We’ve been having a vibrant craft discussion on the Guppies
Listserv centered on writing the mystery series. For those who don’t know, Guppies
is an Internet chapter of Sisters in Crime. Although
I’m more lurker than participant, I’ve recently begun a new series, so I’ve
filled several notebooks with information, reminders and cross-references that
I gleaned from the discussion.
I anticipate the series to consist of twelve books and have paragraph
outlines for each. As part of my research, I decided to revisit long-running
series, old and new, that I have enjoyed, to see how they adhered to the advice
from the Guppy commenters. It’s a great trip down memory lane. Reading a series
as a whole is an eye opener as bits and pieces that are forgotten in the lapse
of time between books fall into place and information gleaned as characters
mature becomes meaningful, and sometimes bittersweet when you know much loved
secondary characters will be leaving. There was also a caution to be learned.
Most of the series I read are in real time. For a writer who
writes in real time, dating characters can be a tricky. Tying your characters’
ages to a significant event can ultimately age them out of the lead. In one
series I revisited the early books referenced the character’s memories of WWII.
He was ten at the time and the event significant enough that the reader can
date it to 1941. The writer has stopped referring to the character’s childhood
memories, which is good, because he is still employed by a police agency and sleuthing
in 2019.
Other books in my favorite series refer to characters’
service in Viet Nam or the Gulf War, or presence in the town of Lockerbie, or on
the mound at the Twin Towers, in Iraq or Iran. All of those references are
fine, in their own time, but they are very quickly aging characters in real
time. It’s great shorthand for a writer. Those few phrases establish so much
about a character. They’ve given service to their country, they’ve been in bad
situations, and they are of a certain age. Unfortunately, if the series
continues, the character is also in danger of aging out.
We discussed this at our local library book club. Members
easily recalled the names of characters who were tied to events and quickly
calculated their ages. A few confessed to no longer reading some series because
they had visions of aging detectives stooped and stumbling trying to solve
crimes even though their personal description was at odds with the one on the
page. Yet when asked how old their favorite characters were that weren’t tied
to significant events few had hard dates to offer. Most guessed around 30 or 40
depending on the book. Oddly enough if the book offered a hero and a heroine,
the readers often defined the ages by the difference between the two. The moderator asked if the non-event dated
characters aged. Very few of the group were sure and most said no.
Readers and writers, do you keep a mental birthday list of
your favorite series characters? How do you know if they have aged?
I like feisty women of a certain age characters, and don't think about their calendar age, which could be forty or eighty.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Margaret. Do you find it limiting when the author pins an age on the character?
ReplyDeleteI don't pay attention. Miss Marple must have been well over 100.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Warren, and she never dropped a stitch!
ReplyDeleteI had started my book with the intention of making my character a mature woman in her 60s but realized that wouldn't fly today. So I dropped her age to early 40s. At my age, I would have a hard time writing about a much younger character. Besides, all of my cultural references wouldn't be appropriate for a younger character. I like that Sue Grafton anchored her character firmly in the 1980s and didn't refer to her age or the passing of time. Smart move since she didn't have to deal with modern technology. Hard to have a character in a rough situation when most readers would say, "What about her cell phone?"
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't keep a list of the characters ages in the mystery series I read. In my own series, I do keep track of their ages, but then my books go by the month in the year for each book. The first one in June, second in July and on until the tenth book I'm writing now which is in March.
ReplyDeleteMy books are present time, but I don't include dates so future readers will still think it's present time. Both of my main characters are in their early 40s. John a year older than Catherine.
Kait, Thanks for your comments...I'm a Gup. Where are you finding the mystery discussion?
ReplyDeleteKait, I do find it tiresome. I want my readers to inject something of themselves in my characters, and form their own vision of the characters, whether they imagine the character to be 25 or 45.
ReplyDelete@Grace, completely understand and it can get so tricky! I wonder sometimes if Sue Grafton didn't have a hard time keeping those last few books anchored in the 80s. Some sharp-eyed beta reading had to be involved to keep the early digital advances happening then from moving too fast.
ReplyDelete@Gloria Your method of dating characters is my preferred one and I note that in longer running serials does tend to be the default of writers. Sometimes, there is no help for it when the inciting incident is tied to a major event. Then again having a character be overaged by the inciting incident is a good news/bad news situation. It does mean the series has been on-going for a significant number of years. Nancy drove a roadster in my early Nancy Drews, that was dated when I read them, they were soon to be updated, but it is a nice problem to have.
ReplyDelete@Nancy - Fin Wave - check the listserv for craft discussion plotting a series. There were topics on all aspects of series development. Guppies is a fantastic resource. Something under character development touched off this topic in tandem with my recent series reading in order addiction.
ReplyDelete@Margaret - precisely. The more my readers can make my characters theirs the deeper they will care about them.
ReplyDelete