I'm sure our 5th Character in the Spotlight does not need any introductions. I just couldn't believe it when one of my favourite authors, the GREAT, brilliant Angela Marsons, sent me a write-up about her 'struggles' with her feisty, hot-tempered, world-famous creation D.I. Kim Stone. With huge thanks to Angela Marsons for her fabulous, interesting contribution. Enjoy!!
D.I. Kim Stone - created by Angela Marsons
 |  |
My Favourite Character
The character of Kim Stone had been bubbling in my head for many years before I let her take control of my pencil. Even to my own ears she sounded rude and brusque and not someone that any reader would like or enjoy reading about.
After many years of trying to invent characters I thought agents, editors and publishers would like I decided it was time to give her a voice.
I learned many things while writing Silent Scream but one thing that did surprise me is the fact that characters that you’ve created don’t always behave in the way you had planned.
As I began writing Silent Scream I thought I knew my characters completely. After all, I had invented them, they had formed and developed in my head and they would do exactly what I wanted them to do. Or so I thought.
It became clear to me early into the process that the character of Kim Stone had other ideas. Chapters that had loosely formed in my head changed once I began to write them because the character had decided otherwise.
There is a scene in Silent Scream where my main character is peering at a derelict building through a rickety fence. As I wrote the scene I only wanted for her to observe what she saw beyond the barrier.
As I recorded her observations I could tell that something didn’t feel right. I could feel her impatience, her curiosity, her determination and I couldn’t understand why. Suddenly it hit me and I sat back in my chair shaking my head.
‘Oh no, she wants to climb over the fence,’ I remember saying aloud. And instantly I knew that’s what her character would do in that situation.
Once I accepted that she had dictated the direction of the chapter the pencil flew across the page as I gave her the freedom to be herself.
I had always intended that at the start of Kim Stone’s journey she would have only one friend who also happened to be her trusty work partner, DS Bryant. However, I didn’t expect the banter that would emerge whenever I began writing scenes between the two of them and the dry sense of humour that she possesses.
Even now my main character continues to surprise me. She appears to view my loose plan in an advisory capacity only.
This may sound as though I am completely barking mad and I completely accept that. The logical part of my mind knows that my characters are fictional and that the stories are coming from me however every time I pick up a pencil to begin a new Kim Stone journey a small voice inside me says ‘let’s go and see what she’s been up to now’. It is as though I am turning up unannounced as she begins work on another case and she allows me to tag along for the ride.
When I’m not writing a Kim book I have a vision of her standing on a hill with her hands on her hips, glowering at me with an expression of ‘well, what do you want me to do now?’
The beauty, for me, of creating unpredictable characters is that there is still that element of surprise during the journey.
And as each new Kim Stone story begins, even I never know where it’s going to lead.
The character of Kim Stone had been bubbling in my head for many years before I let her take control of my pencil. Even to my own ears she sounded rude and brusque and not someone that any reader would like or enjoy reading about.
After many years of trying to invent characters I thought agents, editors and publishers would like I decided it was time to give her a voice.
I learned many things while writing Silent Scream but one thing that did surprise me is the fact that characters that you’ve created don’t always behave in the way you had planned.
As I began writing Silent Scream I thought I knew my characters completely. After all, I had invented them, they had formed and developed in my head and they would do exactly what I wanted them to do. Or so I thought.
It became clear to me early into the process that the character of Kim Stone had other ideas. Chapters that had loosely formed in my head changed once I began to write them because the character had decided otherwise.
There is a scene in Silent Scream where my main character is peering at a derelict building through a rickety fence. As I wrote the scene I only wanted for her to observe what she saw beyond the barrier.
As I recorded her observations I could tell that something didn’t feel right. I could feel her impatience, her curiosity, her determination and I couldn’t understand why. Suddenly it hit me and I sat back in my chair shaking my head.
‘Oh no, she wants to climb over the fence,’ I remember saying aloud. And instantly I knew that’s what her character would do in that situation.
Once I accepted that she had dictated the direction of the chapter the pencil flew across the page as I gave her the freedom to be herself.
I had always intended that at the start of Kim Stone’s journey she would have only one friend who also happened to be her trusty work partner, DS Bryant. However, I didn’t expect the banter that would emerge whenever I began writing scenes between the two of them and the dry sense of humour that she possesses.
Even now my main character continues to surprise me. She appears to view my loose plan in an advisory capacity only.
This may sound as though I am completely barking mad and I completely accept that. The logical part of my mind knows that my characters are fictional and that the stories are coming from me however every time I pick up a pencil to begin a new Kim Stone journey a small voice inside me says ‘let’s go and see what she’s been up to now’. It is as though I am turning up unannounced as she begins work on another case and she allows me to tag along for the ride.
When I’m not writing a Kim book I have a vision of her standing on a hill with her hands on her hips, glowering at me with an expression of ‘well, what do you want me to do now?’
The beauty, for me, of creating unpredictable characters is that there is still that element of surprise during the journey.
And as each new Kim Stone story begins, even I never know where it’s going to lead.
RSS Feed
