General Comments
The characters exhibit a humanness complete with the fragilities and complexities we all share and bring to the table of life. We love. We hurt and suffer. We fail—ourselves and others. With some perseverance and a few breaks, we dig out of holes and valleys and succeed. Sometimes, that might mean someone extends a helping hand to us. Or, our own brokenness and failures in life shapes us in unexpected directions. Sometimes, confusing, unjust, and even heart-breaking forces can come against any of us: “Why do good and innocent people suffer, and why do some individuals seem to have such a difficult pathway in life?” The characters are unique, just as we all are.
A List of Characters appears after the General Comments section
A wide range of emotion is in play within the work: fragile to fury, embittered to embracing, shy to showy. Some characters are the life of the party while others need more personal space and quietude. Characters are sometimes pensive and careful. At other times, they are impulsive. I do not restrict their feelings, thoughts, or speech. We know and experience a wide range of emotions within our own hearts: buried, known, or punctuated with a question mark. Humanity, therefore, is in the characters. I use traits of everyday people, coupled with imagination, to form characters with their personal journey and life pathway.
As the characters form a team, they learn what it means to work together, engage in social settings, and pursue shared goals and hopes. They each bring strengths to the team. Some bring more baggage, weakness, and brokenness than others. In hockey or football, it is the team that wins—not just one person. In warfare or military engagement, we need teams.
Even tough soldiers experience very real losses, and that might mean tears shed or the voids of loneliness when called to duty and service. The “tough guy or macho” exterior can have other dynamics “under the hood.”
Individuals deemed “less than” can still contribute to the team. The work may challenge our presuppositions in this area: some of our strengths can be our Achille’s heel. Those looked down upon often have much to contribute, and sometimes more so than the shining stars in the limelight of society or even the circles of people we know.
Noble purposes can imply struggle and hurdles for the characters. When the “deck is stacked,” and voluntary participation is part of the equation, involvement tests the mettle of individual characters. If participation means suffering or death, the stakes are higher.
Characters are diverse. Diversity exists within a society, a village or city, your high school classmates, or within friends and acquaintances. We discover diversity of personality at work, in our family, or in social settings. The characters are not clones of one another. Characters exist independent of a genre’s expectations and presumptions.
Characters are intrinsically equal, regardless of skin color, creed, gender identity, social standing, perceived mental or emotional intelligence and social skills, family lineage, or education. Character development seeks to avoid common differentiators such as racism or a bias imposed by a societal segment.
Characters can mature and refine their perspectives: something, hopefully, we all choose to do in life. Characters can make poor choices in life. An antagonist may exhibit contrary characteristics: we don’t live in a utopia, nor do we live in a world devoid of crime or injustice.
To avoid writing a tome of unique characters in The Gathering of the Seas, devoid of any story, additional characters (under wraps for the time being) will no doubt surface in subsequent works in the Series. For the time being, they are hiding in the submarine of my thoughts. I view our diversity as strength. We do well to embrace it: I guide character development with diversity in mind.
List of Characters
Book 1 Characters – The Gathering of the Seas
- Abram. Known for his physical prowess among other talents. Don’t take him for lunch unless you have a good limit on your credit card. Handy guy to have around if you encounter unexpected muggers in a dark alley. Gentle giant, unless….
- Charlie. Ex-military, but he has many other skills that come in handy in a pinch. His residence is not where you expect.
- Demi. She’s gorgeous. Her family line, well … that’s another matter; disappointing is an understatement.
- James. Financier of the operations. Significant global connections. Team builder: high EQ and people skills.
- Mila. Natasha’s daughter. Computer and technical genius. Enough background to get her in trouble.
- Natasha. Persecuted blogger who fled Russia. Her views carried a high price tag.
- Nita. She’s known for being gracious and poised with an unusual start to her life’s purpose.
- Seth. Resident genius. Off the charts IQ and a perfect memory.
- Uri. Most mystical and mysterious of the group. His movements are unique.
Book 2 Characters – Still Embryos in the Submarine! Some are growing …