Characters in the mist

Currently, the Absolution of the Morning Star series has 154 named characters. Four appeared out of the mist this week alone, with two deserving a handshake and a welcome to the core. Not all of these characters play a big part, some for only a few lines, but they were important enough to receive a name. There is, of course, Erikson Gray, my main character, with 5 or 6 additional central characters and about a dozen or more frequently recurring. There are some that I wouldn’t include in any of these categories, but they play significant roles for a chapter or two and thus, must be well developed.

It’s a lot of characters and a lot to remember. I don’t even think I have 154 close friends in my real life- at least, I don’t know them as well as I know these figments of my imagination. Needless to say, it’s getting crowded in my mind. I keep a running spreadsheet because I am terrible with names in the real world, which carries over into my fictional world, especially with old English, Welsh, Icelandic, and Nordic names being common in Lucardia. Being able to copy and paste, especially if they have a diaeresis, those two dots you see over A, O, and U, is very helpful. As some of you know, I have a race of giants called the Jötunn in my world, and I paste that word in a lot. My main Jötunn character, Po, has a simple name for a reason.

I can’t help but ask where they all come from? Sometimes they step from the mist fully developed, like Wendell the One Eye, a scheming old scoundrel both reviled and loved. When you have such a distinguishing feature as a single eye, with the story of how it was lost constantly changing, everything else seems to fall into place. Sometimes someone steps from the mist, and it’s like, “Well, hello!” They go right to the top of the list of either joining Erikson Gray on his journey or being one that strives to hold him back. This week was notable in that two of these gems appeared for me, opening all sorts of doors!

But sometimes, it takes time for a character to materialize fully. I’ve always found that the main characters are the most difficult. Some of this is by design. They are the most complex with the most subtleties, and their growth from a name to a person, with all the flaws and inconsistencies of a human being, is often the story itself, as is the case with Erikson Gray.

When I started this project, I envisioned a crooked rainbow-barked ironwood growing in a cave. It shimmered in the light falling through a fissure ringed with dripping moss, and was a magical and mysterious image that needed a story. I required someone to experience this wonder, and a dark-haired boy stepped from the shadows. He had no name or backstory, but that would all develop as he entered my world.

I am now quickly coming to the end of book three, and in that time, Erik has grown from an innocent and naive boy prone to mischief to a young man who shoulders a significant burden. It’s pretty hard to write a main character that is not a savior or a hero. I don’t want that for Erik. I want him to be fundamentally human, which is vitally important in this story. He must hurt and suffer so that when he finds pleasure and joy, they really mean something. Most of all, I don’t want him to make all the right choices, and the bad decisions need to have ramifications that chew away at his confidence, making new choices more difficult. The Dawn of the Lightbear’s subtitle is Counsel of Steel for a reason.

I plan for the Absolution of the Morning Star series to be six books. I am right smack-dab in the middle. I will be frank. I have no idea where Erik will end up. Yes, that is a bit scary, but at the same time, absolutely thrilling! When that dark-haired boy stood in awe of that rainbowed ironwood, he and I did not know the adventure that would materialize, which is the joy of writing. A growing list of helpers and apposers have joined him on his journey. Some will thrive, and others will die in the Absolution of the Morning Star storm. At times it will be a joy and others heartbreaking. Erik will continue to grow, not straight and tall like a sentinel pine, but much like that twisted ironwood growing in a cave.

Cheers!