By Donnell Ann Bell
Author Donnell Ann Bell
One of the hardest things for me to do as a writer is to create characters. Some authors have told me, “Oh, my character came to me fully formed.” Others say, “Oh, I do character interviews to find out what makes him/her/them tick.”
Me? I ask my characters, “Who are you?” and most rudely shout back, “You’re the author, you figure it out.”
Not helpful. Makes me want to stuff them in a drawer until they can play nice.
Still, I can have an amazing plot, but if the characters don’t come alive, then my book is nothing more than words strewn on a page. No matter what genre you read, books are all about emotion, and characters bring emotion to life.
What’s more, without strong, relatable characters, readers might give a book a try, but they will just as quickly put the book down.
So, because I need characters in a book, and because my characters are stubborn and won’t talk to me, I cheat.
Yes, you heard it here first.
If my protagonist is in law enforcement, I interview members of law enforcement. If my protagonist is an FBI agent, I interview FBI agents. If my killer is an insane whack job…I interview mental health professionals and read books. (I fully admit I don’t interview whack jobs). By using these techniques, I find my muse comes to life and the characters cooperate.
In Black Pearl, my November 2019 release, I came across a new problem. I wrote my first female police officer. One would think, oh, that’s easy, you’re a woman. Au contraire, this character really dug in her heels. She had the nerve to call me, her creator, a fraud.
What did I do about it? I went to some fellow authors who in their past careers were law enforcement: Kathy Bennett, Phyllis Middleton, and Robin Burcell. I interviewed them and asked them about their experiences. These women were beyond helpful.
I took those results to my female police officer character. But instead of saying, “Great job,” she said, “You’re getting warmer. You need to know more. You need to get inside my head.”
Because she’s not real and I couldn’t shoot her, I did a lot of groaning and pacing. Then another idea came to me. I’m a graduate of citizens academies for my local police and sheriff’s office, so I marched into the Gold Camp Police Station one morning and asked the woman behind the glass partition if I could do a ride-along.
“Of course,” she replied and pulled out her clipboard. “Fill this out.”
I hesitated. “Thank you. I will. However, is there any chance I could do a ride-along with a female police officer? And is there any chance she could be a field training officer?”
The woman blinked. “Will there be anything else?”
I thought about it. “No that about covers it.”
As events turned out, there was a female field training officer in the Gold Camp Police Station at that very moment. The receptionist paged her; she came out to the front desk, introduced herself, said she was too busy to accommodate me just then, but two weeks later we did a ride-along on a twelve-hour shift.
She was amazing. Professional, smart, everything that Kathy, Phyllis and Robin exuded in spades. I saw how she conducted herself with the public and listened to her comments in private. Further, she helped me brainstorm my character, and one remark she made hit me with such force, I took her at her word. “Please don’t make her a slut. We don’t get where we are by not being professional and smart.”
I went home after that shift and did my character outline and that’s when my character told me her name. “My name is Allison Shannon,” she said. “I come with plenty of baggage, but I’ve risen above it.”
I’ll close by saying, I’m intensely proud of Allison and she’s one of the best characters I’ve ever created. But as you can see, I didn’t create her alone. She’s a mix of some very remarkable women I admire. She’s working in a man’s world. She’s tough, she’s formidable, but vulnerable at the same time, and she’s waiting to tell you her story.
Thanks for stopping by!
About the Book:
A cold case heats up when a 9-1-1 call puts police at a Denver murder scene, pointing investigators to the abduction of a Colorado teenager fourteen years earlier.
A calling card—a single black pearl—is found on the newest victim. Is the murder a copycat? Or has a twisted serial killer, thought dead or in prison, returned to strike again?
Soon, the hunt for a multi-state killer is on and brings together an unexpected team: a Denver Major Crimes police lieutenant; an FBI special agent who investigated the previous murders; a rookie FBI agent with a specialty in psychology; and the only living victim of the Black Pearl Killer, who is now a cop.
For Special Agent Brian DiPietro, the case is an opportunity to find answers. For Officer Allison Shannon, the case will force her to face down the town that blamed her for surviving when another did not. And for both DiPietro and Shannon, it’s a chance for both to find closure to questions that have tormented them for years.
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About the Author:
Donnell Ann bell is a traditionally published author with Bell Bridge Books. She has written four Amazon single-title bestsellers, with book one of a series Black Pearl, a Cold Case Suspense and book two Until Dead: A Cold Case Suspense now available. Currently, she is working on book three of her Cold Case series with another single title in the works.
I like Black Pearl and Allison Shannon so much! Thanks for all your hard work to bring her to life.
Thank you, Ann! Some people can create characters at the drop of a hat. I’m not one of them 🙂
I read Black Pearl, Donnell. You nailed it.
Mike, that means so much coming from someone with your distinguished LEO career. Thank you.
Love your post and your dedication to developing an interesting character. I’ve done the citizens’ police academy too, and found it very helpful. Unlike you, my characters usually just show up and start talking–and they won’t shut up–all but one reluctant guy who took a lot of effort to coax out. Isn’t being a mystery writer fun?
Skye thank you for stopping by! So much fun 🙂 I am so jealous. My characters roll their eyes at me. You know these FBI/LEO types, some will not give away their secrets easily–even if they’re made up!!!