Reflective Interactions

As a writer, I believe in conversation. In fact, it was the driving force in my #StoneVengeanceSeries of books: Jeremiah, Limbus, Azazel, Hades, Beginnings, and The Ferryman. I used it as a tool to convey a character's personality, their logic, and their feelings. Then came Burden of Immortality. In that book, I switched to the other extreme by going into the main characters thought process, but it was different in another way also. Burden of Immortality was written in first person and that changes things, more than I initially thought. After that came A Romance Novel. In A Romance Novel, which is about an author writing a romance novel, I let his written words provide an in depth look at who he is. Again, this style presented a different scope into viewing the main character. Since I've written people in three different manors, I see the value of each.

But now I'm editing my #ShadowGodsSeries; my pride and joy. Though I starting writing these books 30+ years ago, I truly enjoy how I've written each of the characters. They are unique, focused in different ways, and have personalities all their own. Furthermore, I explore more than just one main character since I have multiple story lines going on at the same time. However, even with this head-hopping, I focus on specific characters, their words, their thoughts, and their feelings. In a way, as I read and edit the books, I see myself as every character within the room and wish I could describe each of their views within the story. Alas, I had to settle on just a few and those few change from book to book.

Now that I've moved from the first book of the series, Mage of Chaos, to the second, Priest of Chaos, I'm beginning to really enjoy the mix of styles. I don't just use conversation or writing or internalization as a way of describing the characters, but all three. In a way, it presents a fuller picture of who the characters truly are. And it shows as I move from chapter to chapter. This is not to say I'm going back and re-writing my previous novels, but rather that my initial foray into writing a book so long ago was actually my best work. I felt it was (because I really love the series as a whole), but now I'm confirming it. However, without writing all those other books, I never would've realized this.

I guess reflection is good.