Skip to main content

James from Bella and Gerard

     I don't have a picture for this character yet.  Maybe it is because he is such an important character.  I probably won't ever give you pictures of my main characters unless I sketch them myself. 
     Main characters take on a form of their own in the imagination of the reader.  Rarely, as a reader, do I pay any attention to the photos or sketches of the main characters.  The pictures just don't look quite right.  I know what the character really looks like.  Apparently, as a writer, I have the same narrow view.
     All of this was simply to apologize for the lack of a photo.  And perhaps I can make up for that lack with a description.
     James is a young man in his early 20s.  He is tall and slender, with long limbs.  He has brown hair.  He's got a bit of an Irish accent.
     He is probably Gerard's best friend.  They have teamed up on some adventures and jobs in the past, before Bella came into the picture, and apparently Gerard used to room with him.  He is a steady and dependable fellow.  He's very quick to see through people - both the good and the bad.  And while he does not rush headlong into things, he pursues the things that are important to him.  He knows how to get things done.
     Here are some quotes from James:


     “So you’re the one who stole me bed,” he said with an accent unlike any Bella had heard before.

     “Are you still working at the factory?” Gerard asked, around a mouthful of bread.
    “I am, and I’m at school at nights,” James answered.  “I’m going to be an engineer, Gerry.”

     “Actually, I will probably take Bella uptown to one of the bigger churches,” Gerard suddenly decided.  “She’s never seen the architecture of a cathedral.”
     “God is still God…no matter where you are,” James answered.


     James laughed.  Then he leaped up suddenly and grabbed his shirt from the back of the couch.  “I’ve got to go, Gerry, or I’ll be late.  See you tonight!”  He paused long enough to wink at Bella.  “Take care, little miss,” he called cheerily as he hastened out the door.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goodbye and God Be With You

It's rather fitting that some things come to a close on this day -- the last day of the year. I submitted my last entry into the Rooglewood contest this morning.  I can hardly believe it took me until the day of the deadline to send it in because I'm usually earlier than that.  And, even with the extra time I took, I still felt a little bit like maybe I could have done better if I had more time. But there was no feeling of regret when I hit "send."  Mostly it was just a prayer that Rooglewood would hear the heart of the message when they read it and that maybe, if I win, they could help me bring the full potential out of my little story.  And there was also a feeling, after working on these stories for more than six months, that it felt good to close that chapter and move on to the next one. I did it.  I wrote them.  And I'm really proud of them. Last year, the act of hitting "send" on my contest entry catapulted me into an anticipatory state....
18 comments
Read more

The Countdown: Eight Days

Eight days.  Do you know what that means?  Barely over a week.  Tomorrow will be one week from the announcement date. Are you excited? I am. So, today, I want to talk to those who wrote something for the contest, whether or not you entered it in the end. What made you start writing your story?  What was the first inkling of an idea that tickled your brain?  What was it that you liked about your premise?  As you wrote, did you have a favorite character or a favorite scene?  And are you glad you wrote it down?  Do you feel like you learned and grew in your ability as a writer as you tried out things for this contest? And, if your story isn't included in this year's Rooglewood anthology (either because you didn't submit it or because it didn't fit with the other four stories selected), what will you do with it?  Will you market it elsewhere?  Or will you lock it away in a drawer?
20 comments
Read more

Wherein I Still Have My Nose and Ears

     I decided to take the plunge.  I was going to chop a plot thread out of AAM so the story would fit in the contest word length restrictions.  I saved my old version and set up a copy for me to modify.      Stories are like woven cloth.  Each plot thread is woven into the entire story.  So if I decide to cut a character or a side-theme, I have to go through the whole book, chopping out the references to it.  This leaves gaping holes and sometimes it looks like the whole story is going to unravel.  Everywhere I chop, I have to readjust the whole scene to keep the flow.  It's a rather ticklish procedure.      Over the dinner table, I mentioned that I was chopping a sub-plot.  My younger sister protested loudly (she hasn't read it, but I previously told her the general idea).  Then my mom (who also hasn't read it) offered to read it and tell me what she thought could and couldn't be chopped. ...
7 comments
Read more