The Fireside Reader

What type of story do you like to read more: a plot driven story or a character driven story? Both are great, but in my opinion, a good story has both as driving forces. I like to dig my teeth into a good plot, but if there is no character development, I end up more confused than satisfied. I want to know the personality behind the plot. Why each character made each decision. I want to feel like I’m in the room when the murder takes place. I want to be sitting in the crowd crying when the main love interest finally gets married. How am I supposed to invest in a plot line, if I don’t know the character or feel invested in their lives? My favorite book, Tres of the Emerald Sea, does a good job with this. The balance between where the plot is going, and background on all the main characters is perfect. I feel like I’m a friend who is along for the journey. My goal for the characters in Ravenhill is the same. I want you to feel like you are friends with the main character. I want her life to feel real and relatable, but at the same time, take you on a crazy journey until the very last page. 

Now, the title of this blog might be confusing you. Why is talking about the characters of my story conceded? Well, like I said in my last blog post, my mom is the one who was originally writing Ravenhill. My mom loved her family. She was the caregiver and nurturer. She was also very proud of her family. So much so, she named a few of the main characters after loved ones. The main character’s name being… Hannah. Yes! I’m writing a whole novel where the main character is named after me. At points it does feel conceded. Then I think about why my mom chose the name. I was the first person she thought of to be one of the driving forces behind her story. It brings me to tears thinking about it. She wanted Hannah (the main character) to look like me too, but I drew the line there. She only has brown hair, brown eyes, and is tall. Other than that, we are completely different people when it comes to looks. Hannah isn’t the only character tied to a loved one. I kept every name for every main character in honor of my mom. The character’s personalities are a different story.

Within the portion my mom wrote, there aren’t many character details other than physical descriptions. Like I said earlier, character development is important to me. I had to figure out a way to make her characters more real to me. How did I do that? With the suggestion of my editor, Lily Huff, I created a list of characteristics for each person. I wanted to know what they look like, their style, favorite color, music they listen to, where they are from, what car they drive, education, and much more. I broke down every main character until I felt like I knew them. I can’t be expected to write a story about a group of people if I don’t know them. That would be like telling a child to bake a cake without ingredients or instruction. Resulting in disaster and pure chaos. With breaking the characters down, I was able to add a little bit of my ideas and a little bit of my mom’s ideas with each person. A true blend of us. 

Now, who is Hannah Sinclair? She is a city girl, but specifically from Boston. She loves history and art. She loves classic rock, but enjoys classical jazz sometimes too. Her favorite pastime is reading a good book. She has a dog named Pablo, and her favorite color is forest green. Do all of these details matter in the book? No. Most of them won’t even come up in the story. The details are for me. To know why she chooses specific paths, and to know how she will react in certain situations. 

Like I’ve said before, the whole story of Ravenhill connects me and my mom. We’ve both poured ourselves into this story. With Hannah, I feel connected even more so. She is based off of me because my mom wanted it that way. It’s both an honor and a privilege to be able to finish her story. In the book, Hannah’s life hasn’t always been great. She has struggles and trauma that rear their ugly heads constantly. If I’m able to make something beautiful with her life… something that both my mom and I have had a hand in creating, I’ll be satisfied with my work. I hope you end up loving Hannah as much as I do. Thanks for reading, friend. I love you all.

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