Terry Persun brings us his take on character growth
For years I wrote single, one-off novels with characters who changed and evolved throughout each book. But when I started to write a series, like my Doublesight series, I found that most of my characters weren’t finished growing as I thought.
Growth in a character often happens through the events of the story because they are faced with things they have never been faced with before. Because their emotions, skills, and creative solutions are pushed to the limits. My concern when I began to write book two of the Doublesight series was that my characters wouldn’t evolve, that they’d become stale, perhaps making them seem more two-dimensional than what they were in book 1.
To my surprise, that wasn’t the case. No different than watching a serial television show like Game of Thrones or Agents of Shield, if characters are continually faced with new problems, they must dig deeper and deeper within themselves to overcome those problems. This is especially true when you’re writing an epic fantasy like Doublesight. My characters live and die, they change and fight to maintain a semblance of control and order in their lives.
Many writers talk about how characters take over the story lines in their novels, but I find that what my characters do is show their true selves. Once I’ve created a character, with a certain back story, beliefs, and fears, I’ve created a person with complexity and depth. As I’m writing the book, my character—as I’ve developed him or her—gets a personality that even I can’t force (or shouldn’t try to force) to do something they just wouldn’t do. And that’s why a series offers such a fascinating road to walk. Characters, as long as they’re alive and living are also changing, no different than any of us.
In Doublesight, my characters not only grow, but they change in ways that only they could. And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
—GREAT NEWS—
Starting on September 1st Doublesight will be one of Amazon Kindle Worlds.
Join me, by writing a short story (5,000 to 10,000 words), novella (10,000 to 50,000 words), or novel (over 50,000 words) and get it published. I need to have a handful of stories ready by the September 1st, 2015 launch date, so if you’re interested, please contact me for more information. Any characters you create are yours to keep. Let’s have fun together.
TerryPersun@gmail.com
TERRY PERSUN’S BIO:
Terry Persun has been writing and publishing short stories and novels since the early 1970s. He has been the recipient of seven novel and poetry awards over the years, including the Star of Washington Award, a Silver IPPY for historical fiction, two Book of the Year finalist awards in the science fiction category, two finalist awards from the USABookNews International Book Awards (one in science fiction and one in historical fiction), two poetry chapbook awards, and a Jeanne Voge Poetry Award. Terry writes in a variety of genres including science fiction, thriller, mystery, and mainstream fiction. He is a respected keynoter and speaker at libraries, writers’ groups, writers’ conferences, and universities across the country. Terry has an MA in creative writing from SUNY Stony Brook.
Terry’s Best in Fantasy Review:
http://bestinfantasy.blogspot.com/2014/08/doublesight-terry-persun.html
Find Terry Here:
- https://twitter.com/tpersun
- http://www.terrypersun.com/
- TerryPersun@gmail.com
A Reminder from ES Tilton:
Time is running out to get your free book!
It’s been fantastic having Terry Persun stop in and give us his views on character growth through a series, but I wanted to remind you of something. For over a week now Terry Persun, myself, and five other fantasy fiction authors have offered a rafflecopter giveaway of seven books. Tomorrow is the final day to get your name in for that free book. Don’t miss this opportunity. Follow the rafflecopter link and get your name in.
Join us at the Facebook Event too!
The other authors and their Fantasy Fiction posts are listed below:
Tues July 28: Terry Persun’s post 1 on Kandi Wyatt’s site
Wed July 29: Kandi Wyatt post on Terry Persun’s site
Thurs July 30: Terry Persun’s post 2 on Jonathan Gould site
SKIP FRIDAY July 31
Sat August 1: Jonathan Gould post on Terry Persun’s site
Sun August 2: Terry Persun’s post 4 on Michael G. Munz site
Mon August 3: Michael G. Munz post on Terry Persun’s site
Tue August 4: Terry Persun’s post 4 on Elise Stephens site
Wed August 5: Elise Stephens post on Terry Persun’s site
Thur August 6: Terry Persun’s post 5 on David Covenant site
Fri August 7: David Covenant post on Terry Persun’s site
SKIP SATURDAY August 8
Sun August 9: Terry Persun’s post 6 on E.S. Tilton’s site
Mon August 10: E.S. Tilton post on Terry Persun’s site
ES Tilton is an avid lover of fantasy fiction, art, dance, weapons, nature, cats, costuming, gaming, great sex, whiskey sours and hot tubs. She spends most of her time wrestling with computers to create great stories and art. Her fantasy fiction series can be found on her book site.
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