Creating characters that come alive and jump off the page

Plot lines don’t mean squat without memorable characters.

Characters don’t even really have to be people. Seriously, they can be machines, aliens, animals, plants, whatever. But if they don’t drive the story, then they aren’t doing their job, and they might as well not even be there.

I’ve read science fiction stories and thrillers where things moved along at a good pace from point A to point B, but because the characters were one-dimensional, the trip was forgettable.

I base almost all my characters on real people, either people that I know or have met somewhere along the way. One of the characters in my supernatural thriller, LILITH, was an aircraft carrier called the USS Gerald R. Ford. That’s right—it was a ship. Hey, they don’t call ships “she” for nothing. Since the Ford was not yet commissioned at the time, I based it on the USS Harry S. Truman, where I had spent several days at sea. Believe me, those ships have personalities all their own, and I tried to bring that across in LILITH by describing things I had experienced while aboard the Truman.

The character of Hunter Singleton, one of the main protagonists of my stories, is based mainly on me, but also on other people I have known. He has a back story, he has a distinct personality, he has interests, dislikes, quirks, certain physical qualities—he even speaks a certain way. You can always tell when Hunter is talking, because he’s a smart ass. Kind of like me. He’s adopted, half Cherokee Indian and half white. He’s a reporter for a national news agency. He knows Kung Fu and doesn’t mind using it when necessary. And he’s usually up to his eyeballs in trouble.

Lisa Singleton, Hunter’s wife, also has certain physical characteristics and personality traits that distinguish her from other female characters. For instance, she’s a park ranger and a black belt in Wing Chun Kung Fu, which she taught to her husband. Her father is Chinese and her mother African American. She’s quite beautiful, like her mother, and small, but also pretty handy with her fists as well as with a gun. If you piss her off, she will take you down.

Lilith, the main antagonist, is more of a conglomeration of different people. I tried to make her evil, but also gave her some faults and frailties, and a back story that will make readers want to sympathize as well as be repulsed. Awesome combination!

There’s a back story with Hunter and Lisa as a couple, and I plan on getting more deeply into their personal stories as they progress through each adventure. The next book to feature them, PRIMORDIAL, is still in the writing stage.

Characters that are integral to the story should have traits that set them apart from other characters—physical traits, quirks, flaws, whatever. They should all speak with a different voice, as well, though that is sometimes hard to do. Characters who I know will only be in one scene I don’t spend as much time on, because they won’t be around long enough for anyone to really care. They’re just there to help move the plot along.

I also like to give flaws to my characters, because real people have flaws. For instance, Hunter has an inordinate fear of flying. As do I. I do not like airplanes, or even tall ladders.

In my latest book, GOD PARTICLE, my protagonist is a 16-year-old girl. Not being a 16-year-old girl myself, I had to draw from people I know, like my own wife and daughter, for instance, who helped me immensely with the character. Chloe is Chinese, adopted as a baby by a loving Swiss/American family. Hence the last name ‘Johansson.’ Not too many Chinese people have the name ‘Johansson.’

 

Chloe is also extremely intelligent, already a freshman engineering student at MIT. But she is a little bit spoiled. And selfish. And maybe a little hard headed.

Characters also need some type of friction within the story, something to overcome that will make them grow and reach beyond their own self-imposed boundaries. Just like in real life. Chloe nearly becomes overwhelmed by the events that take place in the GOD PARTICLE, but she has an amazing inner strength that helps get her through. Plus, she prays a lot.

Lively characters are extremely important to my novels. The stories are usually centered on the characters I create, and things move forward because of their actions, or inaction. Without realistic, memorable characters, the literary world can be a bland place, indeed.

For more information on my latest books, find me on the web at www.tobytatestories.com.

Researching the novel: Making it real and getting it right

In his book ON WRITING, Stephen King said, “Do the research, but don’t overdo it for the reader.” Writers like me should probably take that to heart. But it’s tough, because I love to make things real.

