Shaping a Character

When I was writing my novel, "The Touch Me Nots" I discovered I needed to create a lot of characters. I had to visualize them in every day situations. I determined what gave them meaning in life and had to install their passions and quirks so that the story flowed with their energy. I found the process to be very similar to this Dragon I carved about a year ago. I started with a piece of cherry wood a friend had given me and began to visualize the creature before making the first cut. As the work progressed things changed slightly here and there and it turned out differently than I had first imagined. I'm pleased with the end result.

My characters in my book were created very much with the same process. I just needed to discover what facets to emphasize in the story line to turn them into a hero, a villain, scary, friendly, powerful, controlled, male or female.

The interesting part of the whole process was trying to discover what influence I would have over a reader's feelings for the characters as they suspended disbelief and entered into the drama of the fictional characters. I used a focus group that would read parts of the manuscript and give me feedback. These folks were more than happy to read the story and at times, applied pressure for the next section of the book to be written.

I think it may be time for the next novel to take shape and emerge.

The Writer's Bridge

Every year about mid October they shut down this bridge so people can jump off. I don't think they let them jump off without a parachute! Thankfully, that's a springboard for another story to be written by someone who makes a practice of jumping off perfectly good bridges.

I have to cross this bridge many times in the course of a year. I've become a huge fan of this bridge. It helps me span the gaps of reason in my mind to build on imagination. For years people had to meander down a treacherous winding single lane road to the New River far below. They would then cross a rickety old style bridge and wind their way back up the far steep mountainside to get to where they were going.

Now, taking either pathway makes for great writing. There are adventures the old way and thrills driving across the new bridge. The bridge was completed back in the 1970's. It's birth had to happen in some one's imagination and be sold as a solid idea that could be achieved to government officials and tax payers. Once the money was earmarked companies had to be informed, bids received and the workers hired to do the job. It took a lot of work and community cooperation to build this tallest bridge in the Northern Hemisphere.

People drive across the bridge every day. Except for the feeling or fear of falling they don't give the bridge a second thought. That's the job of the writer. Their job is to build structures to help bridge the fiction gap so people don't have to experience building the bridge themselves. If they have to do the work, they would rather take the old scenic route and escape the labor. Of course if you are writing about building a bridge then yes, put the passenger in the construction worker boots complete with hard hat, shovel, bull dozier, welding hood and whatever other tools you may need to assemble this complex yet elegant bridge. Then as they drive across and see the other bridge crossers they can move with pride of achievement.

Sometimes I stand at the precipice of writing. Everything seems well constructed and then I find a huge impasse, a gap that needs crossing and I find it's time to build a bridge. At that moment I have to make a decision. Do I take the road less traveled? Or do I jump the gap with super human ability, or do I build an elegant bridge? Or, do I hollar "Geronimooooooo" and dive into the canyon below? Don't rush me, I'm thinking.

Springboard for Writing

I don't get called out very often, but when I do I'm ready to let my mind run wild. I have a fairly stress free job repairing machines throughout Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. The longest trip is to Bluefield, Virginia which is where I went yesterday. I write science fiction when I take a notion to write. I was thinking about how scientists use stars and heavenly bodies to give their space craft a gravity assist to increase speeds. I feel that way once I make my way around Charleston, West Virginia. I feel like gravity has thrown me headlong on a journey into the unknown mountain passages. Likewise my mind begins to loosen up and free flow thinking occurs while driving through the mountains. It's like Charleston is a gravity assist to plunge my thinking deep into writer's territory.

This particular assist brought my mind to childhood memories. One of the reasons was pondering the previous night's visit to the Huntington, West Virginia Writers group called "Patchwork Writers of Huntington." It was my first visit and had several different genres of writers in attendance. There were children's writers, biographers, crime writers and me the new near future SciFi writer. I was remembering the stories shared of a childhood memory. I was transported to several events in my childhood that instantly gave me that feeling I needed to be at a computer typing till the cows come home.

Several thoughts became spring boards for writing. One was the experience of the secrets of the attic. The steps to the attic were not standard, barely 4" inches wide at that. It was a steep ascent. The attic was bare but there were large windows at both ends of the building which helped light up the attic during the day. There was hard wood flooring in the attic, but it was empty except for the dust and cobwebs. There is a secret there... hence the springboard.

Another memory poured in right over top that memory. It was the first Christmas in the new house. The house wasn't new, just an old farm house, but it was new to us. (same house with the attic) At the time I was next to the youngest in the pecking order of five children. I always wanted to follow and play with my older siblings, but they didn't want anything to do with me. After Christmas, I had my new jeans, shoes and winter coat on and was ready to go out and play in the snow. I watched as my two older brothers went exploring in the woods. I decided to follow. They slid down the hill toward the creek. I did the same. They walked along the creek that had ice across it in the deep pools. I followed out of site ducking behind trees when they would stop to look back. There was a tree that had fallen across the creek and they walked across it. I came to the tree and was quite intimidated. I started to cross. It was very icy. I lost my footing, slipped off the log and broke through the ice... another spring board!

There were many adventures at this house. It belonged to a farmer and he would store his corn in the corn cribs, grain in the grain bins and hay in the big barn all within view of the little house. We would sneak out to his barn break his bails of hay and jump from the loft into the pile. I would only jump from the first story into the hay pile. My older brothers and sister went all the way to the top of the barn and jumped. I couldn't overcome my fear enough to do it. But then it was time to move and I had to bring myself to jump. When I finally did, I landed wrong catching my chin on my knee and nearly biting my lip off... another spring board.

Back to today... I have a completed novel waiting for an agent and publisher to say, "Let's do some business." I've received a couple of rejections, and wondering how many more obligatory rejections I will need to go through before finding the magical combination that gets my work noticed.

Here is a description of my work:
THE TOUCH ME NOTS is an 80,000 word Near Future Science Fiction suspense filled action novel. An accident at the GenRose Corp genetics lab exposes Dr. Nathan Rysner to genetically altered material igniting a chain of world changing events. Nathan becomes implicated in a deadly explosion of the lab and is on the run from the FBI, CDC and the Black Ops Agents responsible for the chaos. Along his journey to vindication, Nathan discovers he has new genetic capabilities. He uses these to undue the Black Ops military mission to create an invincible warrior. Nathan inadvertently initiates a world wide pandemic of healing. This threatens the medical and drug industries, yet frees everyone from all life threatening illnesses. Nathan meets his life love Sherry Turner, who helps him discover a purpose to live. The hope she gives enables Nathan to rise above the darkness and tragedy he must face. The turn of events at the end will have readers returning to the beginning to search for clues.