While I anxiously await reviews of Birth Offering to see what readers think about my novel, I still reflect on my choice of and portrayal of characters. Having a 14 year old male as a major character was not that risky. The big issues I had to keep in mind were developmental level and thought processes of a person that age. Even though I am 59, I think I can remember back then, especially the feelings of awkwardness. In addition, as a psychologist whose primary specialization is working with that age group, I thought I had a handle on Ryan Perry, my character. It turns out Ryan wasn’t all that simple. Writing from his point of view was actually pretty foreign – it has been 45 years after all. Some of the painful moments came back easily enough – the sheer terror when it came to girls, seemingly constant arguments with my mother. But, the subtleties of daily living in the skin of that kid were hard to portray. I’ve written before about how I turned to novels that successfully developed a character or characters of similar age: When Skippy Dies, The Last Child, The Highest Tide, and Black Swan Green. Each of them was helpful in educating me about dialogue, inner strengths, fears, and the ever-present self-centeredness that exemplifies the age group. They are all incredibly well written, but also sound at times like an adult trying to sound like a teen. I don’t know how you can escape that… I know I worked hard on this facet of the story – making Ryan sound like he was 14, but probably failed miserably. After all, if extremely talented authors stumbled every now and again in this effort, how could I pull it off? I did have the benefit of a 19 year old daughter home from college at one point who willing read a draft to give me feedback. She was quick to point that a kid wouldn’t act or think in a particular way – or wouldn’t wear a particular piece of clothing. So, some authenticity is present at least from my daughter’s point of view.
The remaining major characters in Birth Offering (with the exception of an FBI agent and the bad guys) were going to be women. I have been fortunate to have a wide range of strong and influential women around me all my life. My mother always worked outside the home and was a Personnel Manager for Empire Brushes in Port Chester, NY. My wife was a rock star in her field as a professor of early childhood special education before she retired early because of a serious illness. Many of my colleagues are women who are national and international leaders in the field of counseling psychology. As a result of these experiences, it was a foregone conclusion that other main characters would be women who held professional positions or display critical characteristics. This wasn’t “planned”, it just happened in the flow of the writing. The pronouns she and her just appeared. Two physicians and a chief of police… all women. Ryan’s mom is an illustrator, and while she is a mom first, she tackles a nearly impossible task of raising a boy on her own after the death of her spouse – and brings the process under her control in a manner that is consistent with which who she is. Finally, my favorite character is Ryan’s grandmother. She is a very proper and sophisticated southern woman, but she is an anomaly in many ways. First, she is a liberal, a woman committed to social justice. Second, she is unflappable, and can face horrifying situations with a steel backbone more resilient than any male. I loved her presence, and was genuinely sad that I could not include more of her.
The other path I found myself moving down was related to race. Some of the women characters are African American between the ages of 14 and 85. Each of them is a courageous character with insights and experiences that would blow away the average person. Not being a person of privilege in this country is something that many of us (e.g., white males) could never understand. So, how could I portray them honestly especially in light of the intense roles they had to play? I kept in the forefront of my mind that as if they were “real” people. Their roles deserved respect… their histories were invaluable to Ryan’s story… and they took life’s responsibilities seriously. That is how they were written.
Take a look at Birth Offering and tell me what you think…
The remaining major characters in Birth Offering (with the exception of an FBI agent and the bad guys) were going to be women. I have been fortunate to have a wide range of strong and influential women around me all my life. My mother always worked outside the home and was a Personnel Manager for Empire Brushes in Port Chester, NY. My wife was a rock star in her field as a professor of early childhood special education before she retired early because of a serious illness. Many of my colleagues are women who are national and international leaders in the field of counseling psychology. As a result of these experiences, it was a foregone conclusion that other main characters would be women who held professional positions or display critical characteristics. This wasn’t “planned”, it just happened in the flow of the writing. The pronouns she and her just appeared. Two physicians and a chief of police… all women. Ryan’s mom is an illustrator, and while she is a mom first, she tackles a nearly impossible task of raising a boy on her own after the death of her spouse – and brings the process under her control in a manner that is consistent with which who she is. Finally, my favorite character is Ryan’s grandmother. She is a very proper and sophisticated southern woman, but she is an anomaly in many ways. First, she is a liberal, a woman committed to social justice. Second, she is unflappable, and can face horrifying situations with a steel backbone more resilient than any male. I loved her presence, and was genuinely sad that I could not include more of her.
The other path I found myself moving down was related to race. Some of the women characters are African American between the ages of 14 and 85. Each of them is a courageous character with insights and experiences that would blow away the average person. Not being a person of privilege in this country is something that many of us (e.g., white males) could never understand. So, how could I portray them honestly especially in light of the intense roles they had to play? I kept in the forefront of my mind that as if they were “real” people. Their roles deserved respect… their histories were invaluable to Ryan’s story… and they took life’s responsibilities seriously. That is how they were written.
Take a look at Birth Offering and tell me what you think…
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