Creating Anne Evans Carlton
One of best things about writing fiction is the ability to invent characters, and especially lead protagonists for stories. Moreover, once created, these characters go into a portfolio where they can recur in new stories. The same is true for settings.
"How to Murder Your Contractor" is the darkly humorous tale of a battle of wits between a woman trying to build her dream retirement home and a contractor who sees the project as his road to riches. When I set out to write the book, my initial thought was to use one of my existing characters as the story’s protagonist and narrator, and to place that story in one of my oft-used settings.
The more I thought through the story, however, the more it became clear that, while I have a portfolio of terrific women characters who are smart, strong and independent; none of them met the requirements of the plot. I was going to start with a fresh heroine.
Thus was born Anne Evans Carlton.
There is wonderful freedom in starting with a blank slate. There’s no messy, existing background to deal with and no loose ends from previous stories to tie up. At the same time, though, a new character has to exist in a logical universe. The narrator’s background, like the story he or she tells, has to unfold naturally and believably.
Anne’s character took a while to reveal itself to me. I knew these things about her: she is young (49) to be an ‘empty-nester’ seeking to downsize; she is married, but to someone whose career requires Anne to take charge of many household decisions that would ordinarily be done jointly. I also knew Anne is both exceptionally smart and equally headstrong.
Why, in an age when most college-educated women aren’t even married until they’re closing in on 30 and postponing childbearing even longer, does Anne have two grown children? I gave her a supremely logical reason: a life-changing equestrian accident as a teenager that caused her to re-prioritize her life choices. (It also gives her a few horsey-set friends who will be critical to the story’s unfolding.)
In plotting the book, I knew Anne would need a ‘posse’ of close friends to help her deal with Joey McCoy, her nemesis. And so Anne’s résumé grew to incorporate a specific skill set. She is a Master Gardener – a graduate of a program that turns adults with a keen interest in gardening into much more knowledgeable gardeners and places them into a network of like-minded individuals. Anne will be surrounded by Master Gardener friends, some of them with inventive ways of making Joey disappear permanently.
Anne also needs smart friends with access to information and knowledge across many disciplines. To that end, I made Anne a five-day winner on Jeopardy!, which makes her part of a (so far as I know imaginary) sorority of women who have accomplished that feat. I’m a long-time viewer of the show and have noted that women are under-represented both as contestants and as multi-day winners. This group of friends will be instrumental to helping Anne create and carry out her plan.
In writing, though, often what you leave out about a character’s life is as important as the information you supply. Is Anne a blonde or a brunette? Short or tall? I never say, Readers will have to use their imagination to supply such things as where Anne grew up, where she went to college, or what was her major. Those parts of her curriculum vitae weren’t critical nuggets and I’d rather that a reader insert their own background so as to feel greater empathy for Anne.
And, no protagonist can have a perfect life. Anne’s husband is a nice guy who makes a good living, but he’s away far too frequently. And, when he’s home, he’s locked away in his home office. I also gave Anne some lingering qualms about her children’s life choices. Settling down early was fine for Anne, but she fears her daughter’s career and marriage choices were both prematurely narrow and hasty. You can be strong and independent and still have self-doubts.
The early reaction to Anne, though, has been extraordinarily gratifying. She comes across as human, someone readers would like a have as a friend. She has a great sense of humor and an outlook on life that readers share.
The best reaction, though, is the one that writers love to hear most: “What’s Anne going to do next?”
"How to Murder Your Contractor" is the darkly humorous tale of a battle of wits between a woman trying to build her dream retirement home and a contractor who sees the project as his road to riches. When I set out to write the book, my initial thought was to use one of my existing characters as the story’s protagonist and narrator, and to place that story in one of my oft-used settings.
The more I thought through the story, however, the more it became clear that, while I have a portfolio of terrific women characters who are smart, strong and independent; none of them met the requirements of the plot. I was going to start with a fresh heroine.
Thus was born Anne Evans Carlton.
There is wonderful freedom in starting with a blank slate. There’s no messy, existing background to deal with and no loose ends from previous stories to tie up. At the same time, though, a new character has to exist in a logical universe. The narrator’s background, like the story he or she tells, has to unfold naturally and believably.
Anne’s character took a while to reveal itself to me. I knew these things about her: she is young (49) to be an ‘empty-nester’ seeking to downsize; she is married, but to someone whose career requires Anne to take charge of many household decisions that would ordinarily be done jointly. I also knew Anne is both exceptionally smart and equally headstrong.
Why, in an age when most college-educated women aren’t even married until they’re closing in on 30 and postponing childbearing even longer, does Anne have two grown children? I gave her a supremely logical reason: a life-changing equestrian accident as a teenager that caused her to re-prioritize her life choices. (It also gives her a few horsey-set friends who will be critical to the story’s unfolding.)
In plotting the book, I knew Anne would need a ‘posse’ of close friends to help her deal with Joey McCoy, her nemesis. And so Anne’s résumé grew to incorporate a specific skill set. She is a Master Gardener – a graduate of a program that turns adults with a keen interest in gardening into much more knowledgeable gardeners and places them into a network of like-minded individuals. Anne will be surrounded by Master Gardener friends, some of them with inventive ways of making Joey disappear permanently.
Anne also needs smart friends with access to information and knowledge across many disciplines. To that end, I made Anne a five-day winner on Jeopardy!, which makes her part of a (so far as I know imaginary) sorority of women who have accomplished that feat. I’m a long-time viewer of the show and have noted that women are under-represented both as contestants and as multi-day winners. This group of friends will be instrumental to helping Anne create and carry out her plan.
In writing, though, often what you leave out about a character’s life is as important as the information you supply. Is Anne a blonde or a brunette? Short or tall? I never say, Readers will have to use their imagination to supply such things as where Anne grew up, where she went to college, or what was her major. Those parts of her curriculum vitae weren’t critical nuggets and I’d rather that a reader insert their own background so as to feel greater empathy for Anne.
And, no protagonist can have a perfect life. Anne’s husband is a nice guy who makes a good living, but he’s away far too frequently. And, when he’s home, he’s locked away in his home office. I also gave Anne some lingering qualms about her children’s life choices. Settling down early was fine for Anne, but she fears her daughter’s career and marriage choices were both prematurely narrow and hasty. You can be strong and independent and still have self-doubts.
The early reaction to Anne, though, has been extraordinarily gratifying. She comes across as human, someone readers would like a have as a friend. She has a great sense of humor and an outlook on life that readers share.
The best reaction, though, is the one that writers love to hear most: “What’s Anne going to do next?”
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