Out on a Limb

Sometimes a writer has to do goofy things. I don’t mean in your personal life, you know the time you dressed up as the Easter bunny or did the karaoke thing. I mean a writing challenge. That’s how I explain James and the Incredible Flying Turd. Yes, I said turd and I mean it. I wanted to challenge myself to take something unsavory (I think dog poop fits that category) and transform that something into a hero. Oh, I have written books about contrary characters like the irascible youth Will Shakespeare in the Wicked Will series and the acid-witted Larkspur a gay vampire in the Southern Charm series. And I have created animal characters such as a dragon in The Christmas Dragon and a showy ostrich in Maybelline. The human characters, even when they are annoying, we can forgive. We, as readers, identify with them and cheer their ultimate triumph. Animals, of course, a writer personifies, both the dragon and the ostrich are cute and cuddly, no problem there. However, a turd…what’s loveable about that? So, this book was born. Really I think it turned out quite human as I personified the turd, giving him (he preferred to be called Tom) human wants and desires. My point here is that as writers we can go anywhere we want. We can write about any character that draws our interest. Humor especially when going off the deep end as I did with the turd story helps. I hope I achieved a thought-provoking tale. My hope is that the reader will relate to this odd character and in the end, sympathize. Anyway I had fun writing the book and doing the artwork. My hint is…give the characters you create some quirky trait. In my two adventure thrillers Ghosts of the Presidential Library and Wizard of the Presidential Library one of the novel’s heroes is the museum’s curator. He’s a middle-aged man who bites his nails. He knows it’s a bad habit. When danger threatens him and those he loves he has a choice…confront it or run away. He chooses to stand tall and, as a commitment to himself, stops biting his nails. A small point in a book with a complex plot but I think it helps to illustrate his courage and commitment when faced with danger. A villain I believe should also have something going for him or her other than pure evil. Yes, all villains want power but to me that’s abstract. In most if not all “adventure” films, Batman and the like that might do but those are cartoon characters. In my Bats in the Belfry series, Ogilby is an evil wizard who wants to rule over the magical kingdom – okay that’s the “I want power” part. However, he also seemingly has a tender spot for his son who he put a spell on to stunt the boy’s growth. He will live his life as a seven-year-old. Ogilby claims the spell can be undone. The question hangs  will Ogilby undo the spell out of love for his son or is he saying that to gain the boy’s loyalty. I think this makes the character more interesting than one that is evil alone. This to me is the difference between a two-dimensional character and one that is three dimensional with quirks and human flaws. Happy writing.