Well...before the novel The Fractured Hues of White Light was a twinkle in my eye, there was a character with no name...she came from no one I ever knew... she's autistic, I've never met anyone who is severely autistic, (I've known some Asperger-like people), but I first "met" the idea of her when I was taking a Child Psychology class in college (I was a Studio Art major at Cazenovia College 1980-1982) and I wrote a paper about autism. The mysterious condition interested me very much on a personal level that inspired me to write about it beyond that class paper. I was also taking a creative writing class that semester and I wrote a poem based on the ideas that came to me while I pieced together my paper (the poem was included in the paper, and the prof loved it! She never had a student include a poem in a paper before.) The notion of color and emotions, art theory and art history, savants and autism continued to gather in my mind for years...I always knew I'd do something with it someday...ten years ago I started writing these things down for the first time, and this young autistic woman with dark button eyes came into being as if she was always there, her stream-of-consciousness drawings and peculiar ways were almost second nature to me as if I have always known her...she could be me in some form since she's been with me for so long, but I'd like to think of her as her own character, created over time...no different from any other idea that inspires me to write books or paint pictures.
Characters are interesting people, I prefer to make them from scratch, I cherry pick traits, personalities, appearances, quirks, whatever...they grow with the story, and very often surprise me with their secrets that I never knew they had (I love it when that happens!) It’s always awkward when someone who knows me well reads one of my books and then starts quizzing me about who this character is supposed to be...that really drives me nuts. It’s not that simple. Once I was terribly annoyed by a friend who assumed that a certain character was about her (well, everything was about her, don't you know), and she was annoyed with me that she didn't like the name I picked out for 'her character' in my book. The good news is, the character was not based on her in that "changed the name to protect the innocent" sort of thing, and too bad she doesn't like the name, I do. And of course, everyone assumes that the author is writing about themselves through the main character... ugh, whatever... I'll never win that battle if I ever start it with anyone who wants to debate it, people will think what they want. It's sometimes difficult for people to distinguish the voice of the author telling the story and the author as a person...it's a fine line authors walk on their written words ("if it's written down, it must be true" mode of thinking that makes non-fiction so popular, it gets us into trouble every time.) The "write what you know" model can be a bit hinky because of potential problems with veiled truths. Frankly, I avoid making a character out of anyone or sticking too close to the facts of anything that really happened (unless it’s a historical fact, but as you know about history, it's written by the winners.) I put on the hip-boots wade in, and try to tell as many lies as possible...stray as far from the truth as I know it and then I make it believable. Everything I write is a flat out lie... I made it up...cross my heart...it's fiction.
All of my books are connected through the characters...Guthrie Ryder has made an appearance in two other novels (yet to be published), this one he came into his own bigger and better than I ever imagined. Then Sylvester Hayden, who initially started in one small role as Helena’s live in boyfriend, grew well beyond my expectations when I first thought of him. He also has a very small part in one other manuscript, but his connection with Aloysius Farnesworth as his son blew me away when it came into being one day (one of those “happy accidents”.) Of course, Aloysius has his own story in the works, but has appeared in some form in all five of my books, and has recently found his way into the sixth. It’s quite the juggling act to keep the details and timeline on the same page...it gives the sense of continuity "life goes on after the novel". It makes it a more interesting...richer...reading experience to develop a community of characters who have shared experiences and have influenced one another in various ways...it’s what people do.
Well...before the novel The Fractured Hues of White Light was a twinkle in my eye, there was a character with no name...she came from no one I ever knew... she's autistic, I've never met anyone who is severely autistic, (I've known some Asperger-like people), but I first "met" the idea of her when I was taking a Child Psychology class in college (I was a Studio Art major at Cazenovia College 1980-1982) and I wrote a paper about autism. The mysterious condition interested me very much on a personal level that inspired me to write about it beyond that class paper. I was also taking a creative writing class that semester and I wrote a poem based on the ideas that came to me while I pieced together my paper (the poem was included in the paper, and the prof loved it! She never had a student include a poem in a paper before.) The notion of color and emotions, art theory and art history, savants and autism continued to gather in my mind for years...I always knew I'd do something with it someday...ten years ago I started writing these things down for the first time, and this young autistic woman with dark button eyes came into being as if she was always there, her stream-of-consciousness drawings and peculiar ways were almost second nature to me as if I have always known her...she could be me in some form since she's been with me for so long, but I'd like to think of her as her own character, created over time...no different from any other idea that inspires me to write books or paint pictures.
Characters are interesting people, I prefer to make them from scratch, I cherry pick traits, personalities, appearances, quirks, whatever...they grow with the story, and very often surprise me with their secrets that I never knew they had (I love it when that happens!) It’s always awkward when someone who knows me well reads one of my books and then starts quizzing me about who this character is supposed to be...that really drives me nuts. It’s not that simple. Once I was terribly annoyed by a friend who assumed that a certain character was about her (well, everything was about her, don't you know), and she was annoyed with me that she didn't like the name I picked out for 'her character' in my book. The good news is, the character was not based on her in that "changed the name to protect the innocent" sort of thing, and too bad she doesn't like the name, I do. And of course, everyone assumes that the author is writing about themselves through the main character... ugh, whatever... I'll never win that battle if I ever start it with anyone who wants to debate it, people will think what they want. It's sometimes difficult for people to distinguish the voice of the author telling the story and the author as a person...it's a fine line authors walk on their written words ("if it's written down, it must be true" mode of thinking that makes non-fiction so popular, it gets us into trouble every time.) The "write what you know" model can be a bit hinky because of potential problems with veiled truths. Frankly, I avoid making a character out of anyone or sticking too close to the facts of anything that really happened (unless it’s a historical fact, but as you know about history, it's written by the winners.) I put on the hip-boots wade in, and try to tell as many lies as possible...stray as far from the truth as I know it and then I make it believable. Everything I write is a flat out lie... I made it up...cross my heart...it's fiction.
All of my books are connected through the characters...Guthrie Ryder has made an appearance in two other novels (yet to be published), this one he came into his own bigger and better than I ever imagined. Then Sylvester Hayden, who initially started in one small role as Helena’s live in boyfriend, grew well beyond my expectations when I first thought of him. He also has a very small part in one other manuscript, but his connection with Aloysius Farnesworth as his son blew me away when it came into being one day (one of those “happy accidents”.) Of course, Aloysius has his own story in the works, but has appeared in some form in all five of my books, and has recently found his way into the sixth. It’s quite the juggling act to keep the details and timeline on the same page...it gives the sense of continuity "life goes on after the novel". It makes it a more interesting...richer...reading experience to develop a community of characters who have shared experiences and have influenced one another in various ways...it’s what people do.