Thursday, July 7, 2011

What Do I Do With Him?

I'd like to welcome Bonnie Watson, creator of Wisdom Novels, to my blog this week. I first met Bonnie almost ten years ago, soon after my first suspense/thriller was released. Bonnie is multi-talented - an awesome artist as well as a fantastic fantasy novelist.


When I created Wisdom, I didn't have a clue what to do with him...

White hair, the ability to use magic, this sort of symbolic character that stood between the powers of Light and Dark - I didn’t even bother looking at the beginning of his life until after I’d filled two cabinets with written works as well as a 200 page novel. In the year 2001, I took the first three pages from the book and started another, this time focusing on the main character's childhood rather than his adult years. There were questions that needed answering, and this story was the perfect solution.

Why is the character albino? What limitations does he have involving magic, and where does it come from? Does the harsh childhood he receives shape him into the adult he grows to be? If he's not entirely human, what race is he and where is his kind now? How does a growing Darkness to the north affect the storyline?

I realized as a child, the character should have a simpler name than Wisdom. As the story evolved, Wisdom became a nickname obtained toward the end of the first book, but becomes a regular as evolvement with the issue of slavery threatens to damage his reputation. Thus Wisdom is used more frequently in his adult years, and welcomes a change of title as Prince of the Eastern Clan.

So, a story that originally started with no particular plot, becomes one that involves the first Dark Unicorn, the upset in the balance of Nature, and the fight for survival in a world where settlements have been around less than a century.

Did you start a book and then find you needed to complete the character in order to progress? What process do you go through to make a fully developed character?


About Bonnie...


“I've always enjoyed painting and writing. It started with animals and gradually worked its way to people. It's fascinating to watch a painting come to life from scratch to finish, or a piece of a story develop far beyond the normal complexity of snippets or poetry. Every painting has a story behind it. Every story has a picture to paint. So I'm just an endless beacon of stories for both worlds. The world of Art. The world of Storytelling. There's no living without either."

I've been writing for more than ten years, with Wisdom my first major novel in a concept of two trilogies. You can find my shorter works online through www.WisdomNovels.com as well as music and artwork. As a freelance artist, I've created various book covers for different authors, web design, posters and more. My goals for the future are to finish the Fantasy Trilogy, then move to Sci-fi and Children's.


Visit me online for sneak peaks at upcoming projects!


Wisdom, Book One of Blue Moon Rising Trilogy, by Bonnie Watson - www.WisdomNovels.com