Characters in Their Free Time

Photo Credit: The Best News

I don’t know about you, but my characters tend to have a little bit of free time during the course of their stories. In my experience reading PI novels sometimes all one can do is wait and see what happens. And I’d have to say that that’s also the case in most stories. I mean, Harry Potter has plenty of free time in his stories, right? And if a boy wizard who has Voldemort after him can have free time, then so can your characters.

Now let’s see. In my first book I had my characters go for a run, watch sports on TV, watch the news on TV, lay out by the pool, read, and probably a bunch of other things I can’t remember off the top of my head at two in the morning as I write this. To me, that sounds pretty normal. For them to be doing things that you’d expect any typical person to be doing at a given time. But your character probably also has hobbies. See, that’s the thing. I’m NOT only talking hobbies here, I’m talking what is actually described in the text. Sure it’s nice that your character likes long walks on the beach at sunset, but that’s not the discussion we’re having. I’m talking about actions.

So tell me, what do you have your characters do during their free time during their stories?

Oh, Andrew also enjoyed a nap and had a quick gym session in my book.

And we have an antagonist (with only a first name)

I spend my Friday nights writing. Well, mostly.

This particular chapter was fairly easy to write. I knew from the second I finished chapter six where I wanted chapter seven to go. This was also the first chapter that I wrote in multiple sittings that were not on consecutive days. I actually began writing on Tuesday and managed to finish just a little earlier tonight.

I knew that I wanted to introduce another character, and I did. This one is a bit more important than some of the other characters already introduced because he will act as the main antagonist in the story. Just think of him as the Voldemort of my story without the whole wizardry angle or magic or smashed face. I don’t want to reveal much about him, but…he owns several businesses and is quite wealthy. On the surface he appears like any other citizen, but the Houston police have reason to believe he isn’t as innocent as he looks. His first name is Hunter.

Also, I had assistance in naming this mystery man from both my mom and little brother. I always put a lot of thought into the names of the characters I create and this one was no different, unless I steal the names of people I know! (with their permission, of course)

The primary purpose of this chapter is to have Andrew learn who he’s to go toe-to-toe against the rest of the story. I’m aiming for a Harry v. Voldemort showdown at the end. Kinda. Not. Maybe. You’ll have to wait and see!

Also, there are two new books on my What I’m Reading page. The James Patterson title ranks in the top 15 on my list of best books.