Making Characters Memorable

Think about your friends and relatives, and even the people you don’t care for – maybe even someone you saw on the evening news. Now picture them sitting on chairs in a circle, as a group. Is one of them tapping a foot? Maybe one is looking off into space, bored to tears. Is there a woman sitting up straight, knees held primly together, appearing expectant? Is one of them a killer? (Of course one of them is a killer because I write mysteries.)

Everyone has traits that make them memorable, whether the memories are good or bad. The same goes for fictional characters. Writing them so they’ll be remembered is half the battle. A good storyline is made even better by the individuals who carry the story.

I write two series. In the Sandi Webster Mysteries, Sandi sighs frequently, almost taking it to competitive levels. Her partner, Pete, is overly protective sometimes, and he shrugs things off (literally) a lot, but other than that I haven’t figured out his “tells” yet.

Who can forget Stanley Hawks and Felicity DuBois-Hawks, a couple whose clumsiness endears them to the other characters, and readers. Sandi’s mother, Livvie Brewster is menopausal and has all kinds of quirks.

Are these memorable traits? Readers asked for more of Livvie because they enjoy her menopausal antics and some say they can relate to what she’s going through. Felicity’s little “accidents” are humorous and readers asked to see more. I obliged the requests.

In The Bogey Man Mysteries, Pamela Cross rolls her eyes even though her mother once told her they might get stuck that way. Well, to be honest, Sandi rolls her eyes a lot, too. Chris Cross, The Bogey Man, bears a strong resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. He rolls his upper lip under, tugs on his ear and rolls back on his heels.

What about other peripheral characters? How do people react under stressful circumstances? Their traits will tell you whether they’re nervous or not. Someone picking at a napkin in a restaurant, a twitching eye, or even that tapping foot can tell you how a character is handling a given situation. A woman rapidly tapper her fingernails on a table can be annoying, and yet telling.

Remember the people you had sitting in a circle? Let’s take a look at them. Watch Aunt Ivy. She’s looking everywhere except at the other people. She’s drumming her fingernails on her knee. She puffs air into her cheeks until she looks like a chipmunk, and then releases it slowly. Her right knee begins to bounce. She keeps glancing at the exit. Does she have something better to do than sit with this group of people? Is she annoyed? Or is she avoiding looking at the others because she has a secret? Or maybe she knows a secret. Maybe she wants to leave so there’s no chance she’ll spill the beans.

Fred, the man who lives down the street, keeps swallowing like his mouth is too dry. Is he nervous? He’s pulling on his shirt collar, too. Maybe he just doesn’t interact well in a group. He could be self-conscious. Then he says, “Hey! When are we gonna get this show on the road? I’ve got a football game to watch.” Oh, football. I get it.

Frieda keeps rubbing her arms, like she’s cold. When she’s not rubbing her arms, her fingertips pat a rhythm on her chest. Her eyes dart from fact to face. What’s her story?

Sam is staring at his hands. He’ll look up when someone speaks, but then his attention goes back to his hands. He keeps sniffling, and his eye twitches. Or is he winking at Frieda?

So when writing characters, give them habits and mannerisms. What they do is as important as what they say and where they are. It makes them come to life for the reader. Let them be clumsy or nervous or snooty or funny, or even a little eccentric. Any trait or mannerism you give them can make them memorable.

Uh oh, look out! Fred just made a break for it. He’s out the door and gone. He’s got a football game to watch and nobody’d better get in his way. I sure hope he wasn’t the killer.

Until next time, watch the people around you, but not to the point where they think you’re a little weird. Study their mannerisms. Even if you don’t write books, it can be very entertaining.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website (recently updated)

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COMING SOON: One Adventure Too Many – A Sandi Webster Mystery (More on this soon)

Voices

 This is the book I used to find my "voice."

I write two series and I’ve produced a couple of standalone books. Switching from one protagonist to another can be a little tricky.

