Creating
Characters @PaulaRomances #characters #heroes #heroines #novels #romance
#Ireland
I’m sometimes asked how I create my
characters – and the short answer is that I don’t. I wait for them to create
themselves. As soon as the idea for a story begins to take shape in my mind,
the main characters are also there. To start with, I don’t even know much about
them, apart from their names and (usually) their occupations. Soon, however,
even when I’m still thinking about the story, they start to come alive for me.
I can see them in my mind’s eye. Once I start writing, I can hear their voices,
and I know what they’re thinking and feeling.
They are purely my own imagination, but
they become as real to me as any real-life people. I don’t base them on anyone I
know, or even on anyone I’ve actually seen, although sometimes, when I’m part
way through a story, I may see someone on TV and think, ‘Yes, he’s exactly how
I imagine Guy’. When I was writing one story, I realised that my hero looked
rather like Colin Firth (or maybe my subconscious visualised him like that!)
This happens with the minor characters just
as much as with the hero and heroine. I can visualise them all and they are as
clear as if I was seeing and hearing them in real life.
Their personalities evolve as I write. Half
the time, I don’t actually think about it, but it just happens, mainly because
I become so immersed in their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes they surprise me,
but I love those moments when they reveal something about themselves that I
didn’t actually know beforehand.
In IRISH
INHERITANCE, for example, Jenna has a friend named Charley, but I wasn’t
sure whether Charley was male or female until part way through the story.
In IRISH INTRIGUE, I raised my eyebrows
when Charley told Luke that she’d grown up on a small farm in Hampshire, as I
hadn’t even thought about her childhood.
In IRISH SECRETS, I had to wait for Kara to tell me that she had dated
her previous boyfriend for six months before she discovered he was married, and
in
IRISH DECEPTIONS, I was surprised
to find Dan had twin nieces.
By the end of the story, I can see how my
characters have grown. Not necessarily changed, but learned more about
themselves and/or about each other, or understood why and how they had made
mistakes and made an effort to put things right – the possibilities for some
kind of character development are endless.
I admit I am a total ‘pantser’ - I rely on
my characters to take me through their
story, and I enjoy the journey with them.
Excerpt
from IRISH INTRIGUE, Mist Na Mara Series, Book 2
(Charley’s
first meeting with Luke in a supermarket)
Charley started
to push her trolley toward the cash desk, but stopped when the man said, ‘Thanks
again, but don’t I know you from somewhere?’
With a small
grimace of resignation, she half-turned back to him. She didn’t recall meeting
him when she’d lived here in Ireland, but perhaps he’d seen her on television.
Or else it was a clichéd pick-up line.
‘I don’t think
so.’ She gave him a perfunctory smile as her glance took in rugged good looks
in a square face and dark wavy hair. Not exactly tousled, but certainly
untamed.
The man frowned
for a moment before his face cleared. ‘You remind me of my mother-in-law.’
‘Really?’ She
suppressed a grin. Being compared to a mother-in-law was a novel kind of
comment.
‘Not really, no.
Her hair’s short and straight, not long like yours, and her face is rounder.’
She couldn’t
help but laugh. ‘So I’m nothing like her?’
‘You’re much
younger, of course, but your eyes are the same colour. Unusual.’
‘Brown eyes are
unusual?’
‘Kind of
coppery. I’m useless with colours, but that’s what she said hers were.’
‘Oh, I see.’
It seemed an odd
conversation to be having with a stranger in a supermarket, but her heartbeat
quickened at the attractive twinkle in his dark eyes as he smiled.
He held out his
hand. ‘Luke Sullivan. Pleased to meet you.’
‘Oh – erm –
yes.’ As she put her hand in his, something low in her stomach jerked in response
to his strong handshake. ‘Charley Hunter.’ Deliberately she didn’t use her
professional surname, which he might recognise if the local press had reported
anything about Waterside Hall being used as a film location during the next few
weeks.
‘Charley?’
‘Short for
Charlotte, but only my grandmother calls me that.’
‘Hunter was my
mother-in-law’s maiden name. Maybe you share the same ancestry.’
‘Maybe.’ She’d
no intention of telling him it was her married surname. ‘I’ve never done any
family history research.’
‘Me neither.
Can’t run the risk of finding ancestors who were sheep stealers, or cattle
rustlers, or horse thieves. Could ruin my reputation.’
Intrigued, she
raised her eyebrows. ‘Why?’
‘I’m a vet. My
clients might think I’m out to steal their animals.’
She laughed. ‘I
don’t think thieving is in one’s genes.’
‘Ach, I’m not so
sure. I once stole six daffodils from the churchyard for my mam on Mother’s
Day. I ’fessed up at the end of the day, though. Guilty conscience, it was.’
‘How old were
you?’
‘Seven, and I’d
spent all my money on a card for her, so I couldn’t afford any flowers.’
‘I’m sure she
understood.’
‘She was
relieved, ’cause she thought I might have nicked them from the shop in the
village. But she made me buy and plant six daffodil bulbs in the churchyard
later that year.’
Charley smiled.
‘Wise lady.’
‘Aye, taught me
a lesson I never forgot.’
‘So your clients
probably aren’t in any danger of you becoming a horse thief.’
He laughed, a
deep rich laugh that sent a ripple through her. ‘I hope so.’
Blurb:
Actress Charley Hunter is forced back to
Ireland to complete her filming of a TV drama series. She still hasn’t come to
terms with losing her husband there two years ago, so the last thing she
expects is her instant attraction for the local veterinarian.
After Luke Sullivan’s divorce, he vowed to
concentrate on his two young children and his busy veterinary practice. Falling
for Charley certainly wasn’t in his plans.
While trying to find their way together,
Luke is suddenly faced with a series of unexplained crises at his clinic, as
well as his ex-wife filing for custody. And has Charley put his children in
danger? Has she betrayed him?
Can they reconcile their differences and
find love?
Links
to all four of my Mist Na Mara novels are shown on
my Amazon author page:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2ELbXqo
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2om9MyM
Tirgearr Publishing page: http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Martin_Paula/
Bio:
Paula Martin lives near Manchester in North
West England and has two daughters and two grandsons.
She had some early publishing success with
four romance novels and several short stories, but then had a break from
writing while she brought up a young family and also pursued her career as a
history teacher for twenty-five years. She has recently returned to writing
fiction, after retiring from teaching, and is thrilled to have found publishing
success again with her contemporary romances.
Apart from writing, she enjoys visiting new
places. She has travelled extensively in Britain and Ireland, mainland Europe,
the Middle East, America and Canada. Her other interests include musical
theatre and tracing her family history.
Links:
Website: http://paulamartinromances.webs.com
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Many thanks for having me as your guest, Lynelle!
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