Creating characters who live

by  Jeanette Grant-Thomson

Have you ever written a story and found one of your characters stays alive in your mind afterwards?

Once I would have been a bit cynical about this concept but since writing Lantern Light, I’ve had Dave and his trek on my mind occasionally. Of course, I loved the PNG jungle. But Dave feels like a character who has more to say. Perhaps this is why some authors write series.

Actually, when I first read Jane Harper’s The Dry, the first book with Aaron Falk as the protagonist, I found him a bit flat, too many closed doors in his emotions. A rather boring central character. So I was delighted when he began to develop emotionally in Force of Nature and then came right through to being real in Exiles.

Apparently the first appearance of Don Tillman (Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project character) was in the short story The Klara Project, which is typically funny. Presumably Simsion considered Don a character with plenty more to say.

Of course, many authors have created wonderful characters who really live right from their first novel. For example, McCall Smith’s Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are very ‘alive’, even with their exaggerated quirks. And I always enjoy Dorothy Sayers’ Peter Wimsey, who develops a lot more depth in the four books covering his relationship with Harriet.

I remember chatting with a friend about McCall Smith. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I don’t know. Sometimes I think a lot of my prose is almost as good as McCall Smith’s. (Oops, pride!) And he’s making millions and I’m … not.

Friend (smiling): Well you didn’t create Mma Ramotswe!

Hmm! And I do like character-driven dramas. Time to try harder. Some of my characters have been more real than others. How about you? Do you feel yours come to life?

Some people prefer writing in the first person, so we know the protagonist’s innermost thoughts and feelings. This can be a way of making characters come alive but it’s important to make the narrator likeable, so people want to spend book-length time with him/her – except in rare cases where the narrator’s character adds something different to the plot.

But briefly back to Dave. I can't tell you where or how Dave is at the end, without spoiling the story. But what if ... and there are so many 'sliding doors' moments (you know, the 1998 movie with Gwyneth Paltrow) with Dave and his crazy jungle trek.


Of course this is all imagination and he's only a character in Lantern Light - but I like to imagine various other outcomes as well.


So I'll probably deal with Dave in a short story or two. Lay him to rest - or give him eternal life if the stories end up a roaring success! Tessa deserves another story as well. They may turn up with different names in short stories, like whole new characters.

For those who may find character building is NOT your strongest point, here are a few suggestions I find helpful:

I find it good to have a few salient points, but not too many details, about the characters’ appearance so I can visualise them easily but quickly. Other writers may prefer to leave it to the reader to create the protagonist themselves. That may seem more real to them.

But for me – for example, I love Janette Turner Hospital’s book, Due Preparations for the Plague. The main protagonists in this complex novel are Lowell and Samantha. Although we follow them through hair-raising adventures, I don’t think we are ever given any hint to their appearance. JTH has left it to us readers to create these characters’ appearance as we read. I’d prefer a few hints as we are well acquainted with their motivations, emotions, thoughts and actions. But the novel is good enough without the externals. It’s probably a deliberate ploy on Hospital’s part to go in-depth. For example, what’s Samantha like? She’s a hurting, determined, loyal, driven girl. Her eyes and hair? Well …? (Incidentally, for those readers like me who prefer a cleanish read, if I had edited DPFTP, I’d have deleted one revolting image.)

I find it best to introduce aspects of the characters’ appearance naturally, rather than giving a deliberate detailed description of them. E.g. Ali combs her long wet hair after her shower. Tessa gets a traditional description as one of the important things about her role in this story is her beauty and attractiveness. Dave’s appearance comes in little phrases like ‘a wavy brown lock’ of his growing-longer hair.

Of course, the traditional questions you ask about your characters are: what is his/her main goal at the moment? And what are his biggest obstacles and fears?

If you’re doing deep POV with your character, try to use as many of your five senses as are suitable. What can she see? Hear? Smell? Touch? Perhaps even taste? And is she feeling at peace inwardly? Or does something niggle? And other aspects of her emotions, e.g. fears.

