Character developement

It's funny thinking about Linda's character as I wrap up my second book Treacherous Voyage. Just like real life, after the first few chapters the characters take on a life of their own, become very different people from who they were early on. When I came up with the idea for Nightmare Voyage, I would be lying to say the original character didn't have a little of me in her. All offshore sailors think about what would happen if this or that happened. For example, what if the boat sank. Would I call for help? Would I be within range of help (far offshore help may be days away if available at all.) How would I call for help? On the VHF radio, SSB radio, EPIRB, flares or simply scream "Help, Help." LOL. How long could I survive in the ocean with just a life jacket on? Or would I be in a liferaft. Would there be another person there? Survival can take on many different forms depending on the circumstance. What if I was just out on deck at night and unclipped my safety harness and just fell overboard? There is always a pretty good chance of that. I just reached over to flip a flying fish overboard who had washed up on deck. Just stretch a little further, BAM!! New book? Maybe.
So what is character developement all about? My friend Maggie gave me a great paper on character developement after I published NV. There are thousand of questions readers want to know about your character. Like what is their favorite color? How the heck do I know I'm only the author?
What is the characters 5 year goal? 10 year goal? Lifetime dream? Heck, I'm lucky if I know my own five year goal.
It's interesting to look back on the original manuscript (which I thankfully kept).
 

"It is a dark, dirty night. I have sailed upon inky black seas a thousand nights before."

That was the first line of one of the original manuscripts it evolved into...

"It's a dark, dirty night. There were many nights like this before."

That's the first line of the finished novel. So what does this tell us? Actually quite a lot. It tells us whoever is speaking is an experienced sailor or seaman. At this point it is difficult to tell if the person is or was on a sailboat or motor boat or fishing boat. But they have been at sea during many nights and the nonchalant reference to the sea makes one think the person is comfortable with the sea.  

This was the essence of Linda's character. A confident woman captain who has spent many nights at sea.

So where does the character go from there? She spends almost two nights and one full day drifting in a life jacket in the middle of the Gulf Stream. What did that do to her head? Aside from the obvious physical challenges of dehydration, extreme sunburn and hypothermia, there would be an emotional scar. At first she wondered when she will be rescued. On page 4 she says, "Where is the Coast Guard? Moorehead City and its Coast Guard base is only hours away by fast patrol boat." So, obviously she expected to be rescued.

But what happens as the day wears on? "As twillight slips into night, the darkness is all around and very black."

"The ships lights grow brighter as it heads closer The though of rescue almost makes me leap out of the water with joy." But that ship almost runs Linda over. It never sees her, a very realistic scenario. So, what would that do to her head?

Compound the ship scenario with the hypothermia. "As the night drags on, the cold and shivering and desolation only get worse." Would you be ready to give up yet?

"Despair creeps up on me. It's getting difficult to stay awake."

"As I lay me head back, the cold water surrounds my head and neck though I barely feel the chilly water over the numbness. A small wave washes over my face, water sluices down into my nose and infuses my sinuses and the back of my throat, but I hardly notice."  Give up already Linda. She is obviously very hypothermic and not thinking rationally. Her mind is shutting down. Being that close to death would certainly knock a characters confidence at the very least.

"Suddenly there is a splash next to me and a man is there in a red survival suit."

Ah, so in comes Eric like a knight in shining armour on a trusty white steed (or on a swordfish boat). Her hero and our book's hero. I'll deal with Eric in a seperate blog.

So now you know a little about Linda. A strong woman throw into a nearly impossible situation. After the men rescue her, they treat her hypothermia. All of a sudden, she is surrounded by fisherman she doesn't know. The first thing they do is try to take off her clothes. (Enter Tom, Eric's older brother, who is a tough guy but a sweetheart). "You are really cold. Let's get these wet clothes off of you and get you warmed up." 

 Linda freaks out. She doesn't realize he is just trying to put dry clothes on her to help restore her body temperature. When Eric, her savior, enters the cabin she complies and let's them change her clothing. Why? Well, for one thing she doesn't have much choice; she cannot fight off these two big strong fishermen. 

But also she is spent both physically and mentally. She doesn't have any fight left. But she can't be too pleased being at the mercy of these strangers. Remember, she is a strong woman. But just how strong? If you read between the lines the first couple of chapter, she defers to Joey quite a few times. He is obviously the captain, even though they are both captains. But they are not co-captains. She looks to him for direction when the disaster occurs. Is this natural-man woman reaction since it appears they are also in a relatonship?

Or is he a so much more experienced sailor? He just takes over in the crisis. I'm not sure I answered that adequately in NV. I do explore the Joey-Linda relationship more in Treacherous Voyage and even more in the third book of the series. But those scenes reflect some of the weakness in Linda's character. This comes out again and again throughout the novel as she looks to or takes direction from Eric. She wants to be tough, but can't always be. Like in real life? I still take my hat off to Linda. In the opening pages when I professed that Linda isn't me, I said "I wish I could have her strength and smarts."