Developing a main character by Dianne Gardner

“Where did you get your idea for your main character?”

Ian Wilson is the main character in Deception Peak. Once you read how I came up with him, you’ll know a little bit about the story. Just read on and see…

Writing a novel is like putting the pieces of a puzzle together and the most difficult part is the beginning. If you’re like me you’ll take the border pieces and fit them together first because they’re the easiest to find. They have flat edges and they frame everything in. Once you have them in place you can pretty much group the other pieces by color, patterns and design and get an estimate of where they might fit in the picture.

A novel is pieced together much in the same way. You have to find the framework. I’ve heard this framework called a plumb line, and other people call it a premise.  Basically, you have to ask yourself the question…what is this story going to be about?

 

The way I work, before I can think about who is going to be in the story, I need to know something about the story.

Deception Peak is about the adventures of a boy who is faced with the impossible task of removing a dragon from a magical world.

There is the framework.

Now that I have the premise, I see that there are at least three things that have to be created in my story: i.e. the dragon, the magical world, and the boy.

Now everyone knows that novels need conflict and tension otherwise we’d have nothing more than a boring piece of text sounding much like the diary I wrote when I was younger.

Dear Diary, nothing happened today.

Here are a few things I took into consideration while creating my main character.

·         In order for the story to have a lot of tension, I knew I couldn’t make the boy a super hero. It’d be too easy. One fight and wham, you’re out.

·         The boy had to come from some place other than the magical world because I wanted to put some adventure in the story, some wonders.

·         I also wanted to have a boy that my readers can relate to. A typical teen. No one special.

·         Other tension creating dynamics would be a personality that isn’t used to taking on odd obstacles in his life, like a dragon.

·         Someone who doesn’t ordinarily take risks.

·         A homebody who doesn’t normally go traveling into strange worlds.

·         A boy who needs to grow up.

For those who have read Deception Peak, do you see an Ian Wilson taking shape here?

Ian needed to be different physically too, just to make things harder for him! And since all the tribes I was creating in the Realm were based on the physical characteristics of Scandinavian people, Ian needed to be dark and I chose a young lad with dark bushy hair, Hispanic in heritage, on his mom’s side.

Ah! I knew just the boy to pose for young Ian’s illustration--the son of a friend of my daughters’. He was thrilled and was even invited to play the part of Ian in the first book trailer.

By the time I figured out who my main character was, I also created some of the plot line, the events, and the relationships. It was a fun process!

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Happy Anniversary to Deception Peak!!

Topping Amazon's Paid Best Sellers list in children's Sword and Sorcery
Nominated for The Endeavor Award 2012

"Within seconds, the light show vanished and Ian opened one eye. What he had experienced was not at all what he had expected. No unusual sensations fizzled through his body. He hadn't felt like he was plummeting in an elevator, or blasting through space like in a rocket ship. It didn't even feel like he might be racing down an escape chute on an airplane. No jet sounds, or hums, or buzzes, rattled in his ears."

And so young Ian Wilson enters the Realm.

The first book of a trilogy, Deception Peak is a young adult adventure fantasy about a teenager, Ian Wilson, who follows his father through a portal that magically appears on their computer screen. They travel into a deceptively beautiful Realm, where horses run free, the wind sings prophetic melodies, and their computer avatars come to life. 

 

But when the two are separated, Ian is abducted by a tribe of dragon worshipers and is forced to find his courage. As he struggles for his freedom and embarks on a perilous search to find his father, Ian meets the true peacekeepers of the Realm. It's then that he learns there is a greater purpose for being there.

Book 2 and 3 The Dragon Shield and Rubies and Robbers are available now!

If you enjoy dragons, sorcery, wizards, magic, legend, and fantasy adventure, than this series is for you!
 

Dianne Gardner, an award winning author, is also an illustrator living in the Pacific Northwest, USA. She's an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and the National League of American Pen Women.  She is author to The Ian’s Realm Saga, Tales of the Four Wizards and is currently writing a screenplay of her fourth book Cassandra’s Castle all published by PDMI publishing.

You can see more of Dianne’s work on her website http://gardnersart.com

Dianne's Links:

 

Official book blog: http://dragontargeseries.blogspot.com/

 

Dragon Shield Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c2rm6mGBrM

 

website:  http://gardnersart.com

 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TheIansRealmSaga?ref=ts&fref=ts

 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/DianneGardner

 

Deception Peak:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FCZ32MG

 

 

Time for the Giveaway!!!! 

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The One More Thing:  I would to say, “Thank you” to Dianne for her visit today on her tour, and to everyone else that dropped by.   New and Old friends are always welcome here.