Listening To Your Characters

They usually have a lot to say

Writing fiction is a solitary endeavor — until your characters believe in you.

It took more than a decade to get my characters to believe in me. I understood their uncertainty, particularly Louise, Amelia, and Tony. They were with me in 1986 when I attempted to write a murder mystery. It was terrible. The victim was no doubt relieved that his part was finally over — he was killed in chapter one.

I kept my day job in journalism and later in public relations. Sometimes a character or two would visit. Not willing to commit, just checking in to see if I had anything to offer. A plot. A clue. Maybe a red herring to snack on.

They went away hungry. I went on vacation.

A change of scenery. That’s what was needed.

When I returned home, my characters had already packed their bags. We were moving from Philadelphia to Four Lanes End in the bucolic countryside of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Louise Jenkins moved back into Twin Beeches, an estate where five generations of the Jenkins clan had lived. Tony Mardi happily swapped his Philadelphia police badge for one in Four Lanes End. Louise’s daughter, Amelia Halliday, returned from LA divorced, traumatically fired from her newspaper job, and ready to rebuild her life. But first she needed to remodel the town’s historic library into her home.

As they were adjusting to their surroundings, a new character appeared: Winnie Miller, carrying an Einstein doll and a box of Crayola Crayons. She’s eleven. A bit of a brainiac who uses the names of crayons as adjectives, an occasional verb, and often to really nail someone’s personality. Winnie lives at Twin Beeches. Her parents manage Louise’s estate.

And so it all began. Again. As they gathered around my desk, fiddling with my sword-in-the-stone letter opener or spinning the globe — that was Winnie’s favorite — the words flowed. The plot formed.

At times I had to use the back of an envelope, a napkin, or a sales receipt to jot down something that a character insisted on sharing immediately. Other times I did research, such as figuring out how static electricity is created to make sure Winnie knew what she was talking about. She did.

They’re my family of characters. They believe in me.

Wait until you meet their neighbors.