One of the worst things a writer can do is to foist boring characters upon an unsuspecting reader. No one deserves that, certainly not someone that has actually purchased your book, anyway.
Do writers set out to write characters that bore someone to tears? No. Like so much else in life, they just happen. The problem lies in an author not investing enough time in revealing underlying issues because no one is ever really boring. If we perceive that someone is, then we simply don’t know them well enough. If we did, we’d realize that there is a wellspring of complexity hiding underneath that oh, so bland exterior.
One of the best ways to discover the truth of this is to hang out in coffee shops Just sit and listen to what’s going on around you. It’s a shame that we’re usually so preoccupied with talking about our own projects that we don’t allow this quiet time to flourish, but for writers, this type of activity essential. It unleashes our powers of observation and observing is a foundational tool. It gives better instruction into human nature than any course offered.
Observation is a favorite instrument of mine, and one I use frequently. In my hours spent working on my laptop in my favorite coffee shop, I’ve keyed in on conversations that have caused me to soar to the heights of ecstasy and plunge to the depths of despair. Many a time, I’ve gone home and shed a few tears over what I’ve heard. While the art of writing precludes an author from devoting hundreds of pages to supply each character’s backstory, it’s not required. In overhearing snippets excised from prolific conversations, I’ve learned that the discovery of another’s life happens in careful phrasing and vignettes. So while I sit and sip a cappuccino, there’s a young girl on the phone with a friend. She looks for all the world like any other teenager who has the whole world in front of her, but a piece of her conversation floats above the chatter of other patrons. I hear, “But my mother gave me up at birth saying that she didn’t want me. You don’t know how worthless I’ve felt, but now, after eighteen years, I’m finally going to meet my real dad this weekend.”
Do you think I would need to know any more about her in order to bond? To feel sympathy for her? Don’t those two lines say it all? And how about the woman next to me who I’d mistaken for having a perfect life. Beautifully coiffed and dressed, she told a friend, “Sylvie, the mammogram showed an abnormality. I’m going in for a biopsy on Tuesday. I’m so scared.” Or how about a man dressed in a suit and looking like the stereotypical businessman espousing, “I don’t know why crap always kicks up when I try to help someone. I discussed it with my guru and he said it’s because you’ve agreed to shoulder part of their burden and so it’s that person’s bad karma entering my life.”
Each time I hear statements like this, it teaches me that appearances are deceiving. Applying that adage to writing, it means that writers have to allow readers to penetrate an outer shell. In order to do that, an author needs to seed stories with poignant moments that highlight real emotion. It brings your character to life and allows your audience to connect in a very real way. So instead of writing, “The commuter looked at his watch, noting the time as 3PM. He was going to be late for a meeting.” A writer might try, “The commuter pulled out the last present given to him by his ex-wife. The large dial made it obvious that he was running behind schedule. It was a trait that had annoyed the woman he still loved and wanted back. “You’ll be late to your own funeral,” she’d reprimand, and the prophecy was coming true.”
It takes added effort to paint that picture, but it is what’s needed to create memorable characters that an audience adores.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Born in the idyllic, sleepy town of Ithaca, NY, Ruth Bainbridge has been a lover of mysteries for her entire life.
Ever since a child, she has consumed detective stories at regular intervals, becoming enamored with all the superstars of crime. She loved nothing more than to match wits with the likes of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Thomas Pitt, Lord Peter Wimsey, Richard Jury and Edward X Delaney, becoming inspired by their brilliance. Hoping to emulate her writing idol’s achievements in dreaming up such characters, she started composing her own short stories.
However, life interfered with her plans of becoming the next hopeful to try a life of crime—on paper at least. Devoting herself to her marriage and the raising of four children, the empty nest syndrome gave her the impetus to return to her first love—murder.
SAVAGE SUMMER is Ms. Bainbridge’s debut novel. It introduces Curtis Owen Savage into the world of ink and fury. Savage is engaged and about to be married when the brutal murder of his fiancée sends the world crashing down around him. Depressed, he isolates himself to better deal with the pain, but his beloved Ruthie won’t leave him alone. Haunting him with her presence, he becomes obsessed with finding her killer, and making him pay for taking her away.
With the help of a quirky friend and an old colleague, he takes his first steps, but the poisoning of a next door neighbor’s dog lands him his first case—and into a new profession. Hired as a private detective, he navigates through a complex series of clues to discover why someone attempted to kill the black Pomeranian. In the midst of trying to track down the motive, he receives his first anonymous phone call from a phantom who insists he knows secrets about his fiancé’s death. Dubbing the caller Dr. Shadows, the tidbits scattered become the breadcrumbs that lead Savage down a dark rabbit hole that was never meant to be discovered.
Her next planned project is MURDER MOST FOWL. Alex “Trout” Matthews, is a former NYC detective. Now retired, he moves to the town of Portsmith, Idaho so he can focus on his one passion—fishing. But as Ruth puts it, “Murder rarely leaves an inquisitive mind alone for long.” He soon finds himself pulled back in the stream of things and knee-deep in mystery.
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“When life gives you lemons … be sure to spit the pits out of that lemonade you’re making. Otherwise you’ll choke.” – Curt Savage
The past year has not been a good one for Curt Savage. Depressed over the death of a loved one, he’s gone into hiding, becoming entirely too comfortable with saying that he’s in the Witness Protection Program. But the urge to find that elusive killer puts his MIA status on hold. With the help of his new buddy Mike, he delves into the murky world of tracking down a killer — and uncovering who poisoned a neighbor’s dog.
SAVAGE SUMMER is the first in the Curt Savage mystery series. Going from former cop to private dick, he represents a new kind of detective—the reluctant kind. As his best bud Mike puts it, “Private investigation just got Savage.”
“When life gives you lemons … be sure to spit the pits out of that lemonade you’re making. Otherwise you’ll choke.” – Curt SavageBUY THE BOOK… Amazon