If you’re not sure about how real your protagonist is, you may wish to try putting him/her into a totally different situation and then writing about the character in this situation. Deal with her reactions, feelings, thoughts, what she says, does, etc. It’s fun to choose a dramatic scene like: She is swimming with several friends. The lifesavers call a warning over the loud speaker that a shark has been spotted, so ‘Get out of the water immediately’. One of the girls or boys is a poor swimmer. What does your protagonist do, say, feel, think?

Do you feel your characters live? I’d be keen to hear your thoughts on this whole subject.

Jeanette Grant-Thomson is a Moreton-based author who has been writing and having work of various types published since her early childhood. River Song is her seventh published book-length novel. Her favourite of her own novels is Lantern Light, but Jodie’s Story, in its third edition, is a best seller.

Jeanette enjoys the country, mountains and beach as well as having coffee with friends. You can find her books at  www.facebook.com/jeanette.grantthomson or in many shops including Koorong.

 

 

Featured photo of hiker from Pexels on Pixabay.

 

 Jeanette O'Hagan

Story and Structure

At the beginning of the year, I attended Genre Con (put on by Queensland Writers Centre) which included a number of presentations and workshops on Manga and Asian story telling structure, on Scot Wilson and the Indigiverse, as well as a workshop that compared three ways of telling stories - the Hero's Journey, the heroine’s journey and the Asian Kishōtenketsu (起承転結) (a classical four-act narrative structure originating in Chinese poetry that is widely used across East Asian literature, manga, and cinema). And in May, at Christian Authors Showcase Queensland (CASQ), Anne Hamilton digged deep into the Hero's Journey.

And six months later, I'm still pondering about the different approaches to storytelling and structure. 

 

Plotter or Pantser

I have a confession to make. I wrote in first draft most of what is now the Akrad's Legacy series (four books) before seriously looking into structure. . It originally was meant to be one book, though now I'm trying to keep it to four (Akrad’s Children, Rasel’s Song, Lumi’s Allegiance and Mannok’s Betrayal). Mostly because every time the story became too long, I’d split that book into two, but then needed to add additional plot arcs so each book had its own resolution within the overall narrative arc.

Well, since then I have dived into the different approaches to story and structure - including K M Wieland's many wonderful posts a lot of useful information on plot and structure, Stephen King's On Writing,  Blake Synder's Save the Cat (which focuses on modern movie structure), Lisa Cron's Story Genius, Susan May Warren's Story Equation, Stephen James' Story Trumps Structure.  (Both King and James are pantsers.)  Plus, while getting a MA (Writing) lots on Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and Chrstopher Volger's The Writers's Journey (an adaptation of Campbell).

So I know the theory. 

But here's the rub.  I'm an organic writer or a discovery writer or maybe a tweener or a planster. When I start writing I need to have three tent pegs (or maybe triangulation points) to start the story - not necessarily the same each time. It could be any combination of a theme or premise (a lot of my short stories start with theme or genre), or the main character, or the setting, or sometimes the end or an even along the way. The rest develops as I write and I often plot on the fly. And  then there are the times the story and/or the characters take over.

I don't think that means my stories lack plot or structure. In fact, at least one reviewer thought my books were plot driven. (I like think they are both character and plot driven.)

Firstly, as avid readers we imbibe an intuitive sense of story structure, much as we first learn language - not by studying grammar but by soaking up the language that surrounds us. 

And secondly, I learn intuitively and write intuitively. Give me a garden with curving lines, fallen leaves and sprawling flowers, not strict, straight, geometical patterns. 

I love learning patterns, but I hate having to plod one foot in front of the other. I like tweaking and transcending (not breaking) the rules. So sitting down with a plan with precise percentage points of when center elements should be added in kills my creativity. 

We are all different.

Each of us probably falls somewhere along of the spectrum of plotter versus pantser, but even for full blown pantsers, it is still helpful to know readers’ (intuitive or instinctive) expectations of what is a good story. It's still helpful to understand the theory on structure.

We each will probably apply that knowledge in different ways.

Story, Plot and Structure

Story - is what it's all about - the interaction of the characters with the premise, plot, settings and themes. It provides the deeper meaning of the story, that rises from the characters, their past, their moral dilemmas and their journey. It's what keeps the audience emotionally invested.

