Letting your characters lead the way

[John Dean]

I have always been interested in the way that characters evolve during the writing process. For me, it proves that a story is alive and I am experiencing that sensation the more I write of the latest DCI Jack Harris novel.

Central characters tend to fall into two categories – rounded (also known as changing or dynamic) who change throughout the story, and static (flat) characters who don’t.

Jack Harris is a character who has always undergone change right from when he appeared in Dead Hill, the first book in the series published by The Book Folks, as a tired, burnt-out and disillusioned detective more interested in walking the dogs in his beloved hills than doing his job.

The novels have seen him re-invigorated and the latest one will feature him using all his energies to investigate a crime which reminds him of difficult days in his youth. That was never the plan for the story but it’s where the story is taking me - and a writer knows better than to resist when that happens!

As long as I do not overwhelm the reader with back-story (a constant danger for all writers),  the novel should work well and allow Jack Harris to take the next step in his evolution.