Writing this chapter is where things started to get a little convoluted. I introduce new characters. But in introducing them, I had to focus on making sure it didn’t get confusing. Some characters needed back stories and will eventually be reocurring characters going forward in sequel novels, so they had to be fleshed out more. Some of the new characters were just a part to help move the story, and while essential, wouldn’t be seen in the future.
If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve heard me say multiple times that this was my first effort at a novel. So, there’s a learning curve in that aspect. Writing believable characters, believable relationships, believable and realistic dialog. One thing I never do with dialog is allow the grammar editors to correct it. People do not use perfect grammar when they speak. I don’t worry about writing accents. I will possibly describe the accent, if I think it’s necessary for the character development, or contributes to something. But you won’t catch me writing out words phoenetically so my reader can understand how the character sounds.
Mary was introduced for reasons I won’t go into here. 😉
Kona was introducted to give Jake a “partner in crime” outside of his dad. It’s a cliched aspect of these types of stories. But they help move the story but in a different manner. He’s a fellow classmate with skills that Jake can lean on. We even meet Kona’s family. That should tell you that we’ll be seeing a lot more of Kona Kealoha.
The last thing here about writing different characters is giving each character their own voice and style. While Jake is very laid back and easy going, yet respectful, Kona always uses titles. We see him constantly refer to Jack Jansen as Mr. Jansen. I wanted that to be a part of his own heritage and culture, coming from a Hawaiian family.
I think the one thing about a first novel, especially the way I write without a structure or outline, you get a sense of of works by “feel.” There were plenty of times I deleted entire sections, multiple pages, or completely rewrote or added things. I write based on what I call “life instinct” as if it was a real day in the life - you don’t know what’s going to happen, don’t know what someone will say. It’s just instinctually based on what feels right in the situation.
Thank you John, I enjoy reading about your writing process. I want to write a novel, but don’t know quit how and where to start. Reading about what you are doing gives me a guide. ✍️📚