Pen, Spoon & Dagger

Current word count:  3,791. Now that I've got my protagonist down on paper, I need to flesh out the secondary characters.  These are the people Kensing will interact with on a day-to-day basis; turn to for help, advice or a shoulder to cry on. Kensing is a neophyte caterer.  This means she'll need help not only with catering knowledge, but also with legal/police matters in order to solve the mysteries she'll face.  And, of course, we need a potential love interest.  What's life without love? To that end, she is going to meet her future business partner, Abby, early in the first book.  At the same time, she will be meeting her second partner, AnneLise, a French woman who just happens to be married to the local District Attorney.    Love interest?  How about a handsome, unattached police captain?  Maybe several years older than Kensing, but still young enough to give her a run for her money.  Friction between the two can gradually sh...

Yesterday's writing total: 1,076 words.  And half an hour's research into my chosen weapon - but that's a secret. Characters need to change throughout a series, to develop and grow.  That keeps them interesting and real.  Characters succeed if they're vivid (if they have likes, quirks and habits the reader can relate to).  They need physical traits and internal motivation (what makes them do what they do).  When I wrote my first mystery -- Never Eat Fish on Monday -- I carefully plotted out character descriptions for my protagonist and the three recurring secondary characters.  I found myself constantly revising the charts as my manuscript progressed and the characters evolved.  For 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall , I'm starting with the protagonist I developed last time.  It's a very detailed chart, running some five pages in total.  It covers everything from physical appearance to where she lives.  I also made a list of ten things ...