I want to write real characters you can relate to. That’s my aim. Characters with traits, emotions, and yes characteristics that you see in yourself or in the immediate people around you. Depending on the story they may have unreal yet plausible unique identifiers (magic, superhuman powers, technologically advanced, etc.) but underneath it all they are just like you and me. They want to be heard, held, fulfilled,
Take Rain. She is a half human half angel character of mine. As they say “She’s dealing with some things”, as we all are in our everyday lives. How many of you have lost parents, check. How many of you were adopted or know someone that was, check? How many of you have had to grow up way to fast and deal with the adult world way too soon, check. How many of you wish to find love but something inescapable is holding you back, check. How many of you have missed out on x and probably a lot of x’s because you were putting in the hours preparing for z, check. Rain has angelic powers yet that’s just the façade, the vehicle that drives the story. It’s the hook to draw you in. But it’s not what’s going to get you to read the book from cover to cover. But what will, what touches you is the connection to the character. That’s what I’m trying to create.
You see the great thing about writing is the difference that’s the same. That sentence probably sounds crazy to you and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but if you break it down it will. Think about it. The most divisive issues amongst people are those things that make us different. Race, gender, religion, sexuality, economic status, language, etc., the list goes on and on. But in a book every character is different from you. Every character in every book you have ever read, unless the book was about you (and even then sometimes) the character is different from you. But it is never a problem. Why? Because even though the character is different than you, you give it a chance and you invest. You invest your time in the words and in the character and you start to relate. You start to see those things that are the same. You start to understand the inherit struggle that the character is facing. You start to see yourself in them. That is my aim. To create characters that you relate to. To create characters that you care about. To create characters that you want to dictate the story in the upcoming pages for. That you cheer and root for, or against. The world that you’re reading may be made up (but books are an escape right) or may not be but that’s just background for the characters to grow, struggle, fight, cry, overcome, and do all the other wonderful things we people do. That’s my job, to create that for you and it starts and ends with real characters.
Though my upcoming middle grade book has a technological bend and my YA book has supernatural/angelic/demon elements at the core the characters are no different than you. They have wants and desires. They have obstacles they need to overcome. And nobody is giving them anything on a silver platter. Hopefully you’ll give them a chance because at their core I hope that relate to you. I hope you find something of yourself in them.
Thanks
D.Anthony.M
wordsbyanthony 