Series are popular, and for
good reason. Readers can continue their love affairs with their favorite
fictional heroes and heroines across multiple books, but how do you, as an
author, keep your characters fascinating?
Fascinating characters grow
and change. There are many books on character development, but none that
specifically address character development across a series. I’d like to share
an approach I took with my series, the Double
Helix.
One of my favorite books on
the craft of writing is The Writer’s
Journey by Christophe Vogler. It is a step-by-step guide on how to use
myth-inspired storyteller paradigms, specifically “The Hero’s Journey”, to
develop both character and plot. The
Hero’s Journey has several stages, and I’ll describe those stages with the help
of the first hero in my life, Luke Skywalker:
·
Ordinary World:
We first meet Luke Skywalker in the humdrum of his daily life on his uncle’s
moisture farm
·
Call to Adventure: Luke yearns to enroll at the Academy, like his friend, Biggs
·
Refusal of the Call: But he refuses the call (or rather, his uncle refuses the call for
him)
·
Meeting with the Mentor: While chasing down his errant droid, Luke meets
Obi-Wan Kenobi
·
Crossing the First Threshold: The deaths of Luke’s uncle and aunt drives Luke over
the threshold, and he takes his first step into a much larger world
·
Test, Allies, Enemies: At a cantina in Mos Eisley, Luke and Obi-Wan meet Han
Solo and Chewbacca. While on the Millennium Falcon, Luke begins his training as
a Jedi
·
Approach to the Inmost Cave: Is there anything more ominous than getting sucked
into the Death Star by a tractor beam?
·
The Ordeal:
Luke, Han, and Chewbacca rescue Princess Leia, and in the process, wade through
multiple firefights and nearly get compacted with the garbage. Luke witnesses
his mentor’s death at the hands of Darth Vader.
·
Reward: The
princess is saved
·
The Road Back: Luke
is now where he had wanted to be. The Rebel Alliance is his new Ordinary World.
·
The Resurrection: While taking a suicidal run at the Death Star, Luke hears Obi-Wan’s
voice. He trusts the Force, turns off his targeting computer, and fires
missiles into the Death Star’s core
·
Return with the Elixir: Luke returns triumphant, and his victory promises a
(brief) reprieve for the Rebel Alliance
The power of a paradigm is
that it is recognizable and it resonates with people; hence, you’ll recognize elements
of “The Hero’s Journey” in many books and movies. The question remains, how do
you apply “The Hero’s Journey” to a series? The answer, which is easier said
than done, is to apply “The Hero’s Journey” within each book and across the entire series.
The following sections will
contain some spoilers for my novels, and I apologize in advance, but it’s hard
to make the point without giving a few things away.
In Perfection Unleashed, Danyael Sabre is rudely yanked out of his ordinary world when he discovers that
his genetic material was used as the physical template for Galahad, the perfect
human being. He refuses the call; in
fact, his first instinct is to get Galahad out of the country, but his friend
(and mentor), Lucien Winter,
persuades him to investigate his connection with Galahad. Danyael meets many allies and enemies, and in the process,
approaches the inmost cave,
uncovering the identity of the family that abandoned him many years prior. He
is almost killed (an ordeal,
certainly) but is saved (a resurrection),
and in turn, he saves Galahad, thereby bestowing the elixir of perfection on the world.
Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, the
second and third books of the Double Helix series, have “Hero’s Journey” arcs for
Danyael within each book, but the structure of the arc across the series is more relevant to this discussion. To view the series
arc, we first need to take a closer look at Danyael Sabre.
Danyael is an alpha empath.
He can control emotions, and he can heal through absorption of injury. However,
all powers have a dark side. He can hurt others by transferring physical pain,
and the miserable memories of his childhood, amplified by his empathic powers,
can drive others to suicide. Put simply, Danyael has the power to heal or kill
with a touch.
In Perfection Unleashed, Danyael’s chosen life as a doctor in his ordinary world is disrupted by the
discovery of his connection with Galahad. Despite the shocking revelations and traumatic
situations he endures, Danyael refuses
the call to fully embrace his empathic powers. He will not hurt others
under any circumstance, whatever the provocation.
In Perfect Betrayal, Danyael crosses
the threshold when he unleashes his empathic powers and drives his
attackers to suicide in order to save his best friend and the woman he loves. Allies and enemies take on different
faces as they maneuver to manipulate Danyael for their ends. At the end of the
novel, Danyael approaches the inmost
cave. He can choose himself and his freedom by leaving Galahad to die. Is
Danyael a healer or a killer? What choice will he make in the silence of his
soul?
Through many ordeals in Perfect Weapon, Danyael finally learns to accept his empathic
powers, his ability to heal and kill, and to utilize either or both as the
situation calls for it. When terrorists attack Washington D.C., Danyael leads a
super soldier army to defend the city. As a reward, he is given a chance to begin the road back (which will start in book 4…)
Each book had a “Hero’s
Journey.” Danyael got from beginning to end, and something in him changed along
the way. But when you take a step back and look at the overall series, you’ll
see that each book represents smaller portions of the “Hero’s Journey,” and
there is a larger “Hero’s Journey” that connects the series. The larger journey
is also the more subtle. Most readers may miss the forest for the trees, but it
is important for authors, to map out that greater journey to ensure that our
characters and the novels within the series grow to their full potential.
I invite you to check out
Danyael’s journey in the Double Helix series, and would welcome a discussion of
the Hero’s Journey taken by other famous characters. (Anyone up for a
discussion of Harry Potter?)
Author Bio:
Jade Kerrion
unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her
award-winning Double Helix series.
Drawing rave reviews for its originality and vision, and described as “a
breakout piece of science fiction,” Perfection
Unleashed, and its sequels, Perfect
Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, are available in print and e-book through Amazon and other major
retailers.
About The Double Helix series:
His genetic code sourced from the best that humanity offers,
Galahad embodies the pinnacle of perfection. When Zara Itani, a mercenary whose
abrasive arrogance exceeds her beauty, frees him from his laboratory prison,
she offers him the chance to claim everything that had ever been denied him,
beginning with his humanity.
Perfection cannot be unleashed without repercussions, and
Galahad’s freedom shatters Danyael Sabre’s life.
An alpha empath, Danyael is rare and coveted, even among
the alpha mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution. He wields the power to
heal or kill with a touch, but craves only privacy and solitude—both impossible
dreams for the man who was used as Galahad’s physical template.
Galahad and Danyael, two men, one face. One man seeks to
embrace destiny, and the other to escape it.
The award-winning Double
Helix series, consisting of Perfection Unleashed, Perfect
Betrayal, and Perfect Weapon, will challenge your
notions of perfection and humanity, and lead you in a celebration of courage
and compassion. Science fiction, urban fantasy, and action-adventure readers
will enjoy this thrilling roller-coaster ride as it twists and turns through a
world transformed by the Genetic Revolution.
Social media and
buy links:
~*~*~
BACKUP LINKS
(if, for some reason, the links above do not transfer through a simple cut and
paste)
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JadeKerrion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JadeKerrion
Perfection
Unleashed
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008E98YFM
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/175081
Perfect Betrayal
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009YLG59Q/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/249761
Perfect Weapon
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009YMFSE8
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/249762
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting my blog tour. I really appreciate it.
Love, Jade
Thanks for dropping by and I am deeply delighted to see you here, Jade.
ReplyDeleteThank for giving me an opportunity to work with you and wishing you Success,
James Oh