In my last book, LILITH, I wanted the reader to feel like they were there on the USS Gerald R. Ford with me. Being ex-navy, I spent many a day sailing the ocean blue on several different ships, so that experience came in quite handy when it was time to write. I also managed to spend some time aboard a carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, which was pretty awesome. I got to stand right out on the flight deck while the jets were taking off and landing, rattling my bones until I thought they would fracture. The picture below is one I took myself of a navy jet landing in 2010.

For LILITH, I researched several different types of weapons used by Special Forces and CIA, the CIA and its methods, nuclear fission and nuclear power, DNA and genetic mutation, animal tracking, New York City, especially Manhattan Island and its layout, the abandoned New York City subway tunnels, hurricanes and weather patterns, the offices and buildings used by the mayor of New York, the type of security used by the mayor, on and on and on. I used Google maps to see exactly what the parks and buildings looked like at street level and videos to see what the abandoned subway tunnels were like. I even enlisted the help of a retired navy commander to get my facts straight about the USS Gerald Ford, which has yet to be commissioned. 

  

The research itself took a good six months, the writing another six months. In the end, I had to cut 10,000 words out of the book to secure a contract with DarkFuse, most of it having to do with the back story, via the musings of the ship’s chaplain, Commander Crane, of the creature that takes over the ship. But it was worth it, because the back story will be fleshed out in the sequel, PRIMORDIAL, which I am now writing.

For PRIMORDIAL, as with all my other books; DIABLERO (Nightbird Publishing, Oct. 2010), GOD PARTICLE (Crossroad Press, June 2013), and THE BLACK CHURCH (DarkFuse, Dec. 2013), I did most of the research beforehand. Most of the action for PRIMORDIAL will be set on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean, but there are also scenes in Romania, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Sicily, and Washington D.C.

Since I am not an archeologist and have limited knowledge on the subject, I enlisted the help of archeologists and geomorphologists from Boston U. and NC State, and even picked up a book about the basics of archeology, just so I could get the jargon right. I looked at videos of several different dig sites on Crete, researched modern Crete and its ancient Minoan civilization, which figures heavily in the plot, and did more research on the CIA, nuclear radiation, DNA and genetic mutation. And that’s just the basic stuff.

Sometimes it seems like the research will never end. I just want to turn off the computer and say, “Forget it! I’m going fishing!” But even though I make my share of mistakes, I am a stickler for realism, and getting it right. If I say, “He walked through the gate and into the park,” you can be sure that I have either been there, or I looked it up on a recent video or photo and saw a gate in front of that park.

But in spite of all the necessary research, a writer can’t forget the most important element of any story: the human element. But I’ll save that for next time.

Are you a writer? Do you do a lot of research before you write? How do you go about it? Leave me a comment and tell me about it. If you have a question about research, feel free to leave a comment, as well.

For more information on me and my books, find me on the web at www.tobytatestories.com. Thanks for reading!

Why writers need good editors

I’ve done the self-publishing thing, if for no other reason than to say, “I did it.” It was not my first book, however.

DIABLERO, a supernatural thriller that featured a resurrected, demon-possessed Blackbeard the Pirate, was published first in paperback by Nightbird Publishing in 2010 and then by Crossroad Press as an eBook in 2011.

So why do a self-published book, you may ask? Well, I think I can sum it up in one word: vanity. I wanted to get my collection of short stories out there, and none of my publishers wanted to publish a short-story collection. So I figured, what the hey, I’ll just do it myself. Shadowland was published as an eBook in 2011 with Amazon, Sony and elsewhere. 

I won’t say it was a bad decision—it was what it was. But only one of the stories, Gray Area, had gone through any kind of rigorous editing. The rest were stories that I had written and reworked several times. 

I hate to admit it, but it shows. Although several of the stories have since been edited and published elsewhere, (see Shadowland inVoluted Tales Magazine #2), they weren’t really the best they could be. Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to any editors that charged less than $1,000 per manuscript, which really wasn’t in my budget. 

