Character Possibilities

An Iditarod winner and a nature magazine writer.

A cursed Celtic warrior and a teacher.

A firefighter and a photographer.

A corporate pilot and a graphic designer.

These are just some of the hero/heroine combinations I've written about so far. The possibilities for characters are endless. There are an infinite number of pairings, and I discover new ideas on a daily basis.

These possibilities can get overwhelming. A writer can spends gobs of time just trying to determine what jobs her characters will have. The jobs are really critical too. I find that the occupations help define who the character is and how she/he will react to certain events in the story. Jobs often influence how the characters will meet. Is he the landlord at the apartment she just rented? Is she the caterer hired by the corporation he works for? Is he the reporter who just uncovered the scandal at her law office? Is she the doctor who stitched his finger back on after his construction accident?

You get the idea.

I'm currently at a place where a hero is "speaking" to me. He's a voice in my head at the moment. A faint "Write about me" is growing in strength in my mind. He's a chainsaw artist and modeled after someone I've actually met and plan to interview. I think the character's name is Orion Finley. The heroine, however, has not revealed herself just yet. This is usually the way it is with me. The male character almost always makes himself known first, then the female follows.

Maybe you could give me some help. First, picture a lumberjack-ish dude who rocks flannel and is Picasso with a chainsaw. He's tall, has dark, chin-length hair that he wears back when he's working, has ripped arms that are muscled from years of chainsaw wielding. He fills a pair of faded jeans like he was born to do that very thing. Next, comment below with who you think would be a good match for a chainsaw artist. Give me an occupation and physical features if you'd like. Hell, I'll even take name suggestions.

Check me out on Amazon to read about any of the character pairings at the top of this post or my other heroes and heroines.


Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Listen to the Voices Within

Brenda Whiteside

When I was in the fifth grade, I took on a brave and fearless attitude. I could do anything and be anything I wanted to be. My femaleness would not prevent me from at least trying whatever I wanted. And when I was a child, females were often barred from a great number of things. This attitude drove me to enrolling in auto shop when I got to high school. I wasn’t allowed to take the class, but I sure tried. I stepped over the boundary whenever I could, if it suited me. I think the attitude has served me well, and I owe it to a woman whose achievements were monumental. In all of recorded history there has only been one woman who has held supreme command of a nation’s military forces – and she did it at the age of seventeen. My childhood idol was Joan of Arc, or Jeanne d’Arc.

She was born in 1412, the third of five children to a farmer and his wife in France. Her childhood was spent minding the herds in the fields, learning religion and housekeeping skills. When she was twelve, she began hearing voices. In the beginning they directed her to be a good child, study and work hard. But eventually these voices led her on a journey at the age of sixteen to convince the dauphin of France she was the one to free France from the English and make sure he took the throne.

Oh how romantic! My ten-year-old imagination was so taken with the story. Joan of Arc’s life is well documented in spite of the centuries that have passed since she led her troops against the English. She charged into battle carrying the banner but never killed anyone. The quotes from her and the transcripts of her trial after capture, show a spunky young woman with wisdom and courage beyond her age.

She always considered herself a common person following her destiny. When ladies brought her objects to touch, Joan laughed and said “touch them yourselves. They will be quite as good with your touch as mine.”

Unfortunately, her capture led to her death. She was handed over to a pro-English bishop who tried her for witchcraft and heresy. Joan wore men’s clothing, specially made for her small stature because it was appropriate clothing for the battlefield. Much was made of that and the fact she continued to insist she took her orders from God through the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret. No matter what they did to her, she stood her ground.

She attempted to escape several times. They put her in chains because of that. Her response was, “it is true that I wished and still wish to escape, as is lawful for any captive or prisoner.”

Even after being jailed, she continued wearing men’s clothing for protection from rape. Men’s clothing was multi-layered. They would not put her in a women’s prison. Unfortunately, that sealed her fate. When a woman wore men’s clothing, the church considered it a crime against God. After fourteen months of interrogation, she was burned at the stake at the age of nineteen.

