Character Builds

People ask me where my characters come from.

When I build characters in my books, it starts with a need. I need a character for a specific purpose. Antagonist, protagonist, further the plot, be a significant part of the storyline. Something. I need that character to do something.

Then comes the build. Depending on what I need that character to do, that determines how much of the character needs to be filled out. It may not be more than a physical description. It may be zero backstory. It may be a simple, fleeting encounter.

Sometimes it is much, much more. Life story, family history, full and detailed physical description to include speech pattern or accent. On some occasions, a smaller and insignificant character reappears or turns out to be more impactful than I first anticipated, so I will add more detail to fill out the character for the reader.

It’s no secret my main character, Terry Davis, comes from me. I have repeatedly said there is about an 85% overlap between me and Terry. His history, his build, his mannerisms, even his tone is based a lot on me. When I started writing, I was writing for my own entertainment, and it is easiest to write what you now. So, Terry is me and I am Terry. People who know me well have often said they cannot separate the two of us, even hearing my voice when they read Terry’s dialogue. I’ll admit, it’s kind of cool.

Many of my other characters come from people I know. It may just be a first name, but it can be much more than that. In a very, very few cases, characters in the Terry Davis series are based deeply on real people. One character, Brian, is based on one of my best friends from the Army. After reading Keep Moving, Keep Shooting my friend’s wife even said “boy, you really nailed him”.

Some characters are an amalgamation of real people. Physical qualities of someone mixed with professional background of another with some personality traits of someone else. Mix them together and you have a character.

Building those types of characters is pretty easy. At least for me.

When I need someone to do something that I don’t know about or don’t have a background in? Very different and much more difficult. That takes technical research, which isn’t always fun. But at the same time, I am writing fiction so I can take some liberties. I do find myself building those characters, the ones associated with technical research, don’t come from people I know.

I do sit in public places like restaurants, airports, and grocery stores and I people watch. But it is much more than watching. I build characters from THOSE people. That is where my imagination kicks in. I hate stereotypes so I tend to focus on small details from those very real people and then build them out from there. What shoes are they wearing? Are they clean and new? Worn? He is wearing workout clothes in the middle of the day? I wonder what kind of work he does. Does he work at all? She wears a man’s watch and no wedding ring. Widow? Or just likes the style?

Admittedly, 99% of these characters never get a single sentence in one of my books, but it helps me continue to be creative even when I’m not writing. And when the time comes for a new character, I have tons of material stored in the back of my head.

To me, these small details are what makes characters relatable. I absolutely LOVE when someone says “hey, that one character in your book, I know someone exactly like that!!” Whether it is a mannerism or a word or a clothing choice, if someone can relate to that character, they instantly become real.

One thing I don’t do is describe someone’s face in detail. I am sure you could go through my books and find some details about how a character looks. Maybe eye color or hair color. Maybe a wrinkle or smile. Maybe a scar or a broken nose. That goes as one of those details that makes a character instantly real, but I never want to describe them too specifically. I think that takes away from the READER’S imagination. And that’s what this is about, right? Stimulating the audience and allowing their imagination to take hold.

That’s why I love to talk to people about who they think would play my characters on screen. What actor plays Terry Davis? What about Peggy or Brian or Emma from Keep Moving, Keep Shooting? I know who plays Jimmy and Mary from Cross To Bear in my head. What about Lady Crawford in Rebellis? Who plays her?

I think because I don’t describe the characters in detail, people come up with wildly different images of who plays who on screen. I love hearing those nominations from people. I have had too many people say I should be the one playing Terry Davis. I appreciate it but I am much happier behind the keyboard than I ever would in front of a camera.

I am sure other authors have their own method for character development. Since my characters are grounded in reality, I interact with hundreds of contributing characters every day. I cannot imagine writing science fiction or fantasy where characters are completely made up in every way. I admire those authors. Shout out to them.

So, there it is. If you’ve ever wondered, that’s how I do my Character Builds.