Character development

I started chapter five, which is coming along nicely. So nicely, in fact, I took time off last night to fine tune my website. I spent a good chunk of my evening working on a form mail set-up. In the end, though, it didn’t work. I discarded the idea of a form e-mail for the time being.

I went back to chapter five. It’s a Soren chapter and those are always fun. I have to be honest: Soren is more difficult to write for than Mason. I have an easier time relating to Mason. I share his anal side. While I am nowhere near as compulsive as he is, I am a planner and an organizer. I think things through. I weigh my option. I have back-up plans and alternate routes. I usually come prepared. Oh, and I am punctual.

Soren is none of these things. I have notes tacked up on the board next to my work station, reminding me what NOT to do with Soren. He’s not a driven, goal-oriented, self-determined person. He is far more laid back and happy-go-lucky. He’s very much a product of his upbringing, which is to say, he’s used to others being in charge of his life and making decisions for him.

This is his first time on his own. And, as you know, he’s not really on his own. He’s learning curve might not be as steep with Mason by his side, but he is learning and setting his own course.

That said, chapter five challenges the choices Soren has made thus far. How will he handle this test? His knee-jerk reaction is to back down – the challenge is issued by his father whom he hasn’t seen since THE PROTECTOR. But his gut tells him to steer his course. Once his decision is made, he’ll have to defend it in a follow-up chapter, face-to-face with the man who’d controlled most of his life.