Basics to Create Dynamic Characters - Lesson 2

Do you know where your character comes from? To have three dimensional characters, you need to create a physical, sociological and psychological environment for them.

Physical Environment
My story has two main locations. It starts with a Prologue set in the 17th century in the same Essex village that the majority of the novel is set in, in the present day. The first chapter takes place in London where Annie and her daughter live before they move to the village, and the busy city will be a big contrast to life in the country. In the village there’s a village green which is the place where Annie’s ancestor (Rachel) was burnt as a witch in the Prologue. Some of the buildings from then still exist in the present day, e.g. the church, the inn/pub, and the stables (now converted).

Annie arrives in the village in the spring. The story takes place over the following few months, finishing in November, a few days after Halloween, on the anniversary of Rachel’s death. The weather is very varied, i.e. typically English!

Plants are an important part of the book as lots will be needed for various spells, potions, etc. I need to make sure that the ones I use are in season. There are several animals including owls and ravens with mystic links to things in the book.

Sociological Environment
In London there’s little interaction between neighbours, most keep to themselves, although Annie does have some people she’s close too. Rose doesn’t fit in that well at school. She’s not bullied, she’s happy as a solitary child. The village people are mostly friendly. Her gran is well thought of, but some people are wary of her because she’s descended from a witch, and this will cause some conflict.

Annie has a job in a small clothes shop in London, but doesn’t have one to begin with when they move to the country. She may start up her own cottage industry selling jam, honey, dried herbs, etc., that she’s made herself but I haven’t decided that yet. She will need to do something to support herself and Rose. Rose likes to help in the garden; she used to help a neighbour on his allotment in London.

In the village people mainly work in the local area (village shops, post office, hairdressers, library, pub, etc.), but there are some who commute to work in larger towns nearby. There are also some farms in the area.

Most of the villagers are Anglican; one of the secondary characters has a brother who’s a Catholic priest, who is called to do an exorcism later in the book. Gran and her family have always been pagans but Annie (who grew up without knowing her background) has no particular belief.

Gran celebrates traditional pagan holidays over the year including Beltane which is celebrated on May 1st. Local villagers also celebrate May Day with traditional maypole dancing on the green and there is conflict between some in the community who feel this shouldn’t be allowed because of its pagan roots.

In the village there is a pub and a small library, and a cinema in a nearby town. The publican is thinking of setting up a museum of local history in some converted stables, hoping that it will attract people to stay in his pub.

Annie and Rose lived in a tower block in London; the area had a reputation of being a bit rough. The village has always been a sleepy country one, but it is changing as people commute to other towns to work.

Psychological Environment
The publican tries to inflict his viewpoint on how things should be run, but the people who work out of the village don’t really care. Gran carries on doing her own things and the majority of people in the village are happy to let her.

In London most people don’t like to get involved in other peoples’ lives and Annie and Rose don’t have many friends. The village is very welcoming to them, sometimes a little too interested.

The main local legends are based on the history of the witch burnings that had happened there in the 17th century. The publican wants to capitalise on them to attract visitors to the village (and his pub). The area has a reputation for being haunted.

Annie finds life in London quite stressful so the village (to begin with) is a very restful change. In the village most people are friendly, there are just a few who dislike Gran and therefore any members of her family. There are some negative undercurrents and rumours about what Gran and Annie are doing when the presence of the ghosts becomes more widely known.