Another fascinating aspect about novel writing is the way
your characters build up over time and how they gain in credibility and depth
as you write. I knew that my main protagonist – Gerry – would carry the story.
However, little did I know that several of the secondary characters would
become so important. Although the author is supposed to know his characters
inside out, there is a lot of room for improvisation, and you get to discover
them as you continue to write about them. Pushing my thoughts a little further,
I guess a writer’s relationship with his characters is in some ways comparable
to new real-life relationships. When you meet someone for the first time you
have an opinion on that person; the more time you spend with the person, the
better you get to know the person; you get to see pros and cons; and you are
able to flesh out that initial opinion with the knowledge you have gained. Unlike
real-life though the writer is omnipotent, almost God-like. As he embarks on
writing a new novel, he decides on the fate of his characters and alters them
to his heart’s content. The characters are merely illustrations of the writer’s
inner-self and his mixed bag of feelings. However, the more the writer ventures
into the novel, and the more his characters live on to see another day, the
more meaningful they become. The characters have gained in substance and are a
lot more present in the writer’s mind. He has given them a persona and names
that mean something. They have been present in written scenes and have made
their presence felt. Now if the writer wishes to alter them or do something
more radical like remove them from the plot altogether, it requires a lot more
consideration. Not only has the writer spent time with them and got to know
them better, but they have subtly carved themselves comfortable places in the
plot. The writer must think twice before tampering with their fate.
I sometimes wonder if the relevant characters are in fact
more powerful than the writer who imagined them in the first place. The writer
is now forced to respect them, and he roots for them so much as he believes in
the book he has written and in the strength and depth of his characters. The
roles are certainly reversed after publication. The writer spends his time
promoting his characters and he must speak on their behalf with blind faith. As
far as I am concerned, when I first started ‘Out of Bounds’ I wasn’t too sure
how the characters Ray Dupree and Jacob Bornholm would develop. In spite of
them being polar opposites, they are pretty much the shoulder angel and devil
of Kyle’s conscience. You need them both to secure a certain sense of harmony
and balance in the world. Bornholm isn’t your straight-forward good guy, and neither
is Ray your straight-forward bad guy. As I continued to write about them, they
both grew in complexity, transcending the stereotypical boundaries we tend to
establish when we think of a cop and a villain. Similar to Kyle and Pilar,
Bornholm and Ray took on a whole new dimension. Can Ray be seen as the serpent
who tricks Kyle, like Eve, into eating fruit from the Garden of Eden’s
forbidden tree? Likewise, why is that Bornholm is at Kyle’s side in the final
chapter of the book? (Those of you who have read the end will know what I’m
hinting at here). Bornholm and Ray: two pivotal characters who began as vague
ideas and then grew to become more than your average cameo role.
I have entered a second wave of promoting ‘Out of Bounds’. I
am increasingly trying my luck with crime fiction review blogs and have joined
the masses of people who are seeking to grab a little bit of newspaper
attention. The book is in the hands of several reviewers as I write these
words, and I am hoping to see my online presence increase soon. I am looking
forward to reading the first reviews and to the possible domino effect they can
potentially have in terms of the awareness factor for ‘Out of Bounds’.
I am also trying to promote the book locally. However, being
an author having written in the English language only is undoubtedly quite a
hurdle when you live in southwest France. Having said that, I am trying to work
my way into a local crime fiction festival, which is taking place in Toulouse
in October. It’s called ‘Toulouse Polar du Sud’ aka the 6ème Festival
International des Littératures Policières. The conference organizers have been
kind enough to get back to me and suggest we meet up in October.
Who knows, maybe I’ll get to meet other writers, talk about ‘Out
of Bounds’, and make an impression? I go there as an underdog, but similar to
the relationships they have with their characters, will they rule me out there
and then or will they think about their encounter with me once the conference
is over? Like an imagined character, can I achieve more than a cameo role and become
meaningful in the eyes of the literary elite?
I will strive to meet that
target.
