It's the characters that do it!

It's not so much the characters that you keep in a story but the ones you kick out.

Writers must edit their work.

There is always a lot of worthless junk amiss the beautiful framework of a potentially good story.

If you don't take it out, your editor will.

Those of us who are not lucky enough to have an editor must do it ourselves or no editor will ever read the story.

I was editor for an international trade magazine for a couple of years. I quit when I found that it was interfering with my retirement.

With a trade magazine you can write and write and never have a character jump out at you.

That is not true if you are writing a novel.

The other day I had a character drop in from Bone China. She was only in Bone China for a minute. Detective Richard Lacey and his sweetheart had hiked up to Little Round Top on the Gettysburg battlefield.

Puff, puff!

That's where the character got into the story.

She wore a tank top and shorts. Her hair was auburn and her eyes were green. She spoke with a British accent.

She startled me when she crept up behind me. ?I'm very angry with you!? is what she said.

I said, ?What! Who are you??

I'm No Name from Bone China.

"I don't know what in the heck you're talking about. Get a glass of lemonade, get it off your chest, and get out."

You've got to be tough with lost characters.

She said, ?Little Round Top.?

I said, ?And??

"You had me in the scene where Richard Lacey came puffing up the hill, right behind his secretary.?

I said, ?Oh, I remember now. You are the one who accused Lacey of disturbing your bird watching.?

?Yes. That was me and you cut me out. Why?

?You were a distraction from the plot. I had to get rid of you.?

?You could have used me somewhere else in the novel. You could have given me a name.?

I said, "I could have done a lot of things."

While she was sniffling in her handkerchief I said, ?How about Mildred??

?No! That is a horrible name!?

I said, ?I was naming you after my cousin.? I tried to look hurt.

?I'm sorry,? she said. ?Mildred will do if you call me Millie.?

I said, ?Fine! Now get out of here. I've got work to do.?

She didn't leave. She said, ?Do you ever revive the characters you cut??

I pushed her away from me and said, ?Of course, Millie. I took Peter Ott from Bull when he got out of hand and used him in Revenge on the Mogollon Rim. He was the protagonist.?

Millie said, ?Oh Taylor, will you do that for me. Write a novel with me the protagonist. Please!?

I said, ?No!?

She sipped on her lemonade and asked, ?Why not? You don't like me, do you, Taylor.?

?I don't know that much about you,? I said. ?I never developed you as a character. Now scram!?

Millie was crying when she left. She appeared outside my window and blew me a kiss. I closed the shade as she disappeared in the morning mist.

Now you know why I stopped writing novels.

Actually the reason was that my computer bombed with a Microsoft Service Pack II download and I lost Showdown at Diablo. Now there is one heck of a bunch of angry characters and they carry shillelaghs, coupsticks, guns, and knives!

copyright?John T. Jones, Ph.D. 2005