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So... characters.
Honestly, characters are where most of my work starts. And also why so much of it may never see publication. Writing to character is a near impossible way to write novels. But characters (and people) and how they act and react, why they sometimes act 'out of character', their pasts, presents, and futures, their families and experiences... that's what absolutely fascinates me and keeps me writing. Most of the main characters who feature in my published work come from one of two sources: Either I borrowed a general concept from elsewhere and made it my own. As of right now, I doubt few who didn't know me as a teen could pinpoint the origins of a number of my oldest characters. Or a name came to me and the character developed from there. Kedri of Kedri Dancer came from a typo in another piece I was working on prior to writing her story. Secondary and lesser characters, at least in my work, develop as necessary from interactions with my main characters. Some of these have gone to take on more important roles of their own and others fade out of things. That said, what I find works best is to allow my characters to tell their stories through me, rather than force them into events. Which is why I say I write to keep the characters in my head from driving me crazy. They want their stories told. And they come out the way they come out. (Sometimes literally) I will do more specific posts on aspects of character development in the future. If there is something specific you would like to know about my characters or character development process, leave a comment and I will try to address it in a future post.
See the first Credit Where Credit is Due post for an overview of what I'm doing here.
So, back when I first wrote Experiment Redemption, the setting of that story was a blackened wasteland left over from centuries of civil war, beginning of story to end. And I didn't know how the characters of future stories were ever going to manage to turn that around. I had half an idea which I knew wasn't going to work, effectively or believably. I hate when I write myself into corners. But... I was working on a roleplaying system for the universe in which the majority of my writing is set. And I had friends test playing campaigns I'd created which were set in various parts of that universe, including the setting of Experiment Redemption around the time of the novel. Enter a fictional young scientist named Fate, created by a friend and fan who was playing that specific campaign. His work resolved my issue of how the country could be cleaned up and made livable again. I do wish I had thought to somehow record some of those sessions because there's so much that happened that I just can't remember now. The character Fate, when used in my work, is credited to his original creator. He is mentioned in The Keys and the Naph, first seen in the short tale Hunter (Experiment Redemption Revisited), and has a larger role in the upcoming Arawn's New Order, which is due out August 2021. Fate's creator is a gamer who can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Rrcdso9Pmd4R7v3q2XdEA
The above image was used in the cover of Old Tales Retold, which is a collection of fairy tales rewritten with a sci-fi twist.
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AuthorAlexandra A. 'Lexa' Cheshire is the author of numerous novels and short stories published through Howling Wolf Books. Lexa is a wife, mother, cat owner, and music lover. Archives
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