By Korina Moss
All this characterization in just the mention of a car? Not by itself—it’s simply one of the building blocks of your character. More than gobs of backstory, corroborating who they are through the choices they make, as well as their actions and reactions, helps to create fully formed characters to whom readers can connect.
Writers, tell me the type of car one of your characters drives. (Or do they bike or skateboard, like Mrs. Schultz and Archie, two of my secondary characters?) Readers, what do you think the car you drive says about you?
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| COMING OCTOBER 22ND |
KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series set in the Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner for Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead, and the Agatha Award finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World, AARP, and Fresh Fiction. To learn more, visit her website korinamossauthor.com where you can subscribe to her free monthly #teamcheese newsletter. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
I've always used my own vehicles in my books. Zoe Chambers used to drive an old Chevy Silverado, just like mine. Then she sold it and now drives a white Subaru Forester. So do I. So does Emma Anderson in my Detective Honeywell mysteries (I meant to change it to a Crosstrek, like my husband's car, but forgot until it was already too far a long in the publication pipeline). It's just practical. I know those vehicles. I know where the latch for the console is located, how the parking brake works, which side the gas cap is on. Every time I have another character driving a car I'm unfamiliar with, I have to do a lot of research online. I admit, I've been tempted to go into a car dealership and ask to test drive some expensive, exotic car that I've included in the story, but so far, I haven't had the nerve.
ReplyDeleteI drove CRVs for 20 years (now have an HRV) so that also played into it for choosing it for Willa. I bet those car guys would love to play a role in your schmancy car research! (And you'd look badass in the photos too.)
DeleteMy MC drives a beat-up van with over 200,000 miles on it, battle-scarred from teens learning how to drive. It has no GPS, no backup camera, and feeble air-conditioning, but excellent turning radius. I drove that van for fifteen years. Vroom vroom!
ReplyDeleteOh wow!! See, now THAT says a lot about your MC. (And you! I'm impressed!) And there's plenty of opportunity for trouble.
DeleteJesse Damon is on parole for a murder conviction. He would love to buy a used pickup truck, brand unimportant. But not only can he not afford it since a good portion of his wages as a laborer at a steel fabrication plant need to go for parole expenses (maybe if he can work his way off the "box"--an ankle monitor--he can save that fee at least. It's expensive.) he owes a small fortune in fines for traffic violations committed by his 20-years-younger self, and he has a year's license suspension that doesn't start until he appears in traffic court and pays the fines. So he walks.
ReplyDeleteOne paragraph says so much! I feel the disappointment and resolve.
DeleteBoth Hayden and Sassy drive Subarus. Sassy’s is the Wilderness model. They’re perfect cars for Maine and the Florida Keys and able to hold lots of stuff. That’s especially important for Hayden – Scuba gear takes up lots of room!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting a good picture of them! When I lived in seacoast NH, Subarus were everywhere. I'd noticed they were usually driven by women doing something exciting (I'd see gear or bikes).
DeleteBecause I've always enjoyed changing cars like people change underwear, I have to remember to go for very basic and often stripped down cars for most of my characters ... but every now and then....
ReplyDeleteThat's when it gets fun!
DeleteI don’t know very much about cars. As a result, I don’t really care about the description of a car unless it is relevant which it frequently isn’t.
ReplyDeleteWhen there is too much detail of any type, it takes away from the story especially when it becomes repetitive such as multiple descriptions of the same character’s hair color using different analogies each time. This has also occurred when cars are involved.
I have read books where every time a character goes to their car the author writes about the color and type and model. One time may be helpful if it is a different form of transportation. When it is done more than that for the same vehicle I might lose interest because it doesn’t advance the plot and I wind up skipping over those sections
My thought is more about saying "She hopped into her CRV" instead of saying "She hopped into her car." Just that little specificness can help.
DeleteI'm not a car person, so I don't spend much time on my characters' cars. As for my own car, I finally got the AC fixed last week.
ReplyDeleteYAY! Much needed this time of year!
DeleteI don't like car shopping because once I'm comfortable driving one it's hard for me to get used to another one. Plus it's a hassle to get hand controls on it, which is how I drive. I have a pretty basic car that gets me to where I need to go. I don't drive long distances and I don't drive often, so small and basic is all I need. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought i was the only person who doesn't like to get a new car. I mean, I like having a reliable car, but I'm like you -- I like driving what I already know.
DeleteSeamus McCree's cars have changed over the course of the series. He started with a Ford Expedition -- that was destroyed. Now he has an older Subaru Outback (AWD and good wheel clearance for his woods roads) and an F-150 4x4 for when he needs to haul or tow something.
ReplyDeleteThose say so much about him!
DeleteOne of my protagonists drives a red Mini Cooper, her description: "my one possession worth more than a bento is the Mini Cooper my grandmother had given to me as a college graduation present." She is young but, except for a bit of family help, she is making it on her own.
ReplyDeleteMy character Coco Cline drives a British racing green Mini Cooper named "Jolly" in her mysteries because we bought one right after I started writing her story (and his name was Ollie -- I've named every car I've ever own for some weird reason). Now that we no longer have Ollie, writing about Coco and Jolly traveling all over Central Shores brings an odd, sentimental smile to my face.
ReplyDelete