A Side Note on Character Theory: Potential Spoilers Below..

WARNING: The following post contains potential-to-probable-to definite spoilers regarding character development, interpersonal relationships, etc. DO NOT READ IF THIS IS A PROBLEM. I will not apologize again :)

I think the underlying issue between myself and my characters lies in my tendency to branch out. And out and out, and out. Which isn't necessarily a problem, until I get to that one branch that can't quite support -- and then boom, crash ouch- I fall out of the story tree.

I like my characters to maintain an at least 'pseudo-realism'.. I like them to have pasts, weaknesses, and bad habits. Sariah Quinn, for example, speaks to me, even this early on, as someone walking a fine balance; she has to keep her vulnerabilities to herself, and being a woman pirate captain has a few extra challenges. She has to maintain the respect of her crew without earning their resentment. She has to be liked as a Captain but not seen as approachable.

I've been delving into a past for Quinn, because the type of person that she is has to come with a story. Even as she assumes the dominant role of Captain every day, she is still a woman- she doesn't dress prettily, she doesn't swoon and faint, but she is acutely aware of that aspect of herself. And she has reason to be. I'm very excited about this aspect of her back story, because it explains why that part sticks more than you'd believe on a swashbuckling, brawling pirate captain..

As far as love interests and the like, I'd very much like to stay away from a love that changes her forever. I tend away from starting a story just as they meet someone, because that's never what I like my plot to be about.

After all, to me, the characters didn't just start to exist when you opened the book and started writing- er, reading. They had a past, and- wonder of wonders, they had pre-existing relationships, of all sorts.

Quinn doesn't have a new love interest in this series of stories or tidbits- if she does, it's me experimenting with making it work. She has at least 2 people close to her- people who have been with her for years. At least one of those relationships is in the gray area- and I've got to say I am already loving it.