I said all that to say this: editing really does make a difference. I love my editors at DarkFuse and Crossroad Press—they give a professional edge to my writing by making sure the story has continuity, catching grammatical and punctuation errors that I otherwise would have missed, and even helping reword things that could be said in a better, more concise way. I would have to pay someone several thousand dollars to do what they do, so I am eternally thankful to have their expertise.

For my second novel, LILITH, a supernatural thriller that puts a mythological creature aboard an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, I was ready to pay a tidy sum for a good editor. But DarkFuse made an offer before I did so, and author Greg Gifune ended up being my editor, so I was happy.

My next book, GOD PARTICLE, a young adult sci-fi thriller that features Chloe Johansson, a globe-trotting sixteen-year-old MIT prodigy, is due out June 4, 2013 and will be published by Crossroad press. My editor there, David Dodd, did an excellent job catching all my dumb mistakes and I think improved my chances of getting good sales. Not a bad thing. 

If you decide to self-publish, my advice is spend the money and find yourself the best editor you can afford, one that knows the business and knows what to look for in a manuscript. Believe me, the money will be well-spent. Don’t put a half-assed manuscript out there, because readers judge you by the quality of your writing, and if one manuscript isn’t up to par, it could affect the sales of any other books you publish.

Michael Garrett, who once worked with Stephen King and other big name authors, offers an excellent service at a reasonable price for anyone who is interested. I only mention him because I was so impressed with his attitude and work ethic. There are probably many other good editors out there, but do your research and make sure they know what they’re talking about, otherwise you’ll spend a fortune and have nothing to show for it.

LILITH released into the world!

Military technology meets mythological terror in LILITH!

It’s a great feeling seeing something that I’ve spent the last couple of years laboring on so intensely, finally being set free into the world. It seems that keeping myself sequestered in a small room in front of a computer monitor for hours on end, living on cashews and coffee, actually paid off! In just the first couple of days, LILITH reached # 27 in war fiction and #64 in horror. Not bad.

My love of the fantastic and weird, coupled with my interest in military black ops, was something I always wanted to get in writing. My background in the Navy provided the perfect experience to draw from since I had worked right next door to a SEAL team and watched how they operated. In the Sea Bees we even had an ex-SEAL as a commander who had us exercising our asses off every morning. Talk about tough.

Though the book has been released, my work as an author is just beginning. In just the last week or so, I’ve written several blog posts, sent out tons of emails, Facebook posts and Tweets, written a post for the International Thriller Writer’s roundtable, done an interview with The Big Thrill and worked on edits for my young adult sci-fi thriller, THE GOD PARTICLE. I’ll also be calling bookstores, doing newspaper and podcast interviews, attending book signings and working on writing the sequel to LILITH, which will be even more thrilling!

One thing I know is I could never do all this alone. My wife and daughter have offered more support than I could ever have asked for, and the people at DarkFuse, especially Shane, Greg and Dave, have been amazing to work with. I couldn’t be happier with how well the book turned out, and judging by the reviews, most people agree.

When you get a chance, check out LILITH in ebook and paperback on Amazon or B&N.com.

You can also get more info on my website.

Thanks for reading!

LILITH: A character study of Lisa Singleton

An aircraft carrier is like a floating city—when fully loaded for battle, it can carry over 6,000 people, and with a story setting like that, it’s easy for characters to get lost in the shuffle. That’s why they have to have strong personalities.

Enter Lisa Singleton—wife, police officer, mother to be, and as strong-willed and tough as they come.

In my latest thriller, LILITH, I wanted to bring back two favorite characters from my first novel, Hunter and Lisa. Though they had some marital issues, and in fact were on the verge of divorce because of the emotional stress from Lisa’s miscarriage, they patched things up and are now ready to face the world together.

  

I thought it would be unique to have two main characters who kind of share the spotlight, instead of one guy or one woman. I always liked the couple in the Mummy movie franchise, the O’Donnells, because when one got in trouble, the other one would bail them out. Same principal here.

