UNRULY CHARACTERS

Battling the book--or in this case, bashing characters into shape. These story people are happy enough to get leading roles in my stories but they do get headstrong and then they do the darnedest things.

CYPRESS NIGHTS is the title of the book I'm writing now. It has all the elements I love, mystery, mahem, really scary stuff, atmosphere that drips bayou and Louisiana, love, sex . . . everything . . . but there are too many people in the kitchen, too many showoffs leading the band.

It's got to stop.

Now!

Roche Savage (brother of Max from A MARKED MAN) is a psychiatrist, he's also a man with a touchy secret: he's a borderline sex-addict who is evolved enough to keep himself under tight control--most of the time.

Bleu Labeau, a young widow who was married to a sicko you'll have to read about to believe, is the object of Roche's affections and he of hers. I will just add that Bleu is a bit repressed.

We have a dilemma here...

I don't mind dilemmas. I revel in sorting things out. But this lot keep trying to take the whole enchilada into their own hands. When Bleu stands on her own little flat feet in the cul-de-sac outside her townhouse (a small emergency has arisen) and spouts about being quite capable of looking after herself, I get stroppy. Of course she's saying this for the sake of her pride and because she wants to seem strong, but there are times when refusing help is dangerous. I think this is one of them but I'm having quite the time of it convincing her.

Did I tell you she's out there in her unflattering pajamas, Roche is with her, and Father Cyrus has arrived with Madge. It's a horrible mess.

We only need one conductor around here, and that's me.

Then there's someone who must currently remain nameless who doesn't get to make any decisions, except bad ones that I have to deal with. This character is desperately trying to persuade me that I've made a mistake in casting him. This is a pain in the neck because I haven't and all of his efforts to ruin my plot end up wasting my time but not changing anything in the end.

My priest, Father Cyrus Payne, and his assistant Madge Pollard have been playing mind games with me for a number of books now. I decided it was time to fight back and put things on the line with them. You have no idea what they're putting me through now. They haven't actually told me that what they do is none of my business, but the looks I'm getting are supposed to put me in my place.

* * *

I do have a point here:) The people in our stories really do throw us off regularly but it's our job to keep control of their actions.

One of the worst things we can do is to allow characters to become too much like us--this is a problem sometimes. Put a character in a desperate situation that makes the writer's stomach churn and that character could just behave as the writer might behave. If the writer in question is a lily-livered chicken like me, the result may be a disaster.

The writer is the puppeteer and is the only one who gets to pull the strings.

Which brings me to the first announcement about the 2007 Scarlet Boa Contest. This year's scene:

A paranormal interlude. The revelation that a human character is enmeshed with? Vampire, werewolf, the other-worldly and highly dangerous but completely magnetic character of your choice.

Pour on the emotion, but keep control of your characters. This is your chance to rip the throats out of your competition, heh-heh!

The Dates:

August 1 through September 1: Submissions accepted

September 15: Submissions posted online

October 15-28: Voting (first round)

November 1: Finalists announced

November 1 thru November 10: Voting (2nd round)

November 14: Winner announced in a LIVE chat at Writerspace!

Q. What fictional character traits are really important to you?

Q. What sort of characters do you get most involved with?

Q. Do you have a pet character peeve?

God bless,

Stella