“She was perhaps the only entirely unselfish person whose name has a place in profane history.” – Mark Twain

I'm not really one for having heroes. I guess it depends on your edfinition, but "Hero" always sounds somehow above and beyond the rest of humanity, and the people I admire most are those who have done wonderful things, shown courage or kindness in the face of very human feelings of fear, pain, self-doubt, the need for conformity. There are many women that I admire, especially as I grew up through the 1960's and 70's Women's Lib movement era. People like Nellie McClung and Hilary Clinton.

But often women I admire the most are the unsung, the ones who lived their lives quietly but offer an example to all of us of the road to follow.
 I went to a memorial service for a lovely neighbour recently, let’s call her R.M. in order to respect her family's privacy. At the age of 25 she’d been diagnosed with a rare and disfiguring illness, and told that not only would her lifespan be very limited, but she would probably spend most of it in a wheelchair and in a nursing home. She was destined never to know the joys of motherhood, of independence, of a deep and lasting love or a sweetly fulfilled old age.
At the service we watched a slide show of her life, starting with the pretty little blonde girl with a big smile through to the beautiful and stylish young woman. Then we saw her with her husband and three delightful children…and as time progressed we began to see the terrible toll the illness took on her.
But only on her looks. R.M.’s spirit never flagged. She moved with her husband and young family to Canada at 35, leaving behind her support system of family & medical advisors to start a new life in a new land. She insisted on an active hand in her own treatment, because the disease was very rare and she was willing to do research and keep her ‘medical team’ informed of new developments. She worked full time, quilted, sewed, embroidered, travelled, raised her children, enjoyed her grandchildren, and got to cuddle her great-grandchildren. And she could be counted on to turn up at church and community events, and fundraisers when her neighbours needed help. Her song and dance and comedy routines were highlights of community concerts. And she remained close and loving with her husband to celebrate more than a half century of marriage. She loved her retirement home on a beautiful lake, and her home was often filled with family and guests.

Now, frequently when someone is gifted with beauty and then faced with its loss due to injury or disease, the response is to try to hide away. Not R.M. She was a beautiful woman, yet over the years her disease took its toll on her looks, with mouth cancer adding to her disfigurement. But you didn’t notice her looks, because she was so very much…well, she was so very there.
And when the disease finally took its toll – many years after her predicted demise – the whole community turned out for her memorial service, and it was a pretty colourful event because R.M. had insisted that no black be worn for her. We were all to celebrate her life by wearing bright colours. She wanted to be remembered with smiles and joy. Over and over again, we heard the words courageous, brave, joyful…but the phrase that stuck in my mind was “A woman who lived her time well.”

I’m glad you’ve stayed with me this long, because you’re probably wondering what all this has to do with writing romance. Well, here’s what I learned from R.M.: She discovered early in life that she had talents that brought joy to other people: dance, music, acting, comedy. She organised and took part in theatre, and even appeared on television. An extremely shy woman by nature, she took joy from the pleasure her talents brought other people, and so she put herself out there despite her illness and pain.

Now, as writers we complain bitterly about the need for promotion. I’m among the naturally shy and absolutely hate appearing for book signings or even discussing my work. And I’m now a bit ashamed of that attitude because, as R.M. taught me, surely if you have a talent that brings pleasure to other people you should get out there and demonstrate it? When you think about it in that light, ‘promotion’ takes on a whole new meaning. It becomes both an adventure and a gift that we use to offer our work for others to enjoy.

So thank you. R.M., and may we all become people “…who live our time well”.

Glenys O'Connell writes romantic suspense and cosy mysteries, and her work can be viewed on http://www.glenysoconnell.com/ She also writes non-fiction books such as Depression: The Essential Guide and PTSD: The Essential Guide. She hopes to live her time well.