Making Them Real

When I'm in a boring lecture, or have some major time to kill, I plan fiction. Yes, this is a terrible cliche for a young budding writer: I'm writing a television series. No, I don't write in coffee shops or get inspiration from local poetry. However terrible the cliche is, the fact is, I'm planning a series (among other projects) in my mind.

Last year, this was a movie, surrounding a group of villains. The characters had incredible potential and I wanted to tell all of their story. Then I thought, maybe a mini-series. But focusing on just the bad guys forever wouldn't make for much fun. There needed to be a moral anchor. So I came up with some good guys. The good guys started to have more and more stories, and eventually, I had enough stories to fill up 23 episodes. I then reworked some other concepts I had floating around in my head and made them future seasons of the show.

The problem I had, though, is that the main cast of heroes never popped out at me. So last night, I killed them all. I took a new piece of paper, baby name web sites open, and I created a whole new slate of characters. I came up with a nice long backstory to the organization that these people work at. And now, these characters feel so incredibly alive. I can see them working together in the office, I can see the person with the most seniority sighing as the newbie tries to figure their way around the room. I can see the office romance.

And instead of trying to create characters that were as fantastic and epic as my villains for season one, I focused on creating good guys that were as real and relatable as possible. I know that sounds basic and fundamental, but after developing these bad guys forever, I wanted people who could be their equals. But they are no longer equals. These villains are now scary because they are more powerful, more outstanding in every way. And we're left scared, just like our main characters.

The biggest change would be re-naming my main character. I went from Walt Diamond to Michael Christopher. Another character's last name changed from Recudes to Martinez. Another's went from Verdosky to Versele. These are more common last names, making them feel more familiar to first-timers.

To see an example of a back-story in progress, check out the main character's main facts:
Michael Jacob Christopher, II
Graduated 3rd in his class from Yonkers River High School
Bachelor's Degree in Information Technologies from M.I.T.
Masters in Diplomacy, Harvard
5 years in the Marines
2 years on the Council for Agricultural Research
2 years, Diplomat to Canada for Agricultural Research and Technologies
4 years, F.B.I. Special Information Officer
2 years, F.B.I. Senior Intelligence
Present: Chief Intelligence Officer, Special Investigative Case Unit, F.B.I.
CASTING CALL: Well-researched, smart, down to earth. Likes a good joke, even if he rarely tells one himself. Mediator at heart, willing to fight when necessary. Content to stay with any jobs, feels need to prove himself constantly.
DIVORCED: Married Rita Recudes. Divorced after seven years. Rita re-married wealthy Senator Baker. Baker was assassinated six months later. Michael was involved in investigative task unit, which is withholding sensitive information about the investigation from Rita.


..... Don't worry. I also spent some energy applying for other jobs. :)