How I Start a Book

A question I am often asked is how I come up with characters for my books. Until I started being asked, I hadn’t actually sat down and thought about the question. The answer is that I look for certain attributes I need in a character and develop from there. Main characters come first. I have talked to different writers and they all do things differently. In my case I decided to start with the Protagonist. It was my intent to write a series loaded with action. If I was going to do that I needed a strong lead character to fit that mold. In creating Linvin (my protagonist) I made him a general who worked his way up the ranks at a young age. I made him strong and charismatic. He is the kind of person who can inspire people to achieve beyond what they thought they could simply because he told them it was possible. Linvin is intelligent and always fights battles where the odds are against his success. Thus, he must use his intellect to solve problems and even the odds. He’s the boxer who gets knocked to the mat but always gets back up to fight on. In short, Linvin is a hero in every sense of the word. The problem with creating such a man is to avoid what I like to call “The Superman Effect”. Simply put, it is the creation of a character that is flawless and cannot lose. The very fact that he CAN lose is what makes the action so intense. Where’s the drama with a hero who never loses and cannot possibly be defeated? Perhaps that has an audience but it never appealed to me. I like strong characters that CAN be beaten…though not easily. Linvin has flaws. He is still young and headstrong. When he forgets his teachings or lets his emotions rule his actions he makes unwise decisions. Most importantly, he lets people get under his skin and then he loses his edge. It almost always leads to ruin. That is a character I think readers can root for and associate with on some level. Once you have a solid Protagonist created, you need the conflict in the story. You need an Antagonist. For my first book I decided to do something a little on the different side. Instead of having one well known antagonist, I chose to have several of varying degrees of agitation. To have a good Antagonist you need someone who perfectly exploits the Protagonist’s weaknesses. They must exploit their advantage and cause great distress and even suffering. I have antagonists in Linvin’s cousins (Bander and Rander…mostly Rander). They are a constant source of irritation and routinely press Linvin to his limits of tolerance. Then there are the Numbers Assassins trailing him. They are hardly mentioned and yet are always top of mind. Finally there is what I call the “Invisible Antagonist” This is an enemy set against Linvin from the start, but not identified. The reader is kept guessing about their name throughout the book but it is clear the person is powerful and set squarely against Linvin. The second book, due out in the next couple of months will finally unmask this villain and bring the conflict full circle. And that is my method for starting a story. If you write, find one that works for you.