Characters start from somewhere, be it the author’s imagination, a prototype, a real person, or an amalgamation of characteristics.
Louisa Dominico, my lead character, literally came to me in a dream. She is not me, but she has characteristics of people I know, imagined, or met, as well as a few of my own quirks, strengths, and challenges.
As I build many of my characters, I start with a spreadsheet. What does she look like? What are her major characteristics? What is she good at? What does she love? What are her quirks? Does she say certain phrases so you know it’s her? (Louisa’s phrase is, “I know what you meant.”)
Since it’s best not to start at the beginning, which is boring, I start with something which tells you about the character’s interests, physical characteristics, and a setting which tells more about the character. Also, it’s best to introduce the male protagonist or second female protagonist (if it’s a female-female relationship) early on. It can be a short introduction, but it should be memorable. A “meet cute” can be fun, too. Or, as in Louisa’s situation, the meeting creates an instant dislike.
In romance, authors often joke about creating hurdles for the characters to overcome. After all, do you want to make it too easy for them? The most recent version of this series of hurdles that I heard about was, “Chase them up a tree, throw rocks at them, then burn the tree down.” Ouch! Although this sounds painful and is metaphorical, I have a hard time committing to so much misery for my characters.
In Louisa’s Passion, I have Louisa’s best friend, Sophie, bear some of the misery. I’ll save you learning a spoiler, but Louisa helps make life better for Sophie. (Something to look forward to: Sophie and her future love interest will be featured in Book 4.)
When I build the plot, everything should be plausible, and true to the character’s personality, life, and relationships with others. For instance, I could never develop a world where Louisa loses all interest in growing grapes and viticulture.
Characters can mature and embrace new situations, relationships, and goals, but those changes shouldn’t appear totally wrong for the character’s life and temperament. In the right scenario, which isn’t the world I’ve developed with the Louisa’s Vineyard series, a character could be under such pressure that they might accept a challenge or help someone else in a way that doesn’t fit with their usual ethics or motivations.
This is the world of romance, where I avoid dealing with life-threatening situations. Life-threatening is more typical of other sub-genres of romance and drama.
Readers have told me they enjoy Louisa’s personality. She has many people in her world, but she always strives to be considerate to everyone.
One way to build a character is with dialogue. Every character should have their own way of expressing themselves. (Think: Roy in Ted Lasso, whose profanity is legendary and expected of him.) Dialogue should be to the point, appropriate to the person’s age, life experience, and circumstances. An occasional bombastic character could be included as a contrast, but that could get boring. And boring is a crime! Don’t be boring. Ever!
Another way to build a character is with their actions. They may not say a word, but the description of how they are reacting with facial expressions and body language can be effective in most instances. The character could eye another character with disgust as they leave the room, showing their attitudes on their face and with mannerisms, like waving dismissively. “Pursing her lips and shaking her head in disgust, she waved dismissively at him as he closed the door.”
The idea is to make the characters come alive. One of my favorite characters is Louisa’s fourteen-year-old brother, Randy. For his age, he picks up on cues and is quite astute. He enjoys teasing Louisa, but also shows enormous affection for her. Randy’s still at the age where he considers kissing a girl “yucky.”
In a future book, I plan to show Randy’s attitude change toward girls. That is a fun situation that I believe can be quite funny. I look forward to writing that!
Please let me know what you have enjoyed about the Louisa’s Vineyard books you’ve read. If you can share your opinions on Amazon, I’d appreciate it. Also, if you liked your experience with Louisa’s Passion, please share it with friends.
Thank you!
Shelley Sommers
shelley@ShelleySommers.com
Here’s Louisa and Will –
Louisa’s Passion is now on Amazon
as e-book and paperback.