What a Character!

May 17, 2023

One of the things I’m trying to improve in my novels is ‘rich characterization.’ I want the reader to know my characters more fully. It takes more work, extra editing, and attention to detail, but it’s absolutely worth it.

Some of my favorite heroes are developed well. Leon Hunt, in Gabriel, is one of those I’ve done well. We know his facial features and that he is short but was a great basketball player and sprinter in high school. He always wears khaki pants and plaid shirts. He’s a novice cook and, at 82, still a very good driver.

I sometimes forget on other characters, even significant ones, to tell the reader basics like their height and hair color!

When you know someone, you can better understand their struggles and celebrations. I want my readers involved in what my people are going through. I want you to enter into the world of my book characters, to enrich your own life.

I’ve come to realize that Jesus’ command, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” is not the chore I once thought it was. Rather, it’s a way God blesses us. As we get to know others better and better, we learn how to handle problems we have not yet faced. We recognize better some of the joys we might have been taking for granted.

In the same way I’ve sought to let my readers know my book characters better, I’ve also tried to know my friends better. God brought them my way. They are a blessing. They should never be a burden.

“He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 22:37:-39