What Do To When Your Character...

has a mind of his own and doesn't behave like you would?

I've been working on a story for at least the last year... It's been slow going for a lot of reasons, but I am so determined to finish it in 2018. That said, I have a good 50% written—albeit not in the "correct order" yet, but I'll figure out how—and where—to connect the pieces. I hope. I keep inserting yellow highlighted sections 'need transition here' and hoping for the best. I know it'll come together. Otherwise, I've written a lot of awesome short stories...

I'm concentrating on my hero Kurtis Warde right now. He's a wizard apprentice—although his heart isn't really into becoming a full-fledged wizard. He's torn between family obligations and romantic inclinations so he's an angry guy. This guy keeps his shit in—and when he lets go—he expresses his anger with colorful language. A lot.

I'm a bit of a strange cat. I don't really swear. And I don't really care to use coarse language. As a writer, this proves to be quite problematic as my characters don't always fall in line. They have minds of their own and arguing with them—literally writing against them—slows my writing to a dismal stop.

For the most part, I listen to what they're saying and what they want to do. After all, it's their story. We find compromises here and there. For example, when I want to shut the bedroom door completely, they like to nudge it open just a bit. And we resolve the 'what do I call this body part' issues with the halfway point between medical textbook and urban dictionary.

Up to now, I haven't written a lot of curse words into my books. I convey what my characters want to convey—maybe with a lone 'damn' or 'shit'—but Kurtis wants to swear. He wants me to let him 'be real' in a visceral way I never thought possible. So, I'm letting him. This guy is raw. He's unpredictable and completely goes his own way. I'm sure you'll love him.

Back to it then. I can't wait to find out what Kurtis says or does next.

***

I first introduced Kurtis as part of The Circle, the group of wizards, that my hero Corgan Halton seeks out for help in my book A Vampire's Tale. Kurtis is the grandson of Waldor, one of the wizards.

A Vampire’s Tale is available on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.