Author Angela Marsons talks about when her characters take on a life of their own.
I learned many things while writing Silent Scream
but one thing that will stay with me for a very long time is the fact that
characters that you’ve created don’t always behave in the way you had planned.
As I began writing Silent Scream I thought I knew
my characters completely. After all, I
had invented them, they had formed and developed in my head and they would do
exactly what I wanted them to do. Or so
I thought.
It became clear to me early into the process that
the character of Kim Stone had other ideas.
Chapters that had loosely formed in my head changed once I began to
write them because the character had decided otherwise.
There is a scene in Silent Scream where my main
character is peering at a derelict building through a rickety fence. As I wrote the scene I only wanted for her to
observe what she saw beyond the barrier.
As I recorded her observations I could tell that
something didn’t feel right. I could
feel her impatience, her curiosity, her determination and I couldn’t understand
why. Suddenly it hit me and I sat back
in my chair shaking my head.
‘Oh no, she
wants to climb over the fence,’ I remember saying aloud. And instantly I knew that’s what her
character would do in that situation.
Once I accepted that she had dictated the direction
of the chapter the pencil flew across the page as I gave her the freedom to be
herself.
I had always intended that at the start of Kim
Stone’s journey she would have only one friend who also happened to be her
trusty work partner, DS Bryant. However,
I didn’t expect the banter that would emerge whenever I began writing scenes
between the two of them and the dry sense of humor that she possesses.
Even now my main character continues to surprise
me. She appears to view my loose plan in
an advisory capacity only.
This may sound as though I am completely barking
mad and I completely accept that. The logical part of my mind knows that my
characters are fictional and that the stories are coming from me however every
time I pick up a pencil to begin a new Kim Stone journey a small voice inside
me says ‘let’s go and see what she’s been up to now’. It is as though I am turning up unannounced
as she begins work on another case and she allows me to tag along for the ride.
When I’m not writing a Kim book I have a vision of
her standing on a hill with her hands on her hips, glowering at me with an
expression of ‘well, what do you want me
to do now?’
The beauty, for me, of creating unpredictable
characters is that there is still that element of surprise during the journey.
And as each new Kim Stone story begins, even I
never know where it’s going to lead.
Silent Screams by Angela Marsons (£5.59, Bookouture) out in paperback 14th July.
Even the darkest secrets can’t stay buried forever…
Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had
all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An
innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be
buried, bound in blood … Years later, a
headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome
murders which shock the Black Country. But
when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing
secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the
hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades. As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop
the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim
confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late?
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