Creating real and believable characters is the main purpose authors always bear in their minds. It takes endless research to find the perfect combination of talents and flaws their creations must have.
Sanne Vliegenthart, known for her YouTube channel Booksandquils, chaired an interesting conversation with the authors E.Lockhart (Genuine Fraud), Emily Barr (The Truth and Lies of Ella Black), and S.K.Wright (It Ends With You) about the creation of female characters, the making of their “dark side”, and the evolution of the YA fiction towards crime and thriller genre at Waterstones Piccadilly. The frosted glass doors slowly swung open with a soft, almost imperceptible screech. A smiling, short, blonde girl appeared in front of the queue of people, and, after a quick double-check of the attendees’ names, welcomed us in the conference hall. The carpeted floor muffled the thumps of steps, but it couldn’t do anything to prevent the increasing and excited buzz of voices. I was early – fifteen minutes before kicking off - as often it happens, and I quietly reached the front row and took a seat. Rapidly, the chairs around me got occupied. Curious glances peered about the room, waiting for the authors to come out. As the side, grey push-door got open, the writers strode in, led by the chairwoman Sanne Vliegenthart. They made themselves comfortable in the leather chairs on the wooden stage; they looked at the crowded room, getting ready to answer the questions and talk about their works. After a short introduction of the authors, Vliegenthart began the conversation. “I think that ‘Making a murderer’ – the successful series on Netflix – incentivised my interest in crime and thriller,” Wright said, replying the first question. “The detective, who definitely is not a genius, shocked, but, at the same time, intrigued me. The story was a pure example of justice miscarriage.” “My interest in crime and mystery started when I was a ten-year-girl,” Barr said. “I read Agatha Christie and I fell in love with her works. Netflix’s series obviously have subsequently increased my curiosity and knowledge.” Lockhart was a huge fan of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. In the US, crime fiction and thriller were enjoying a moment of increasing popularity. However, what made her curious as to how a criminal mind thought and worked was another kind of show. “Since I started listening to ‘Serial’ – a famous podcast series about the murder of a teenage girl – I’ve begun to think about the thin and unexpected connection between adolescents and crime. I realised there was a strong emotional relationship.” The authors had a common characteristic, besides writing YA fiction; they created strong, and cleverly troubled female characters. “I presume the series ‘Twin Peaks’ convinced me to create a female main character,” Wright said, smiling broadly. “The protagonist was a normal girl, but she also had a dark, very dark, hidden side.” The TV series wasn’t the only inspirational factor. Wright carried out a research on the Victorian Age, realising that women were not free to do what they wanted. They were relegated to the domestic role, and, thus, they developed a kind of double personality. “Victorian women could read, write, or get informed about politics stealthily,” Wright concluded, “but, in public, they have to behave in a proper traditional way.” “I wanted to let the dark side go,” Barr said. “My purpose was to describe what happened when the hidden and wicked side of a person prevailed.” Creating villain and dark characters was exciting and fun, Barr admitted. “I really enjoyed them. You have to think differently and sometimes you have to think as they would.” “People were and still are my inspiration,” Lockhart replied. “I don’t need either a place or being in a certain mood to write. They who surround me are my source of inspiration.” The conversation then dealt with the creation of suspense and how to keep readers’ attention up. The authors used different techniques. “I usually create a few of characters who can be the possible culprit to confuse the reader,” Wright said. “Another device I use is to create contradicting characters. The more they contradict each other, the more you can unravel the mystery bit by bit.” “My book starts at chapter eighteen,” Lockhart claimed, causing the audience to chuckle heartily. “The structure of my novel goes backwards, starting from the end and slowly providing the solutions to the readers. It took a while making it. Initially, I plotted the entire story, then I started to structure the different scenes as I wanted.” The end of the conversation unfortunately and too quickly came over to us, but there was time for the last question. Which could the authors’ favourite female characters ever be? “Ms Marvel,” Lockhart replied, surprising the audience. “I think Ms Marvel is the greatest idea come out in the recent years. She’s a superhero, she’s the first Muslim superhero. It’s incredible and stunning how the creator made and developed her.”
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