I’m preparing to write another book in The Bogey Man series, having recently finished with a book from the Sandi Webster series. Every character in every book needs to have a distinct “voice.” I found myself in a quandary. Would Pamela, Mrs. Bogey Man, end up sounding like Sandi?

If you write a series starring Jane Doe and a series with Mary Smith, you don’t want the two characters to sound alike and be interchangeable.

I decided to sit down and read some of one of the Bogey Man books to “get into voice,” so to speak. It struck me that because of differences in age, lifestyles and families, of course the voices would be different.

Habits are part of the voice, too. Sandi sighs a lot and occasionally rolls her eyes. On the other hand, Pamela has a habit of rolling her eyes frequently and only occasionally sighing. Sure, they can share habits, but only to an extent.

I, personally, both sigh and roll my eyes, habits I hadn’t realized I had until my husband called it to my attention. However, the characters aren’t based on me, other than having a few annoying traits.

There are some traits they can share because they’re things many women can relate to, such as eating chocolate because it’s comfort food.

As I mentioned, lifestyles can make a big difference between characters. Sandi and Pete have only recently married. Chris (the Bogey Man) and Pamela have been married for a few years and have a young son. Sandi and Pete look out for each other. Chris and Pamela have a son to add to their equation. It makes a difference.

Pamela’s husband is a Humphrey Bogart look-alike. He walks the walk and talks the talk. In other words, he uses old-time slang. Pamela’s character needs to fit in with him, but Sandi is too much in the present. Pamela and Chris own a forties-themed restaurant and dress the part. Sandi is a jeans and comfy shirt woman. Major differences.

In the two standalone stories, there were more differences. I couldn’t let the protagonists take on traits of Sandi or Pamela. They each needed personalities of their own and they needed fresh, new voices. I had to wipe the two series women out of my mind, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.

If you’re writing books with different protagonists, try reading aloud in the voice of each character. See if they sound alike or not. Better yet, have someone else read a piece from each person. You can make the words sound any way you want them to, but an outsider will read it the way it appears on the page. Does that make sense? I hope so.

So, now you have a few of my thoughts about voices. Any thoughts you’d like to share about keeping them separate and unique?

Until next time, think about the voices you’ve read in the books of prolific authors. Do they manage to keep voices fresh?

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

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New! Having a Great Crime – Wish You Were Here – A Sandi Webster Mystery

Don't Curb Your Enthusiasm

My life has been very busy over the past year. Most of you know I lost my husband, sold my house in Arizona, and moved to Washington state. I didn’t write or read at all during most of that time, but things are changing. I’ve started a new book and I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. Besides writing the new book, I critique another author’s books, and I’m just starting to market and promote again, plus I write this weekly blog. I also read the blogs of others, and frankly, I always find something helpful in them.

I have to remember that there’s a domestic side to life, too, including cooking, cleaning and taking care of three dogs, not necessarily in that order. The new (to me) house in Washington requires a few updates and repairs, and I still have a few things I haven’t unpacked yet.

My husband once asked me how I can continue to remain enthusiastic about writing when it involves so much more than just writing. That’s an excellent question. Sometimes I do feel frustrated and overwhelmed. It seems like there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. (I wrote about Time being one of a writer’s bosses last week.)

There are several things that keep me motivated. My work in progress (WIP) involves a lot of research since it’s a time travel mystery. It takes place in 1909 and the characters' everyday lives are very different from our lives today. Even while writing, I work on what I might do to promote the book. Writers can do a lot of promoting on the Internet, but readers frequently want to meet the author. I enjoy that part of the experience. I like meeting readers. They make my world go around.

I’ve been in contact with people from the libraries here in Clark County and I have the feeling that they’re very proactive when it comes to authors. It rains frequently here, but hopefully as the weather improves, I’ll get out and about and start meeting more people.

Those who are critiquing my new book keep me motivated, too, because they keep asking for new chapters.

