Shady Characters by James Huskins

Shady characters – they're everywhere, right? But getting them down on paper can be hard.

A few weeks ago I read a post by our own Johanna on her blog entitled, "What Kind Of Sandwich?" If you haven't read it, please do. In it, she reveals that she must know her characters before she can write their story. That really struck a home run in my brain, and I began to think about my own characters.

In my current work in progress, I have a few recurring people from the previous book. These guys I know very well. But what about all the new people - did I really know them yet? The answer was …no. They had names, descriptions and occupations – sure, but they weren't breathing, conniving murderers and thieves – not yet, anyway. And I realized this was the major problem I've been battling as I worked on this first draft. In order to tell their story, I was going to have to get to know them a whole lot better.

As I toyed and played with this idea, another thing occurred. I began reading the latest Amelia Peabody mystery (yes, it came out almost two years ago but I'm just getting around to it). I love Elizabeth Peter's work – she is truly a master of language and storytelling. As I lounged in the magic of her words trying to distract myself from another day of working on characters personalities, I began to notice her characters. More to the point, the way she introduced them – it took my breath away. I'd like to share one with you now:

"[He] …appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. Of medium height, with thinning brown hair, he carried himself like the soldier he had been but his well-tailored clothes failed to conceal the fact that the life of a country gentleman had thickened his waistline and certain other parts of his anatomy."

In only a few sentences Peters packs in so much info: his age, looks, his current and previous occupation, how he moves, the quality of his clothes, his financial and social standing…. You get an immediate impression of this fellow, and it all flows from a few, well-crafted words. I began to study each of her character introductions Each one is unique and brimming with detail without any waste of words. It is obvious Peters knows her characters well. It was equally obvious she introduces characters with impressions rather than mere descriptions.

I had a light bulb moment.

I've been spending the last week or so getting to really know my characters – observing how they speak, how they walk and how they relate to each other.  I've also looked at how each one is introduced to the reader – does it create a memorable impression? They are finally becoming real live people – some of them with nasty personalities, others a bit naive. Now it's going to be so much more fun to kill off one of them!  *grins