My five year journey so far has been fun, exciting, amazing and full of challenges. With that comes growth and learning how to write different characters from various perspectives. There’s a lot that goes into writing the characters that I do. They’re more than just names in a book. They have current stories, back stories and growth behind them. Today, I’m going to share with you my five favorite characters I’ve written so far.
Robert (The Struggles and Growth of a Man)
Robert has a lot of myself in him and that’s why he’s one of my favorite characters to have written. His characteristics, mindset on life, goals, how he approaches life all relate to me and who I am as a man.
Even though I crafted a backstory that fits into who he is, it was challenging to keep his story going. It was fun to write about his growth, his trials and tribulations, mistakes and pain. I made a fictional book series more realistic and to bring men’s issues to the forefront.
Robert and Michael were the spokesmen for men’s issues and they expressed what their lives were like, their struggles, mistakes they’ve made and how they are working toward growth. A lot of times men are written off once they make a mistake in their lives and I wanted to write a story that tells men that sometimes we can recover and we have to make better decisions in life.
I would say Robert was my favorite character to write about overall and I’m thankful I was able to write a book series that addresses men’s social issues in today’s world.
Marc (Kids With Guns)
Marc is an FBI Agent in the Kids With Guns series and I wanted to utilize a character in law enforcement to open the gates of gun control in America. From the moment I decided he was going to be a crucial piece of this massive school shooting. There was a goal behind Marc and I felt that I accomplished that.
Throughout the book series, I was sure to keep his story line intriguing, engaging and wondering what’s going to happen next. He was someone that I wanted to utilize as a tool with investigations and what goes on after a school shooting.
The book series began with him being on the case and as time went on, he was spending time trying to figure out why he was taken off the case. It was a loop for the series and by the end of the series, you’ll understand why I enjoyed writing his character. Just remember that when you do read this series, he’s an important component to exposing gun control in America.
Kevin (The World We Live In Series)
Writing Kevin in The World We Live In series, it was emotional for me. Not where it brought me to tears but more of mentally emotive. Kevin is a homeless man who lost everything and I think that this can happen to anyone. I take to heart homeless people who have lost it all and how we as people don’t take time to learn their stories.
Homelessness is a huge concern for me and a social issue I take very seriously. I think about people’s struggles, what they’re dealing with and going through and it’s why I put so much emotion and compassion into writing his story. I put a lot into his current story but also his backstory to explain how he got to where he is currently.
I wanted to make sure that his struggles were brought to light and to get readers to feel every moment of his life being a homeless man. The hot summers, the cold winters, the day to day of figuring out how he was going to eat, not taking a shower or bath for weeks at a time, sleeping on a comfortable bed causing body aches, everything had to be written and shared.
My experiences with helping homeless people has always been fulfilling for me. Back home, in the biggest city in the U.S. I was able to give people food, clothing, gloves, hats and hoodies along with food. I felt so fulfilled by the end of the day and it’s why Kevin is one of my favorite characters to have written so far.
Heather (The World We Live In Series)
Alcoholism infiltrates many families and it gets passed down from one generation to the next. It’s why I went down the road of writing about a woman who is addicted to alcohol. While I’ve seen this happen in my life, I was able to utilize seeing it firsthand to create a story out of it and change up my real life experiences.
Heather was someone from my life so writing this was easy in some ways but also challenging as I continued the series. Heather had to be a believable character, you had to feel her, understand what got her to this place of depending on alcohol to get by and knowing that she must change to get back the family structure she once had.
Heather’s bad decision-making led to paying a hefty price in her life and there’s always consequences for your actions. Getting through an addiction, healing and having a peaceful life is always a struggle. That is why her backstory is important and a must-read if not any other character in this book series.
I would say that Heather was one of the most important characters I’ve written. She was someone that dealt with a lot of internal battles mentally and emotionally and wasn’t a good mother to her kids, but tries to alleviate that later on in the series. While I do write about some women’s issues that are very sensitive, alcohol addiction affects everyone and that’s why Heather was one of my favorite characters to write.
Gary (Code Blue: An Oath to the Badge and Gun Series)
Gary was a character that was challenging because I made him a protagonist and an antagonist. It’s rare you have that as a main character so I enjoyed the challenge of writing a character like this. He was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs and you always wondered when he was going to step up to the plate and speak up.
As the series progressed, I enjoyed bringing out different aspects of him and who he is. He is a hard working, stand up guy, loyal to his community with a family but was buried under a lot of things involving his job that changed him as a man. With the emotions of his internal thoughts, his guilty conscience led to an alcohol addiction which is very prevalent among police officers.
When it came to finishing the series, I wanted to write it to where you start to like him more, you emotionally understand where he is in his life. The morals and values he stands for and how he has grown. Gary is relatable to a lot of people and police officers who struggle a lot mentally and I know a story like this would shine light on that.
Those are my top 5 characters I've written so far, I hope you enjoyed this blog!
Be good everyone and go accomplish your goals!
Jamell Crouthers
Aquarianmind
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