Perhaps Stephen King can write an interesting story where the main character is a hunk of metal (Christine, From a Buick 8). Still, I knew my novel Stolen Brilliance — A Lady Black Mystery (pre-sale in April) needed more than the stolen steamship Ferret. Readers want characters to care about; they want their stories, feelings, and adventures.

First, a little housekeeping and sharing of intentions. I changed the name of this series from Between the Lines-A Writers Odyssey after doing the research that authors should do earlier and finding how many Between the Lines writing series there are out there. I changed it to just Writers Odyssey. There are many Writers Odysseys as well, but I have one of my own to write about, and I wanted to keep some connection to the title I’d started with. An odyssey is a journey, a trek fraught with obstacles to overcome and pleasures to enjoy. (Think Iliad or Lord of the Rings.)

Without my Odyssey theme, my photo series of paths we’ve walked on our long-distance walking vacation treks would be wasted. This blog is a means to share them. My intention with this blog is to interest enough people in this first book in this series to be early readers and reviewers of the book before and after publication. Let me know if you are interested, please.

In my mind, I equate the writing process to our long-distance hikes. After you have a starting point, you progress step by step on your quest for the end destination. But if you pause or take too many diversions along the way, you may not get there. It’s important to take some steps forward every day.

In Stolen Brilliance, I had the starting point of one crime (see Chapter 1). I began with months of research into everything I could find in Scotland and Australia, the final destination- and all the points in between related to the theft and adventures of Ferret. I wrote a little during this time but mostly gathered information. I knew I needed characters. I had some real people characters that I decided to keep, many that I didn’t but I’ll expose them as we go, but I needed my protagonist. I started by creating Edie Black, a young child of the oppressive slums of London in the nineteenth century.

A writer’s obligation to readers is to present a character they care for and are interested in; readers care what happens to that character and how that character overcomes obstacles and accomplishes their objectives. They care about their thoughts, feelings, dangers, successes, and failures. They become part of the family for a short period of reading. How dare anyone get in their protagonist’s way.

The second main character had to be the character that would be Edie’s savior, someone who provided the means of escape from the abusive life Edie lived as a ten-year-old. It happens quickly in chapter one but encompasses an abusive relationship with her stepfather, who killed her mother, with Edie as a witness. Benji Diamond appears to rescue Edie, and our epic story begins in earnest.

For the record, I chose Benji’s name before the rest of the plot developed. You will understand in a future chapter.

I now had two characters I could develop personalities around, descriptions, and histories. Most importantly, I can begin to develop the relationship between the two and the sequence of events that will become stories and a series of stories that become the plot.

I had no idea where the stories would lead the writing at this point.

Thanks for reading.

Please be in touch.

Mike