Lisa, like her husband, is bi-racial—African-American and Chinese. She is short and has frizzy, black hair, which Hunter finds very sexy. She has dark, Asian eyes and pouty lips and likes to work out, so she is muscular, but also very feminine.

Her father is a Chinese immigrant who came to America and became a police officer. He married the daughter of the chief of police, which was frowned on at first by family members on both sides, but was eventually accepted. Lisa was raised in the small town in North Carolina where she met Hunter.

After high school, Lisa’s love of animals and nature coupled with the admiration she had for her father, led her to become a park ranger. She covers the several-thousand-acre Dismal Swamp State Park on the North Carolina side of the border, just miles from where she was raised in River City.

Not only is Lisa a trained law-enforcement officer, she is a third-degree black belt in a type of Kung Fu known as Wing Chun. She also taught Hunter, who managed to earn his own black belt.

Something else Lisa learned as a park ranger was photography. She loves photographing the wild flowers and trees that grow throughout the park, as well as the bears, wildcats, deer and rabbits that inhabit it. Her proficiency with the camera was the reason Hunter was able to convince his editor at the newspaper to send her along, since their regular photographer had come down with the flu.

Hunter and Lisa go through hell in LILITH, literally, as they help the Navy fight a power that is not even supposed to exist. Lisa rides an emotional roller coaster throughout the story and must draw on the strength of her faith in God, in her husband, and in herself. She’s sly, smart and quick-witted, but far from perfect. Her flaws become apparent in LILITH, but I think you’ll find that her humanity outweighs her flaws.

Next time, we’ll take a look at the main protagonist herself: LILITH. Thanks and happy reading!

Writing the supernatural action-thriller

I have always loved reading horror—Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Bentley Little, Edward Lee—I can’t explain it. It just appeals to me. I guess the thought of flawed humans overcoming insurmountable odds and saving the world from some inhuman beast or life-threatening super-organism is just, well…cool. Sure, sometimes the good guy or woman dies at the end, but that’s life. Heroes are willing to pay the ultimate price so that others may live.

One of my other loves in fiction is the thriller, whether it’s politics, crime, military, whatever. Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, James Patterson, Clive Cussler—I love ‘em all.

But for a long time, there seemed to be a lack of novels that really mixed action/adventure and supernatural horror into one story. I wanted something that was creepy, but that also moved along at a good clip and had memorable characters. There were very few novelists that were doing that kind of thing—Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, John Saul, William Meikle and Jeremy Robinson are some names that come to mind.

So I decided that I would try to create stories I would like to read, something that incorporated both supernatural horror and action/adventure. I had written some short stories, but I wanted something that would keep readers enthralled for a few days. My first undertaking was DIABLERO, a story about modern-day voodoo and the resurrection of a three-hundred year old pirate, Blackbeard. 

 

I got some good reviews for that book, sold a few hundred copies with Nightbird Publishing and Crossroad Press. But for my next story, I wanted something even bigger involving the CIA, the military, the supernatural, and some human drama. So I took characters from my first novel, Hunter and Lisa Singleton, and put them into my new book.

LILITH is a supernatural creature who takes possession of the crew of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, and is then set free in the streets of Manhattan after it gets demolished by a huge storm. It was a very fun book to write.

My next novel, tentatively titled PRIMORDIAL, will be on an even bigger scale, believe it or not. Did I tell you I want my stakes to be high? Even the young adult sci-fi novel I’m working on is high-octane. Can I help it if I like things to move along at a good clip? And guns? And explosions? And…and…oh, sorry. I get carried away. But you get the picture.

I tried writing “literary” horror. Yeah, that didn’t work out. I kept falling asleep and drooling on the keyboard. Shorted out a lot of PCs. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classics—Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow—and I owe my career to them. But modern times demand that we stretch our writing chops to mix genres that may not have been previously incorporated, e.g., the vampire western, the zombie literary classic, the sci-fi detective, and so on.

So now, I present to you the supernatural action-thriller. I hope you like it.