Breathing new life into a series

[John Dean]

As you may know if you have read my recent blogs, I am at work on the latest DCI Jack Harris crime novel for my publisher The Book Folks.

A number of readers who follow the series have told me that they look forward to meeting the members of the regular ‘cast’ but it is crucial that I, as the author, put as much effort into creating new characters as well.

But where do those new characters come from? Well, the first thing a writer has to bear in mind is that every character, established or new, has a job to do within the story, be it making things happen, imparting information, allowing other characters to react to them, keeping secrets etc. If they do not have a job to do then they don’t really deserve a place in the book. They are just space-fillers and it does not take readers long to realise it.

The new characters – indeed, all characters – must be realistic because your reader should feel that your characters are so real that they can actually walk into the room. That’s what brings a story to life.

When creating a character, a writer has a number of tools to bring him or her to life, including describing what they look like and how they move but the author will also try to get into their head - how do they think, how do they view the world? Readers like the idea that they are being given a glimpse into the private life of characters.

Good writers will also bear in mind that minor characters are important, too, so it’s worth taking a little time to develop those that warrant it. Sometimes, they can develop into more significant characters and change the direction of a novel, which is what has happened here and is the reason for this blog.

The character in question had a simple job to do – to show Jack Harris the results of the deliberate pollution of a river then to wander off, never to be seen again.

But in this case, the character refused to settle for a role as a bit-part player and started rapidly to develop as someone who could link together some of the book’s main themes. It was not planned but, as any writer knows, if a character starts demanding that their voice is heard the author needs to listen because the energy the a new character brings to the writing process is invaluabl

Which is the note in my diary for this week reads ‘Rework chapters one to six!'

You can read the first six books in the series in a couple of anthologies at

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JACK-HARRIS-MURDER-MYSTERIES-Books-ebook/d...

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JACK-HARRIS-MURDER-MYSTERIES-Books-ebook/d...