Plot - is the action that drives the story forward,  the series of external events, usually connected by cause and effect. 

The story can be plot -driven (mainly about the external journey) or character driven (mainly about the internal journey) or often both.

Structure - the order in how the story is told, the way it's put together. It provides pace, organization and ebbs and flows in the story. For instance, in a dual narrative two interconnected stories are told in parallel.  Structure may include different acts (sections), inciting moments, mid-points, climax etc. 

Three Acts and the Hero’s Journey

Many millennia ago, Aristotle spoke of a three-act story - with a beginning (protasis, the set-up or exposition), middle (epitasis, confrontation or rising action) and end (catharsis, the resolution). 

However, Shakespeare's play generally had five acts - Act 1, the exposition and inciting incident, Act 2 Rising action and complications, Act 3 the turning point or climax, Act 4 the consequences of the turning point and climax, act 5 the resolution or denouement.

And some modern plays (Waiting for Godot) have a two-act structure. Other propose a 4-Act story. While other story telling is episodic.

Novels (unlike screen plays) are not often explicitly divided into Acts. Even so, they usually follow similar structures in development of the story.

According to Joseph Campbell, the most common (or he would claim 'universal') structure is the Hero’s Journey. Certainly, it is a widespread and popular approach often portrayed as a circle (from normal  world to the new normal) and with a number of - 18 steps or Campbell.Volger simplifies it into 12 steps - such as 1. the normal or ordinary world, 2. the call to action, 3. the refusal of the call, 4. meeting the mentor, 5. crossing the threshold, 6. tests-allies-enemies (sometimes called fun and games), 7. approach the cave, 8. the ordeal, 9. the reward, 10. road back (back lash), 11. the resurrection, 12. bring gifts to the normal world. Some definite similiarities here with Jesus' life, death and resurrection.

Stories such as Star Wars – New Hope, Eragon, or the Matrix follow the Hero’s journey and as do many modern movies.

Can you think of other popular stories that follow this structure. Or perhaps others that don’t?

Btw, for a neat discussion that go beyound 3-Act structures and the Hero's Journey check out this blog.

Breaking the Mould

Slice of life stories and literary fiction are less dependent on plot and focus more on character or setting (or both). Such stories are much more about the journey than the destination.

As a pantser (or planter), I found Stephen James’ StoryTrumps Structure, helpful. But, as I said, I’m also intrigued with different story structures. And …. in the tradition of splitting up things in three parts – I hope to dive deeper in the Heroine’s Journey and Kishōtenketsuin in subsequent posts.

Jeanette O'Hagan has spun tales in the world of Nardva from the age of eight. She enjoys writing fantasy, sci-fi, poetry. Her Nardvan stories span continents, millennia and cultures. Some involve shapeshifters and magic. Others include space stations and cyborgs.

She has published over forty stories and poems, including the Under the Mountain Series (5 books), Akrad's Children and Rasel's Song, the first two books in the Akrad’s Legacy series and more recently, Rise of the Consortium. Her story in Stepping Sideways, 'In a League of Her Own' won the 2024 Aurealis Award for YA Short Stories & 'Anomalies at Prospero Base' (in Rise of the Consortium) was shortlisted in the 2025 Aurealis Awards.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and writing. She loves reading, painting, travel, and pondering the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane.

Find out more about Jeanette at:

My Website | Facebook Author Page | Amazon | Books2Read | Goodreads

Those unexpected writerly benefits

 

Apart from any innate, God-given literary talent we might possess, there are certain qualities that are helpful to have or develop, I believe, if we are going to last the distance as writers – things such as patience, self-discipline, perseverance and humility, for a start. But I wonder if you have ever considered how, as we hopefully grow in these areas via our writing journeys, these can also benefit us in other endeavours we might undertake in life.

Take perseverance, for example. Recently, I started learning the violin, an instrument I have always wanted to play. As I practise, I am thankful for all the perseverance God has taught me in my writing journey of over twenty years now. Without that determination to keep writing, even when deeply discouraged, I suspect I would not keep trying again each day now to play a recognisable tune on my violin. Instead, I would have given up weeks ago, after yet another practice session filled with false starts, scratchy sounds and plain wrong notes!

