As a writer of dark fiction, I often get caught up in an...

As a writer of dark fiction, I often get caught up in an outrageous plot idea for a new book, rarely giving even the briefest of thoughts to the characters I would need to create to pull the story off. Not that creating memorable or effective characters is something I consider one of my strengths, but I seem to have developed a knack for it, and surprisingly, with both genders. I don’t tend to spend much prep time on characters before starting a novel. I tend to just make up folks as I go. Now, every once in a while I have a character mapped out prior to starting, and often it’s a minor one, such as The Recluse, a character I’m excited about in my current project SIETE. I’m not sure when or why the idea struck me for this character, but I know he’ll bring something special to the book no matter the relatively small part he’ll have to play. And the funny thing is I know much more about The Recluse than I do most of my main characters for this barroom brawl between good and evil. 

So, I’m not going to think too hard about something that seems to come easy to me. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? But it only seemed fair to take a moment and identify that a wagon with great wheels without good horses to pull it doesn’t get very far, does it?

Then again, no need for great characters without a killer story to drop them into so they can play.

Just sayin’.