Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain is a guide that had a huge impact on us. Though copyrighted in 1965, it’s still a relevant approach to creating fiction. The chapter on characterization is particularly good and begins with one sentence, “A story is people given life on paper.”
It’s as simple and as complicated as it sounds.
Do you begin by visualizing the character — their build, hair or eyes? The way they sound? Where do they live? What do they do for a living? Their darkest secret, biggest fear or greatest joy? Is there a rule?
Happily, there’s no right or wrong way to create a compelling character. However, Swain lays out some general guidelines that we use for everything we write:
1) Fictional characters are real, but they’re not real people. They exist to propel a story forward. A human being is made up of millions of thoughts, quirks, mannerisms and experiences. The readers need the most necessary of details.
2) Give your characters a goal. What’s life without a prize? In our Witches of New Mourne series, the heroine of each book wants to save their coven from a deadly curse. Their individual powers dictate how they try. Brenna wants to lead their coven into battle. Her sister Fiona wants to prove her worth. Their cousin Eva Grace wants victory through compassion. Their broad and personal goals shape each story.
3) Keep throwing roadblocks in your character’s path. Conflict fuels a story, and how your characters handle it gives them depth. Do they go straight at problem, dodge it, or embrace it as an opportunity? Each choice demonstrates who they are. As Stephen King says in On Writing, “I want to put a group of characters (perhaps a pair; perhaps even just one) in some sort of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free.”
4) Have a plan. While some mega-stars like King say they write books with only the barest of outlines of both plot and characters, we’ve found that we can’t get where we’re going without a map. That doesn’t mean we don’t reroute. In Healing Magic, the third book of our trilogy, our hero started out as wholly human, but we had to go back to the drawing board. It’s no spoiler to say he has plenty of his own magic in the final version, and bringing him to life was much more fun when we made that change.
5) Show, don’t tell. Don’t say, “His eyes were ocean-green.” Try, “He stepped forward, ocean-blue eyes studying the birds.” Draw the picture, keep it active, and you’ll bring them to life.
6) Maintain consistency. Do you remember the uproar over the Game of Thrones finale? The fan world erupted at the thought that Jon Snow would kill Daenery Targaryen, his love, his life, and the Mother of Dragons. Personally, it seemed like an honorable choice for this most honorable of men, but for the majority who found wildly it out of character, it was a jarring end to a beloved HBO series. While big departures like that can give readers whiplash, sometimes surprise actions are enjoyable contradictions. Like when our virginal good girl heroine of Haunting Magic decides to knock on the hotel room door of a man she’s known only a few days. It was an detour that helped shape the story.
7) Give backstory its proper place. Every character should have a history that shapes their current choices and reactions. We love mapping out the personal stories for our characters. The danger comes when you try to incorporate every detail into the story. Flashbacks are tricky for readers to follow. Prologues can go on too long. We go back to Swain’s advice. If something doesn’t propel the story forward, it doesn’t need to be included even if it’s funny, clever or weird. Be ruthless, and cut the fat.
There’s much more to creating characters than this simple list. While some of it is innate, other skills are developed by practice and editing. Read your favorite author’s work, analyze how the characters are revealed to you and why you respond to them. If you can apply that to your own work, the improvement will amaze you.
The Witches of New Mourne
Book Three
Neely Powell
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Date of Publication: Oct. 18, 2021
ISBN Paperback: 978-1-5092-3960-3
ISBN Digital: 978-1-5092-3961-0
ASIN: B09F3VX1PCB
Number of pages: 279
Word Count: 65,001
Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor
Tagline: An empathic witch. A magical warrior. Joined by love, they battle a demon and an evil spirit.
Book Description:
Eva Grace Connelly is a witch and a beloved healer. Rodric McGuire, paranormal expert and descendent of faerie warriors, adores the flame-haired beauty. But their future is on hold as a family curse threatens her life.
Centuries ago, the Witches of New Mourne struck a dark bargain with the Woman in White. In exchange for peace, the malevolent spirit takes a Connelly witch from each generation.
Eva Grace is convinced she can heal the ghost's troubled spirit and end the reign of terror. But violence and family heartbreak challenge that resolve. As Samhain approaches, the Woman and her vile demon have control.
Is sacrifice the only road to peace? Can Eva Grace and Rodric uncover the secrets and lies at the heart of the curse?
Excerpt 1:
Rodric watched as Eva Grace fell into the raging river. A wicked and powerful energy kept him in place. Below, she was caught in the swirling waters of a huge vortex.
A deep rumble moved through the air. Laughter, Rodric realized. The demon was laughing.
“Damn you!” Rodric yelled. “You’re a coward controlled by your mistress.”
As thunder boomed, the water shot up and Eva Grace was level with Rodric. Treasures the faeries had given her gleamed at her throat, and the demon made the earth shake.
“Give those to me,” the creature roared.
The demon couldn’t just take them, she’d have to give them to him. Which meant Rodric could save her. But how?
“Help me,” he called to his ancestors. “Help us!”
A thick rope appeared in his hands. He made a loop and threw it with all his strength toward her. She fought to get the loop over her head, but the effort cost her.
The demon roared at Rodric. “Tell her to save herself. Give me what I need.”
“She’s not giving you anything,” Rodric shouted.
“Maybe to save you.” A lightning bolt struck just feet from Rodric.
Summoning all the magic in his blood, Rodric slowly began to pull Eva Grace up from the river.
Leigh Neely and Jan Hamilton Powell are the writing team of Neely Powell. They met working at a rock ‘n roll radio station, discovered they’d both rather be writing fiction, and have been close friends ever since. Their path to cowriting paranormal romance took some detours.
Leigh’s resume chronicles a diverse career as a disk jockey, newspaper reporter, advertising copywriter, magazine writer and editor. Jan wrote 24 romance novels as Celeste Hamilton for Silhouette and Avon Books and then built a career in corporate communications and public relations.
Neely Powell became a successful team when they turned their attention to shifters, werewolves, witches, ghosts, fae and all things supernatural.
Their first novel was TRUE NATURE from The Wild Rose Press, followed by AWAKENING MAGIC and HAUNTING MAGIC. The Witches of New Mourne trilogy will conclude in October 2021 with HEALING MAGIC.
Their rules for maintaining a partnership are simple: be honest, be kind, and bring Diet Coke and chocolate.
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