How my characters came to be -- Part 2

I'm at home this morning and this afternoon -- heck, I'm home all day. ; ) I have six vacation days left for this year, and I'm scattering them out on Fridays to give myself 3-day weekends to write. I finished Chapter 7 of Bewitched & Betrayed yesterday, and am getting started on Chapter 8 today. I've been averaging 4 days per chapter. It'd be nice if I could keep up that pace.

In addition to writing, I'll be straightening up my office a little, because it's still a mess from when I went through my book notes storage boxes to find out where my characters came from: what they started out as, and how they evolved into who they are today. Fortunately I put the dates on a lot of my notes, so some of my characters have actual "birthdays."

First, some more character birthdays, and then I'll tell you some things I found about how Magic Lost, Trouble Found (MLTF), Raine, and Tam originated.

Carnades was born on August 27, 2001.

Eamaliel (Raine's dad) was born on May 8, 2001.

Phaelan started out as a commander in elven special ops. Huh??? How he got from there to pirate, I dunno.

Mychael started out as being second in command of the Guardians. Again, I dunno how the main guy lost the job.

Sarad Nukpana was born on November 6, 2001. BTW -- In the original manuscripts, Sarad was known as "GSSv," a placeholder that meant "Goblin Secret Society villain" because at that time, I hadn't come up with the names "Sarad Nukpana" or "Khrynsani." Any names that don't come to me in a first draft, I'll either leave a blank for, or come up with a placeholder name. Once a manuscript gets more finalized, then I'll have a couple of hours where I sit down with my character naming books and a notepad and put together a name that fits.

Piaras started out as an adult. From my notes: "An elven healer/sorcerer who owns an apothecary. Very popular place with mages. Sells quality products for fair prices. Some of what he stocks is very rare, exotic and difficult to get, so he has a widespread network of contacts that he deals with on a regular basis. Can be a good source of information to those whom he trusts."

Ocnus started out as a human: "Ocnus is a former Conclave sorcerer who (is defrocked?) and ends up in Mermeia. There he is essentially an information toady for Carnades."

Raine started out as "Miranda." Again, don't ask me why, I have no clue. ; ) She got the name "Raine" her job as a seeker on June 26, 2001. Tam Nathrach was born on November 6, 2001. Oooo, Tam has a birthday coming up in a few days. Yikes, Tam and Sarad Nukpana have the same birthday.

About the development of the MLTF -- on June 26, 2001, I wrote: "When you're writing, have a frame of mind that you're writing a modern thriller/adventure rather than a period fantasy piece. It will make it more real for you and the reader." Yep, it worked.

On the same day, I wrote that I had to give Raine a history worth having. She started out as kind of a female 007. She'd blown up a goblin weapons depot, saved several high-ranking elves from assassination, and rescued an elven general after goblin capture. I brought her down a notch or two from that to make a character readers could more easily identify with, and gave her some flaws.

Okay, all of you Team Tam members out there, I've found Tam's pedigree. There's more to it than what I have here, but chances are if it happened in my head while I was writing, the birth of the idea never made it to paper.

Orginally I had an elven nightclub owner named Vareck. Then I had a character named Tamnais Nathrach. How they merged, I have no idea. I think that was one of those things that happened inside my head rather than on paper.

Here's my original description of Tam: "Tamnais Nathrach. Goblin and Rheskilian. He's serious natured. Perhaps his family were nobles and landowners, but the king ordered them all executed. Tamnais was smuggled to the Guardians by a "faithful family servant." The family held a dukedom and were a threat to the throne. The goblin king wants him dead because he's in direct line for the goblin throne. Allude to the fact that this is the guy who will end up ruling Rheskilia if the king is overthrown. Have him be on the Isle of Mid with Mychael."

In the second draft of what would become MLTF, Vareck was out and Tam was in as proprietor of Sirens. Raine thinks the following in Chapter 7: "His first position after graduating from his Conclave education was as (junior) shaman to the House of Mal'Salin. It was a prestigious appointment for a goblin so young. The late queen took a liking to the young shaman and Tam quickly rose through the ranks. Five years ago, he abruptly asked to be dismissed from duty. He had never told me why, and I never asked. The queen's affection for him was probably the only thing that kept him alive afterwards." I had some handwritten notes next to this paragraph to make sure and include that "Tam was very fond of and protective of Raine." Of course, fondness later turned to lust, but there's no paper record of that. All that fun & play happened in my head.

So Tam has come a long way from his "birth" to the sizzling hot goblin we all know and love today. BTW -- There's a serious sizzle scene in The Trouble with Demons between Raine and Tam. In the copyedited manuscript, at the end of this scene, my editor wrote in the margin "I LOVE TAM!" But members of Team Mychael, don't despair. In TTWD, let's just say that Mychael more than keeps up his end of the sizzle factor. ; )

Pop back by tomorrow for the Saturday Fun Pic. I'll show you some of the stuff I found in my storage boxes.

Happy Friday!
Lisa