“Welcome, Marcy! We’re so excited to have you here. Marcy has written a post she would like to share with us: The emotional havoc authors go through when developing characters.

If you’re not a writer, you might not know the emotional havoc we go through when developing our characters. But as readers and lovers of a great story, you can certainly understand and appreciate it. Obviously, our characters become real to us because we strive to make them real for you. 

Think about the best book with the characters you loved (or hated) the most. And now think about how much time it took you to read that book. Isn’t it amazing how you can become so enthralled with and so immersed in the characters and their lives in such a short amount of time? 

Now think about how much time the author has spent with those characters. I think it’s fair to say that writers like me can become a bit obsessed. In my case, I have certain aspects of the plot that become nearly impossible to complete because— and get this—  I try to protect my characters from harm. You might have had to read that a second time. But it’s true. I know I’m supposed to be developing my characters’ conflicts to develop a thrilling story, but in some cases I go to great extremes to avoid the emotional havoc my mind just can’t withstand. Let me explain.

In Deception & Consequences, my first romance-thriller, I spent more time developing my main characters than I did plotting out the events. Halfway into the writing, I was having real conversations with Aria, and I was deeply in love with Mac. Of course, these lovers had obstacles early on that kept them apart, but once they got together, I couldn’t stand the thought of anything coming between them. Now you and I all know that even the best relationships are not perfect, and especially in a thriller, there has to be some relationship mayhem. And if not mayhem, at least some minor conflict that creates anticipation for the readers. But I loved Mac and Aria’s relationship so much, I couldn’t bring myself to write that suspenseful drama even though I knew it should be there. 

In my mind, I reconciled with the fact that the two soulmates had already undergone so much strife in the beginning. Why did they have to be subjected to more? In a way, I was right. What I really love about the entire book now is that Deception & Consequences sets the stage for the rest of the series. Mac and Aria didn’t need more complications in their realtionship— yet.

It was the ‘yet’ part that scared me though. While I was able to avoid this issue in the first book, I would not be able to avoid it forever. Therefore, book II, Seduction & Revenge, was the most agonizing process I’d ever endured. Logic told me that the suspense and thrill for the readers would be most impactful if their beloved couple was separated or otherwise disconnected. But, I’ll tell you, writing those chapters was the most agonizing process I’d ever been though as a writer.

For one thing, I was so confused, and I was not at all focused. Part of me thought ‘hurry up and write it all really fast and get it over with.’ But as much as I wanted to do that, I couldn’t motivate myself to even sit down at the computer and face the mind-struggle ahead. So there I was, stuck for several days, trying to write, but not in the right frame of mind. When I did start writing, I was too focused on my feelings and not what needed to be done to make a great story for the readers; and as a result, the chapters were garbage, and I ended up having to start all over anyway— more mental stress.

Well, Seduction & Revenge comes out in early July, and I’m completely satisfied with all of the content. How did I finally bypass the emotional havoc and forge through those chapters? First of all, I had to take a look at the perilous content and make a few adjustments. Yes, I caved a little and made the characters’ struggle a little less devastating, which ended up being perfect anyway. Mostly, I had to tell my mind to constantly jump forward to the moments after the relationship disaster ended. These positive thoughts kept me digging throught he trenches of that debilitating strife. 

Another tactic that aided my success was just putting the bare bones down on a first pass. That method got me through the entire disaster quickly and gave me the feeling that it was over, which was quite a relief. After a couple of days, I went back into the manuscript and began adding all the details. I’m not going to say this part was easy, but it was a lot better having the mindset that Mac and Aria’s difficulty was over. I was able to tell myself— and believe it— that having written to the end of the disaster, my two lovers had emerged triumphant, which was what my mind and heart so desperately needed.

On the flipside of becoming too emotionally involved with characters, is creating a minor character you had no expectations for, but who ends up surprising you. Manny Donaldson adds an important aspect to Deception & Consequences, but when creating him, I didn’t develop an emotional attachment to him, or any of the other minor characters in the novel. But apparently I missed something because there’s a whole group of people who want to start a Manny fan club. Looking back, I can see why Manny became a book favorite, but I didn’t do anything special to ensure that status. Consequently, this lack of extra effort makes Manny’s popularity quite endearing. 

For me, characters are real, and I’d be willing to bet all of you feel exactly the same way. I’ve come to the conclusion, however, that as long as I’m in the business of writing romance thrillers, my romantic heart is going to have to toughen up. No one wants the ‘thrill’ taken out of their thriller. 

Therefore, I’m going to take the emotional havoc and use it as a strength rather than a weakness. For Deception & Consequences, I coined the phrase, “You’ll want a love like Aria & Mac.” Even though they had many tough times initially, once their perfect love was established, it was not challenged. This decision not only quelled my anxious heart, it made the lovers a power duo ready to face the darkness ahead in Seduction & Revenge.

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Check Out Deception & Consequences, Book One Of The Vengeance Series