Monday 5th February 2018

Today I created a new character for book 3 and I wanted to spend a little time in today’s The Climb explaining my process of how I came up with them.
This character will be a personal bodyguard for the Prince.  He’ll not only keep the Prince safe but be proactive about it as well.
My intention is that this character will appear throughout the series.  I don’t have an arc for them right now, all I know is the sort of conflict they will bring to the story of the Prince.  So will they live or die?  No idea.  All I know is that I probably want them for at least a number of books.
My inspiration for this character originally came from Warcraft.  There’s a bit character there called Nathanos Blightcaller.  I know very little about the character, but he’s the champion / bodyguard for the Queen of the Forsaken, Sylvanas Windrunner.  I think they updated his character model for the Legion expansion as I’ve never really been aware of him before.
But I like the idea of this ranger lord protecting his queen, and it works for what I want to do with book 3.
I’ve had that idea for a few months now, but like all good ideas it needs a bit more work.  And that came recently.
I joked the other day that as my friend, Craig, dislikes gruesome horror so much, I was going to put in a very bloody assassin into one of the Shade Knight books and name him after him.  Book 3 seems to have a lot going on so I was trying to work out whether this would just be a nod, or something more substantial.
But then I thought:  why not use that idea with my idea about the Prince’s bodyguard.
And so this bodyguard now has a name:  Craig.  I have no idea on a surname just yet.  I imagining a slightly older, war veteran… evoked from this character model of Nathanos Blightcaller.
He might have been in the city guard: the Redwatch.  He probably fought in some war.  He’s obviously trusted by the Grand Duke, and may have been put in place by him to keep an eye on his son.  The in-joke with my friend means he has to be completely ruthless, and just writing this now, I’ve decided that this probably means he’s someone without a sense of humour.
And this is where I’m up to with this character.  I’ve never been one for sitting down and writing character sheets, or figuring out every aspect of their imaginary life before writing.  A lot of it just seems logical when I come to write.
But for that to happen, I have to begin with a sense of his voice or mannerisms.  I’m not sure I’m quite there yet, but it’s possible that it may take a first draft, or even a second before I get there.
And as I say, this character isn’t going to play a major part in the new book, but are likely to have a role in future books.  The fact that he’s a character of focus right now has as much to do with the ideas working together as it does about the fact that one of his scenes is currently one of the few I have for this book.
Maybe, in some distant future, this character will play a larger role in future books.  In which case I think this genesis of them might prove interesting to read back in the years to come.
If you want to follow more of my journey, then be sure to check me on my social channels.  Likewise, if you’d like me to expand on any point mentioned above, please say so in the comments.

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