I have been asked several times recently about the characters that I have written in the book. I have had some very lovely comments about how real they feel, and how most people have been able to identify with them. The obvious question is also asked many times. “Are they real living people that they have all been based on?”

I find it quite a difficult question to answer, a straight forward “No” does not really answer the question truthfully, but no one character is based on any one person. So in a bid to explain my method here I am writing a new instalment of the Blog.

I cannot speak for other writers, as the few that I know work in ways I do not understand, I can only give my own view on the subject as my own method does not appear to make a lot of sense to other writers either. In the first instance I knew the basic outline of the story so I had a list of important ingredients that would be essential to the story. I listed the ages and sex and obvious moods and characteristics, I knew their working environments so then I had an idea of dress. In many cases I felt the level of education of each character, and also the subjects they may have encountered would be important. This story was to be set in the future after the end of what we call the modern world. It made sense that apart from a quick brushing over, much of modern life today would be forgotten or not taught, after all the way of life of the characters in most cases within the confines of Book One, would be in a survival from the land situation. From my own point of view, it would be pointless teaching in any detail the fundamentals of Cars,planes and so forth. In that kind of environment it would be a quick lesson of, that’s a horse and that’s a cart, you can ride the horse, but if you want to move stuff, hitch the cart on, lesson over.

With each parameter defined I then applied what I call the subtle detail, and its here that some of my fellow writers thought I was mad to create so much extra work. I formatted a basic sheet on the computer that I could print off with relevant personal details. I listed date of birth, name, height, build, eye and hair colour, and hair length, I then added a few extras like style of clothing and accents, I put on the jewellery and maybe the weapons they would carry, and added other random stuff and a small biography of their attitudes and like and dislikes. I suppose it became similar to how I would write a composite of someone I already know quite well.

It was a long task, but the end result was a neatly typed sheet, slid into the obligatory plastic sleeve and filed in the family groups to sit neatly on the desk at the side of my PC. Once again maybe I am a little bit of a perfectionist, I have no idea, I just know it worked for me. It was actually the best bit of kit I could use, as once I began I could refer to it and have a consistent guide at all times. The best example of how it worked, I think would be if, Robbie and Rune were walking with lets say Maggs. (For those of you who have no idea who these people are, Shame on you, read the book.) I knew instantly that Robbie was the tallest and would look right down at Maggs the shortest by some considerable inches, yet his eyes would just move down to talk to Rune who was over his shoulder height but not as tall as him. complex I know but it works for me and allowed the descriptive writing to feel more real, well it did to me.

Once the writing began I had a perfect image guide so at least the writing was consistent, something I felt was important. I had an idea of the characters as people, and from that I could guess what in the real world, such and such a friend of mine may have done in that situation, and so I began to throw together a mix of people I had known, people I still knew, and also being the author, and without realising, large chunks of who I am as a person blended together into each of my main characters. It felt very organic and as the writing progressed the characters for me took on a life of their own and began to evolve into those we all meet in the first book.

I now have reached a point where the individual characters have taken on a life of their own, and as strange as it might sound, (Please don’t call the doctor yet) I can imagine each character as a person and see them in my mind as I write. Its like my subconscious has drawn the pictures for me as more and more detail has been added, so when I look at the screen and wander off into whatever hypnotic state I go to as I concentrate, there in my mind are the pictures running almost like film and playing me the scenario of the book. I have got it so down to a tee, that I can now just write what I see.

I bet you wish you had never asked now. Hey look on the bright side I am never lonely, I have a book full of characters all talking at once. (Gives giggle) I think the important thing about this, is it is an aid that has helped me, and I think it has worked because when I do talk to those who have read the book, it is one of the first things they have mentioned, apart from Harry of course, and that is still a stranger thing still.

Harry for those of you have not read the book yet can only be described as Harryish. He is a character I added to create a little humor and to break the tension at times so that I could then strike without warning and surprise the reader who had let down their guard as they giggled or smiled at Harry. He was never meant to survive book one, but very quickly I realised as I let a few people read the first drafts, that Harry had become an element of focus for most of those reading. I have to confess, that even I am amazed at how well loved he has become, I honestly never saw it coming. I will not spoil it for those who have yet to meet good old Uncle Harry, but it is a surprising reaction for even myself to comprehend, and in a way I am delighted that the efforts I put in in the early days have created a very recognisable character.

Today I continue to write the series and my characters have increased and they are all still growing as real people would, I can only hope that you will all feel so involved with them, that you would wish to follow their development and walk besides them for a while longer. I will leave you all to ponder my sanity, and think about my methods with a very simple but for myself a wonderful compliment written by my youngest brother in a revue he put on my Facebook page without my knowledge. I will add I seldom see him, which made this a greater compliment, he wrote. “You didn’t read what was happening, you lived what was happening.”

I think he used better words than I to describe it, so I thank him for the very wonderful compliment, all writers want what is read to feel very much alive, for him it did and that is enough for me.