I
love series.
I
am one of those women who can’t let go. I have two friends I’ve known for 47
years if that says anything, and I think this is one reason why I write series.
Women,
as we all know, unfold like a rosebud…layer after layer…until, at last, we are
in full bloom. We are something one day and then something else the next. We
are a rollercoaster of emotions, a Botticelli of artistic endeavor, a seven
course meal. We are light and dark, thick and thin, coming and going. We can
wear more hats, juggle more balls, and accomplish more things in an hour than
any half dozen men can even hope to accomplish in a day.
Yet,
getting to the core of a woman takes patience and nurturing, understanding and
acceptance. Like that rose, we unfurl our petals only when the time is right.
Writing
series characters is like that. It takes a great deal of planning, of charting
the characters’ destiny through more than just the initial book. We have to
know how she is going to grow, when she is going to fail, what she is going to
accomplish, and who she keeps as well as loses along the way. We need to know
her better than we know ourselves. We need to open that rose slowly so the
reader can savor her and the new relationship they will form with our
characters.
Because
that’s what series characters are for us: relationships. These people become
part of the fabric of our souls. We do more than root for them or cheer them
on. We feel their emotions, we cry for their losses. We think of them when we’ve
put the book down to go to work, and we long to see them again when we can carve
out that sliver of time in our day to visit with them and let them take us away
from the mundaneness of our lives.
They
become our friends.
I
started out with the Delta Stevens Mystery Series (www.sapphirebooks.com) that stretched
for 7 books and took us from the beginning of Storm’s police career to the very
end. I thought of Delta every single day for a decade, but I had to let her go.
It was time.
Remember…I
don’t let go.
So
when I wrote the Echo Branson Paranormal Series (www.bellabooks.com), and I needed a cop,
who did I turn to for that role? My dear friend, Delta Stevens. I had found
another vehicle for her because she was such a huge part of me that I was
thrilled to see her again.
Those
of you who read series know exactly what I am talking about. You read series
because the characters get under your skin. They make you think, they make you
feel, and they become real in your hearts and minds. It is characters who make
stories come to life. Plot is plot and stories are stories, but my guess is, if
you watch Dexter or Homeland, or any number of television shows, you do so
because of the main characters. I don’t much care what Dexter does…I just love
being a part of his dark little world for an hour a week.
I
read Elizabeth Peters because she writes about Amelia Peabody, an Egyptologist.
I buy very few hardback books anymore, but the day hers comes out, I can’t wait
to get my hands on it, and I put the book aside until I have time to dive in
and not look up until I am well into it. That’s what a great writer does for
us: she creates those characters we long to see again. And when that character
does something we know is part of her eccentricities, we feel like we are in
her inner circle. You can’t always get this in a stand alone novel, but the
series character is a study in background and history. We have a history with
these women and we love them.
When
I wrote Delta’s stories, I had letter after of letter of women saying they
would be crushed if Delta and Megan broke up. (At the time, there were few
detectives or police characters who were in a monogamous and committed
relationship). Delta never strayed, but the fact that readers cared enough to
write showed me just how important that particular rose petal was for them.
Since
that series, I have written the Across Time Series, Echo’s Series, and the
first of the Man Eaters Zombie Thriller Series…and I have to say, my partner of
15 years has to put up with a whole lot of women running around in my head on a
daily basis. She knows that I am always thinking of Dallas or Delta, Jessie or
Echo, and yet, she knows that, to me, they are as real as my two dear friends
of 47 years. She knows that I go to bed thinking about them and whatever
predicament I have gotten them into. She knows I wake up some mornings and toss
the covers back, jumping out of bed and into the cold morning air because one
of them said something or done something I need to get down.
Series
characters are like that.
They
dig their claws into you and don’t let go.
That’s
my goal as a writer. I want them to be tattooed on your heart. I want you to
stay up until 2 am finishing the book because you can’t stand not knowing how
it all turns out. I want you to think about them as if they were real.
Because
in a way, they are.
Anything
that can touch you or move you must have some basis in reality, right?
So
the next time you reach for a book containing a character you know and love,
remember that she is a very real person to the writer who has done her very
best to offer you a friend and a companion you can care about and join on an
exciting adventure. The next time you visit your favorite character, know that
the author has extended to you a white rose that has yet to fully bloom and
looks forward to the time when you hold the completely blossomed rose in the
palm of your hand.
It’s
what we do.
And
I can’t imagine doing anything else.
6 comments:
I love series for the reasons you said. The characters become people to me. I care about them and want to know what happens next in their lives. It's hard keeping up with all the series I've started and all the new series coming out. I'll have to retire to be able to read them all. Thanks for letting me know about your books also.
Thank you for stopping in. Series are really fun, but much harder to write than stand alones, so let me thank you for being one of those who love to love characters. Readers like you are why we write! Thanks again!
Goal accomplished and then some, I'd say. Obviously I read a variety of stuff, but always prefer your books because of that character development. It's like having cool neighbors without the annoyance of actually talking to them. ;)
Kat-
You are the best stalker ever! When we meet in July, you'll have to and on my friend list and not my stalker list.
Yep, working on a series now, and my next books will be a series too! Good luck with your books.
Jolie-
Do you have a "Bible" where you keep all of your characters' personality traits? My publisher uses an excel spreadsheet. I write in a journal.
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