Hey-o, Word-wielders,

Characters are the heart of fiction. They feel deeply, fight bravely, fall into despair and pull themselves out of it. They have witty comebacks, moving speeches, and cutting remarks.

And they are fun to write.

Today, I am going to talk about some of my major characters from my last three significant works: Fleet As Arrows (A fantasy novel I drafted from 2021-2022 but never rewrote about a girl who flees her country with her sick brother and a boy who runs from home so he won't be forced to go to war.), Daughters of Irin, (My fantasy novella about two girls on their journey to bring one of them home.) and My Only Name is Honor (My current WIP; a fantasy about a young woman who is stolen from her home to assist the Crown Prince for his plot.)

For clarification, these are the characters from each book:

Fleet As Arrows: Niamh (Pronounced Neev: Main character), Kyran (Main character), Hugh (Niamh's twin brother), Lighton (Niamh's friend)

Daughters of Irin: Eirian (Pronounced AIR-ee-in: Main character), Quarralia (Main character), Rune (Major side character)

My Only Name is Honor: Honor (Main character), Tobias (Advisor to the Crown Prince), Amaury (Crown Prince of Siana Kingdom), Brig (Honor's best friend.)

So, I don't know about you, but I end up loving my side characters. Writing Brig has been fun. She actually has multiple similarities to Lighton. They're both tall and blond, a bit wild, and have a past you don't learn about until later. (Or, in the case of Fleet As Arrows, I never ended up writing it at all, though I planned to add it later.) However, Brig argues a LOT more, and Lighton is tougher.

Which makes me think of my MCs. Both Niamh and Eirian (who in my head is the mainest MC in Daughters of Irin. What do you think on that topic?) are of the tough types. Eirian lives alone in the forest, darting people who are a threat to her or Galt. Niamh harbors anger against the Avalites who killed her older brother Devlin and brings her twin, Hugh to safety even as she is ravaged with sickness herself. However, Honor, at least in my head, seems softer. More like Quarralia, but with the experience that Eirian has.

My Only Name is Honor is also the only book of the three that has no animals as major parts of the book. Fleet As Arrows has Niamh's cat, Sindri, and Daughters of Irin has Galt, Eirian's wolfdog. Honor? Nothing. I actually haven't felt a strong desire to add any animals. The characters have enough anyway without throwing an animal into the mix.

Another note on animals. Sindri ends up dying at the end of FAA after saving Kyran's life by taking an arrow for him (which quite possibly is a cheesy bit.) It's the saddest scene I have ever written. I was book-crying as I was writing it. (Which is where I don't wildly sob or anything.) However, Sindri's got a rival coming (That is all I am going to say for now.)

MONIH is also the first book I've ever written that contains falling in love, though for die-hard romance readers the amount of it probably will not satisfy them. That is fine. Say what you will. I am the author.

So, there's my ramble. What are your characters like? Let me know in the comments below.

May you live for Christ and give Him praise!

~Claira