Some of the nicest compliments I’ve heard about my books over the years revolved around the characters and dialogue. When I hear that the people in my book seem “so real” or that they’re “folks I’d like to spend a weekend with” I know I’ve done okay. I even had one woman tell me that if the real Evan Morris walked up her path she’d toss her husband to the curb. Now that is character identification!
I’m not sure how many plots or basic storylines exist in the world of fiction. I know that if I settle in to read a mystery the chances are good I’ve read at least a couple with a similar storyline. What makes each of these novels different is the ability of the author to present the storyline in a fresh way, with a twist. That twist is usually provided by the characters. How they react to a situation is what makes them, and the story, unique.
The first two books featured characters that were based on real people that I knew back in the sixties (as were some of the events) so it was easy to picture these people in my mind and know how they would react in different scenarios. I also blended a little of my own personality within each of them, male and female. It’s the familiarity factor and it also gave me an opportunity to live vicariously through each of these people.
My third book “Fergus” took me away from the cast of familiar characters although Fergus himself had a minor role in “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”. Choosing to do a complete novel on Fergus was a good idea as I had people wanting to know more about him. I must confess I was curious about him as well, mostly curious about what happened to him. While fleshing out Mister Lloyd was at times a little challenging it didn’t compare to what I’m doing now.
My current project has been dragging on for months…actually years. I had, I thought, a pretty good plot sketched out in the beginning. As with any storyline it ventured into different areas as the words were put down but it rarely wandered too far away from the original outline. Then I had what I considered to be a brilliant idea which has turned out to be one of the greatest challenges I could give myself.
The story takes place in a fictional hamlet in central British Columbia but the family that settled the area was large and each of the many members contributed to the foundation of the location. I tried a narrative outlining the history of the area but that was too lengthy and dry. I tried letting a modern day citizen explain the history to a visitor but it quickly became just as boring. “Aha” methinks, “what about a daybook or journal that gives hints of the past from the perspective of a family member?” I wouldn’t have to get into all the detail about how many logs it took to build the outhouse.
Knowing the family I had created I realized there wasn’t one of them that had the wherewithal or the time to jot down notes therefore a new character had to be created. Old Wilf suddenly had a daughter.
I now find myself writing a journal as a woman born in 1925. It’s actually not as difficult as I thought it would be. Once I got her personality and position planted in my mind it became quite an enjoyable experience. The problem is that some of her experiences and thoughts have once again taken the whole story in a different direction. Oddly enough it’s pretty much following the same direction I started with.
This unfinished manuscript has been a haunting, a mystery, a light romance, and is now back to a haunting with perhaps a serving of romantic gravy and a mystery garnish.
The more things (and characters) change….
Mike Grant is the author of three novels. “White Wolf Moon”, “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”, and “Fergus”. Visit his Amazon page to find out more.
Mike Grant - Author 