Sometimes I feel tired and overwhelmed and then I remember fan letters I’ve received. I’ve achieved my goal, which is to entertain people. Those letters (and emails) are the highest compliment I can receive. Readers make my energy level soar and they renew my enthusiasm.

Do I ever worry? Yes, but then that’s just me. I sigh a lot like Sandi Webster does in her series. I’ve been told that I roll my eyes frequently, just as Pamela Cross does in the Bogey Man series. You’d probably be right if you pictured a blonde (thank you L’Oreal) author sitting in front of her computer, sighing, rolling her eyes and staring at the screen, trying to figure out what to do next. Write? Market? Promote? Throw her hands in the air and let loose with a primal scream? I also worry about whether readers will enjoy my next book. That may be a universal worry for authors.

Thankfully, my enthusiasm is back after being on hiatus. I’ll do all of the things I mentioned above over time. It’s all part of the Author Experience. What’s that old saying? No guts, no glory? If you haven’t got guts, you’d probably be better off doing something other than writing books.

Writing isn’t for sissies.Take my word for it. 

Latch on to anything and everything that gives you a lift and, whatever you do, don’t curb your enthusiasm.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

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Humor is the Spice that Makes Life Easier

 

In Memory of all of those who have loved and protected us throughout the years

~~~

 

I learned many years ago that if you can find even one piece of humor in a traumatic situation, you need to glom onto it and savor it. Humor can help you through some rough times.

Remember, when writing fiction, the same applies.

I’m going to relate a personal story about how a bird has helped me through my own recent tragedy – with humor.

My husband recently passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly. I was devastated, and that’s putting it mildly.

The morning after he passed I took a cup of tea and settled outside on the patio. We have a small pond with a waterfall, and it was filled with a dozen goldfish. A remote is used to turn on the waterfall, and the sound is so soothing that I immediately stood up and tried to turn it on, but it wouldn’t start. However, that’s not the gist of this story.

I sat down, and looking up I saw a crane/heron, I’m not sure which, on the roof of the house behind us. I know they turn up occasionally at the nearby lake, but I’ve never seen one around my home. Feeling a little sappy at the time, I thought, Oh, that’s Al and he’s letting me know everything is going to be okay. The bird hung around for about half an hour, just sitting and staring at me. I grabbed my camera and took his picture, but I haven’t had the film developed yet or you could see him.

End of story, right? No. The next day the crane/heron returned. This time he climbed down the neighbor’s roof, a little closer to me, and sat and stared at me again. Oh, my, how I thought my husband really wanted me to know things would be okay.

The third day the crane/heron returned and I was amazed. My heart leapt, knowing how much my husband cared for me. That is, until I walked over to feed the fish and they were gone! The bird had eaten all of the fish.

Now it’s the end of the story, right? No. Some friends came over to help me with things and one of them threw a pebble into the pond. Two fish came rushing out from under a rock overhang. Oh, my gosh! The stupid bird had missed two of the fish! I ran for the fish food and tossed them some pellets.

In the meantime, my daughter tried to turn on the waterfall and it started right up. Uh, my husband always turned it on in the morning, and I always turned it off at night. It seems I’d been pushing the Off button out of habit. Problem solved and at least two fish had survived.

Now it’s the end of the story. No it’s not. On the fourth day I got out the fish food – enough for two fish – and strolled over to feed them. Six fish had finally worked up the nerve to come out from under the rocks. Mr. Crane/Heron didn’t get to fill his belly on his recent pond raid.

So what’s so funny about all of this? My husband had a wonderful sense of humor and this felt like something he might have orchestrated. In my own way, I still feel as though he’s been telling me to pull myself up by my bootstraps (not the way he would have worded it) and take care of business.

Yes, I honestly believe that in life, and in fiction, sometimes you have to let humor do a little healing.

Until next week, look for the humor in what life throws your way.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website (Recently updated)

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Interesting note, at least to me. My husband came up with a few of my book titles. How Now Purple Cow was one of his best ideas. The story has to do with purple cows and elderly spies. Great title!