Creating Connie

For today's blog tour post, I'm talking about creating characters - in particular, Connie Summers.

Connie is a psychologist and the lead character in my second novel, BAD SISTER (which is a mere 99p for the ebook at the moment!)

How did Connie come about?

In the few months prior to beginning writing Bad Sister, the central character was already forming in my mind. I knew I wanted a strong, professional woman who’d concentrated on building her career rather than building solid relationships – therefore not marrying and settling down to have a family. However, as well as being a strong character, I wanted to also show her vulnerability – I wanted her to be someone people could relate to on some level. We all have a history, we’ve become who we are due to the experiences we’ve had, so I needed my main character to have had some difficult and challenging things happen in her past, ones that she’s forced to confront in the present. Our experiences shape us, how we see the world – the decisions we make, so I felt it was important to give Connie a reason as to why she chose to work in the criminal justice system. A family tragedy seemed a good way of doing this. Something as traumatic as losing a family member has lasting effects for all involved, and the consequences can be far-reaching; the entire family dynamic can alter. For Connie, this led to her working in forensic psychology, in part to help her understand the experience she and her family went through. But more importantly for Connie, she wanted to do her part in preventing others from enduring such trauma.

When thinking about names, which is a really fun part of writing, I needed one that reflected her personality. I think Connie sounds a strong, no nonsense name. I actually think of Connie from Holby City when I hear the name, and her character is also strong, and she’s career-minded. To balance it out though, I gave my Connie the surname Summers. Sounds soft, conjures images of bright, sunny, happy days. I also wanted her to look striking – so I gave her dark hair in a short bob, and piercing green eyes. This seemed like it could be a look that might make people see her in a certain way – perhaps even intimidating. Again, to contrast this I’ve ensured she comes across as caring, interested in helping people and committed to her job. Of course, her job in the prison isn’t the one that Connie has when we meet her in Bad Sister.

Why?

Because I’ve created another problem for Connie.

I love giving life to my characters and there are loads of tips about creating strong protagonists. I also had to think about how to keep Connie interesting as she is going to be in the next novel! But that’s a whole other blog post!

Here are a few of my tips on creating memorable characters:

• -    Make sure they have a point: by this I mean, why do you want them in this novel? What is their purpose? What story are they telling? They must have an aim, or goal (preferably more than one) - something that is driving them on, therefore pushing the story forwards and keeping the readers wanting to know what’s next.
• -     Make sure they are interesting: no one wants to read about a dull character in a dead-end job who does very little and is instantly forgettable! Give them a decent backstory, something that will make them feel real.
• -    Whether you intend your character to be likeable or not, give them some redeeming qualities! Personally, I’m fine with unlikeable characters, but I know a lot of readers aren’t. If they are going to be people you want readers to hate, at least let them have a good quality or two in order to have a bit of balance. 
• -    You’ll want to put your main character through the mill. Throw lots of problems at them, show them trying and failing to overcome them – but ultimately let them change by the process. They shouldn’t be quite the same person on the final page as they were on the first.

I hope readers enjoy finding out about Connie Summers in Bad Sister – and watch out for her in book three!