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Romance Author Roundtable
2.
AOTW: Many of you write with recurring characters in your stories. How do you keep track of what your characters have done to ensure that your storyline stays true?
Gaelen Foley: This might sound nuts, but by the time I've finished a book, I've read and revised every dang sentence so many times that I pretty much have the whole thing memorized. Plus, the heroes and heroines from past books only occur as secondary characters in later books in the series, so their roles are fairly small and uncomplicated. It's really not too difficult keeping everyone straight.
Teresa Medeiros: The heroine in One Night of Scandal (August 2003) is the little sister of the heroine in A Kiss to Remember (May 2002). So basically instead of having to invent childhood memories for Lottie, I already knew exactly what her childhood was like and what influences had shaped her into the woman she'd become. The family from the first book plays an important role in the second book. I already knew their personalities and how each of them might react to Lottie's dilemma, but I did have to refresh myself on minor details like eye color. It was really a pleasure to write for them again --- like visiting old friends.
Mary Lynn Baxter: I've only written what I call a spin-off book so keeping true to the storyline was not all that difficult.
Jo Beverley: A lot of it is in my head, which it has to be. If I had to keep looking up a recent character's eye color or the name of their siblings it would show that they hadn't become real to me. I do spend a year or more in intimate connection with them so I know them as well as I know good friends. On the other hand, I can forget all kinds of details about my closest friends! Therefore, I keep ring binders containing just about anything relevant. Sometimes I forget to note something, or didn't think at the time that it was important, and then I have to search the book or computer file for it.
Dorothy Garlock: I keep notes on my characters and what books they are in.
Brenda Novak: Part of this is really knowing your characters, who they are and what they would or wouldn't do, how they would speak, interpret events, etc. For the technicalities, I just keep a list or an outline of some sort (and do a lot of rereading when I haven't been thorough enough with the details! LOL).
Shirlee Busbee: If I'm using characters from a book written several years ago, I have to go back and reread that particular book and make notes --- lots of notes. The contemporary books I'm writing now have reoccurring characters and the same setting so as I go along, I'm making index cards with physical characteristics noted, as well as, important dates and happenings and descriptions of houses, dogs, relationships etc.
Kerrelyn Sparks: With each book I write, I compile a character list that describes each character in the book. Walk-on characters may only have a line or two, but the major characters are very detailed. I include their goal and motivation, their outer conflict, their inner conflict and how it is resolved. I also describe their backstory with dates for each major event. Not all of this information may actually make it into a book, but I need to know it in order to understand the character. It also helps to keep the chronology of events in order. When a character reappears in a later book, I can go back to a prior character list to determine their age. Then I apply logic and imagination to flesh them out --- is he a grandfather now? And of course, since I write romance, he's still happily married!
Carly Phillips: I love this question! My first chance to tackle recurring characters was in the "Simply" books for Harlequin (Simply Sinful, Simply Scandalous, Simply Sensual and most recently, Simply Sexy). In that case, the cross-over was a bit more limited and so I just kept the other book or manuscript in front of me as I wrote. However, when it came to the Chandler men and my small town of Yorkshire Falls in my new Warner series (The Bachelor, The Playboy, The Heartbreaker), once I started the second book in the series, I realized I had a challenge on my hands. One Sunday morning, with no idea I'd be doing this, I took my daughter's cork board out of her room and began to create a story board. This was the first time I'd done such a thing. Hours later, I had an elaborate layout --- including a family tree --- years of birth down to the parents, hair color, eye color, ages of the heroes now, and when their father passed away, etc. Same with their heroines and their families. Then I tackled the town, the main street, the shops, the secondary characters, etc. I found that I referred back to this chart over and over again throughout writing books two and three, as well as proofing book one! And now that I'm starting a new series for Warner, my first hardcover series, once I finish the first three chapters of the first story and have my characters and family down on paper and in my head, I intend to create the story board again. Starting from book one this time! Live and learn.
Rachel Gibson: I don't write recurring characters.
Barbara Samuel: I keep extensive notes and file cards. Mostly, I've written a series of books very close together, so I was in the "flow" of the books and didn't need to look up notes very often.
Leslie Carroll: To date, with two published novels, there is only one character who has appeared in both books (in a strong secondary role). So there wasn't too much to keep track of, although the consistency of his character, rather than his actions, was important to maintain. I have a concept for a series and I imagine I'll probably keep a sort of timeline in my notes to make sure that I don't have a character act inconsistently (unless it's deliberate), or suddenly be described as a svelte blonde, for example, without benefit of Clairol, when she's been a chubby brunette in the past two books.
Christina Skye: Keeping all the timelines straight can be a challenge. Then again, dragging characters back for a repeat visit is one of the great pleasures of being a writer. And let's face it, after writing a book for months at a time, it can be painful to say good-bye to people who have become old and dear friends. So I simply don't say good-bye. I bring them back as secondary characters. Since they pop in on occasion to keep me posted on their progress, I always have a rough guideline to use in later books.
Candace Camp: I have more than once had to go back to the other books and check a fact or a name or even the coloring a character had, particularly when there is some time between the books, as with my A Little Town in Texas series. It's not as difficult with my historical trilogies, which I usually write one right after the other. I usually remember what my main characters have done and said and what happened to them, but I lose track of the minor characters, including what their names are --- I've been known to do that while I'm writing just one book. I remember one Silhouette I wrote where by the end of the book I'd called this one very minor character three different names because I could never remember what I'd named him before! Fortunately, I catch that kind of error when I do my rewrite --- and if not, there's always my editor, thank Heavens.
Julia Quinn: I have a computer file where I keep track of age and eye color and the like. And I find I have to go back and check on details quite frequently. For example, I'm working on an outline for a book right now, and I realized that I mentioned in a previous book that the heroine of my new book went to Scotland in April. Which means I've got to put her in a carriage and send her north in the new book. Which is a pain, because I think I'd rather leave her in London. But I can't because some of my readers would notice. I've made mistakes like that before --- aging a character too quickly or forgetting that he's a "Sir" and not a "Mister" and believe me, readers will let you know when you've messed up!
Judith McNaught: I reread whatever prior book(s) the characters appeared in before.
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