 In the time I have been playing, I have also needed to walk the humble path of being a complete rookie yet again and of making copious mistakes, especially when trying to play for someone else. Eek! But I still remember my early attempts at novel writing and how humbling it was to receive honest feedback from critique partners and editors and am grateful for the lessons learnt then. I remember too discovering such concepts as handling point of view well in fiction and of finding my own writer’s voice – concepts I had never heard of when I first started writing. The need to be willing to learn back then and to continue to do so is definitely paying off for me now, I believe, as I struggle with figuring out how to use my bow well and exactly where to put my fingers so that those notes do not sound flat and scratchy.

Then there is the whole area of attention to detail needed as I practise each day. Whenever I make a mistake, rather than forging on, I try to discipline myself to go back over the particular phrase until I get it right. Those little errors matter – just as our little errors in grammar and punctuation matter in our writing, if we are not to put readers off or confuse them. So I am thankful for the many times I needed to be meticulous about such things in my writing. My hope is that, just as those grammar and punctuation rules have now become second nature to me, so those things that make for good violin technique will also become second nature – one day!

God has more beautiful music ahead for each of us to make, not only through our words, but in life in general, whether we are musicians or not. So in those moments when we may wonder if all the effort involved in writing is worth it, may we all remember how God sees the bigger picture of our lives, knows what we need and is shaping and blessing us in ways and for purposes we may never expect.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Jo-Anne Berthelsen is a Sydney-based author of seven novels and four non-fiction works. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked in teaching, editing and local church ministry. Jo-Anne loves encouraging others through both the written and spoken word and is a keen blogger. Jo-Anne’s latest book, God Moments, is available via her website, Koorong Books and Amazon

GEO Is the New SEO: Sort of (by Susan J Bruce)

The other day, I was chatting online with some writer friends about how using tropes in our book descriptions and social media posts can help readers find our books.

Interesting how one small discussion can send you down a rabbit hole 🙂.

I hopped over to Claude AI and asked about popular tropes in Christian historical fiction, set outside the United States. I was delighted to see that two of the example titles it gave were books by our own Carolyn Miller.

Go, Carolyn! You’re in the system.

Well, in that particular search, anyway.

By ‘the system’, I mean that Claude knew who Carolyn was, understood what she wrote and considered her books relevant enough to recommend.

That matters because some readers are no longer starting their search for a new book by scrolling through Amazon. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity or whichever helpful robot happens to be nearest:

I love warm, Christian historical romances set in England. What should I read next?

And the AI gives them a list.

The term you’ll increasingly hear for making yourself visible in those answers is Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO.

Think of it as SEO’s younger, faster-moving cousin who has arrived at the family gathering, rearranged the furniture and announced that everything works differently now.

Traditional Search Engine Optimisation helps our websites and books appear in search results. GEO is about helping AI tools understand who we are, what we write and when one of our books might be a good answer to someone’s question.

GEO doesn’t replace SEO. The usual foundations still matter: useful content, clear information and a website search engines can read.

But the way people search is changing.

Instead of scrolling past hundreds of tiny covers, a reader can now ask for:

A funny cozy mystery with romance, a coastal setting and a mouthy parrot. 

Well,  that might be too specific.

Not that I have any particular books in mind...

Whether we love AI, tolerate it or wish it would go and sit quietly in a cupboard, AI-assisted discovery is becoming part of the publishing landscape.

So how do we help it understand our books?

1. Make sure the internet knows who you are

If your website says you write animal-forward romantic cozy mysteries, your retailer biography says mystery and your social media profile says simply author, search tools have to work harder to understand where you belong.

And search tools, like overtired readers, may simply move on.

Use consistent descriptions of yourself, your genres, your series and your books across your website, retailer profiles, social media and reader platforms.

You don’t need to paste the exact same biography everywhere. The basic facts just need to agree.

This also reduces the chance of an AI tool getting those facts wrong.

As we know, AI can be extremely confident while being spectacularly mistaken. 

