couple of new scenes, at least one major rewrite of an existing scene, and a careful re-read to make sure she's mentioned wherever she needs to be mentioned. You have to be careful not to overdo it if you're going to try something like this. It's amazing how little it takes to make big changes.

This is not the first time I've gone back and added a character after the manuscript is almost finished. Whenever I've done such a thing, it's been as though the character was on the sidelines the whole time, like a relief quarterback, just waiting to jump into the game and throw the winning pass. For one of my earlier book, The Sky Took Him, it was Ike the cat. I don't know how he did it, but that cat dies the action together with a big red bow. He was a magic character. I can only hope my new gal has the same juju.

p.s. sometimes you have to take a character out. But that's a whole other entry.

She Needs a Dog

My work in progress is beginning to take shape. This is a relief, because the WIP is the first book in what may become a new series for me. Over the past 13 years, I have written ten books in the Alafair Tucker series, which is set in the 1910s and features a woman with ten children. The first book, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, took place in 1912 and the most recent, Forty Dead Men, took place in 1919 and dealt with the aftermath of World War I. I’ve reached 1920. Most of the children are grown by now, and for some time I’ve been wondering about how their adult lives turned out.

So...in order to satisfy my own curiosity and shake things up a bit, I decided to follow one of the children into the Roaring Twenties and see what became of her. As it turns out, she left Oklahoma altogether and had a really exciting life.

A new series set in a new location and era means lots of research, and it also means that I have to get to know a whole bunch of new characters. As my blogmates have been so ably discussing over the past week, a good plot is an excellent thing, but memorable characters are the most important thing if you want your readers to keep coming back for more.

When I started out on the new book, I had what I though was a complete cast of characters ready to go, but as I write, new characters keep suggesting themselves. It’s interesting to see how every new character’s very presence affects the tale, just as the insertion of a real person into a group changes its entire chemistry and dynamic. Adding a new character into a book that is well underway gives me a jolt of writing energy. It’s amazing how little it takes to make big changes in the way a story unfolds.

This is not the first time added a new character in the middle of the process. Whenever I have done such a thing, it has been as though the character was on the sidelines the whole time, like a relief quarterback, just waiting to jump into the game and throw the winning pass. Usually it’s a person, but sometimes it’s an animal. I was busily typing along on the MS when it struck me like lighting that my heroine needs a dog, and that dog is going do something that saves the day. In my fourth book, The Sky Took Him, I added Ike the cat after the entire story was written. I had to go back and sprinkle Ike’s presence through the novel and it was a lot of trouble. And yet, I don’t know he did it, but that cat tied the action together with a big red bow. He was a magic character. I can only hope that my new guy has the same juju.

When you create new characters, either for a series or a stand-alone, you may feel a bit like God, making people behave like this or that and causing all sorts of unpleasant things to happen to them.  But no matter how much you think you’re in control, eventually some miracle happens and the characters develop wills of their own and don't listen to you any more.  I think this is not an uncommon experience for writers.  After a while, you can't force characters to respond to the action in the way you want them to any more than you could force a real person to do what you want.  When this happens, you know you've succeeded.  If your character behaves like a living person, then your readers are going to care about her like they would a living person.