2. Tell people what the book actually is

Your categories, keywords and book descriptions should make it clear what kind of book you’ve written.

Use the language readers use when searching: small-town romance, grumpy/sunshine, biblical fiction, romantic cozy mystery, flannel-forward holiday romance (is there any other kind?) with rescue dogs or whatever applies to your sub genre.

For Christian fiction, it may also help to clarify the role faith plays in the story.

Is faith central to the character’s journey? Is the book overtly Christian? Is it faith-inspired or faith-filled?

Readers shouldn’t have to guess, and neither should a search tool.

This doesn’t mean stuffing your description with keywords until it reads like a shopping list:

Small-town, grumpy/sunshine, second chance, forced proximity, mail-order bride with a dog. 

Although I would probably read that.

It means making the genre, emotional promise and major tropes easy to recognise.

3. Give every book somewhere to live

An author website, even a simple one, gives search tools a reliable source of information.

Where possible, give each book its own page rather than relying on one long row of covers and buy buttons.

Include the things a reader might actually want to know: the description, genre, setting, series information, major tropes and retailer links.

You can also add publication details, reviews, endorsements and information about faith content where appropriate.

The goal isn’t to build a shrine for an algorithm.

It’s to create a useful page that answers a reader’s questions. It's a bonus that clear information is also easier for search engines and AI tools to understand.

4. Let other people mention you

You tell the world about yourself through your website. 

Reviews, interviews, blog posts, reader recommendations and book club discussions show that other people recognise your work.

Keep your Goodreads author profile and book information up to date.

I’m feeling a wee bit convicted as I type that.

Claim your retailer author pages. Encourage readers to review and recommend your books. Take part in reader communities when it feels natural.

The important word is natural.

Dropping into an unrelated Reddit discussion to announce that your book is available now for only $4.99 is unlikely to delight readers, moderators or algorithms.

Genuine mentions help build a clearer picture of who you are and what you write.

5. Ask the robots what they think they know

One useful way to begin is simply to ask.

Try:

What can you find online about me as an author? Please cite your sources.

How would you describe the genre, themes and tropes of my books?

What information about me or my books appears inconsistent or unclear?

Then check the answers.

Do not assume they are true just because the AI presents them in a tone of calm authority. Ask for sources. Try the question in more than one tool.

You can also ask:

How could I make my website and book pages more useful to readers and more discoverable through AI-assisted searches?

This is one of the better free uses of these tools. They’re good at spotting missing or confusing information.

You still need to decide whether their advice is sensible.

This is also true when asking AI for life advice, medical advice or whether you should cut your own fringe.

Where do we start?

I’m not an expert on this. I’m learning as I go, and I certainly can’t point to my own website and say, ‘Do exactly what I’m doing.’

Funnily enough, my website is down as I write this because I’m trying to make it more GEO-friendly. So... things are going extremely well.

But I wanted to raise the subject because it matters.

We don’t have to like AI. We don’t have to use it to write our books or run our author business. But we do need to understand the world in which readers are searching for their next favourite read.

Start with one thing. Check your author biography. Update one book page. Make the genre and tropes in one description clearer. Ask an AI tool what it thinks you write and see whether the answer makes you nod, laugh or consider banging your head against the plasterboard.

The good news is that the basic principle isn’t particularly new or frightening: write good books, provide accurate information and make it easy for the right readers to recognise that your books are meant for them.

If you'd like more information, you can read Google’s guidance on AI search and SEO.

And if you have questions, insights or experiences with AI recommendations, please leave them in the comments. I’d love to know what you’re discovering.

Now, if you’ll excuse me... (slinks away to go and fix her website). 

Susan J. Bruce is a former veterinarian and self-confessed animal addict who writes romantic cozy mysteries with heart, humour, and plenty of fur. Find her binge-worthy Ruthless-the-Killer series at www.susanjbruce.com.She also writes funny-with-feeling romantic comedy as Holly Hartman, where falling in love feels like finding home. Follow Holly Hartman on Amazon for swoony, emotionally rich, fade-to-black romance with small-town warmth and second chances.