There was a time that I devoted every Sunday afternoon to genealogy ... until my son complained that I should spend the hours with the living, not the dead. --but Genealogy for fictional characters? Yeah, I've done that too, but not as in depth as Celia Yeary, guest author on my blog this week.
The Camerons of Texas
Have you ever created a genealogy chart for a fictional family you invented for novels? If no one says 'yes,' I may feel a little foolish. I did just that after I'd written and published three Western Historical novels under the subtitle--The Camerons of Texas.
In each couple's story, the hero and heroine were not the only characters in the books. There were parents, stepchildren, adopted children, brothers, sisters, and cousins. A large clan of Camerons. In my mind, I had enough material for about a dozen more stories. Today, I'm at least making a dent in my list.
In TEXAS BLUE (published elsewhere), the hero, Buck Cameron, had two sisters who appeared in the story. The first was Charlotte who had married William Garrison. Their two children were Maximilian and Katherine--Max and Kat.
~*~I used a grown-up Max in a novella "Dime Novel" titled Angel and the Cowboy.
~*~I used Charlotte in another "Dime Novel" titled Charlotte and the Tenderfoot.
~*~Now, I'm writing Kat and the U.S. Marshal as another one.
I agree this can be confusing, and that's the reason I made the chart. We authors feel like normal people, don't we? Even though we have characters in our heads and hearts that are very real. Any non-author cannot understand this, and so I don't talk about it to anyone except others such as I.
Unless I get a serious mental block, I have a list of characters for future novels or novellas:
~*~Lee Cameron King--he appeared in Texas Blue as a small boy who picked his nose and rode imaginary horses around the yard. I'd like to make him an early 20th Century entrepreneur during the oil boom in Texas--a wildcatter, a risk taker, a rich man with money to make money, a tough businessman who has a big sense of humor. I'd have him run into a real buzz-saw, a serious woman who is investigating oil company monopolies for a New York newspaper.
~*~Jackson Rene Deleon--he was the baby boy in Texas True. I see Jackson grown up and the heir to the great Deleon fortune. At a young age, he becomes the head of an empire consisting of ranching in Texas, gold and silver mines in Colorado, and shipping lines out of Houston. I'd have him meet a titled British lady whom he must convince to marry him and live in South Texas on the ranch--the headquarters for the Texas Star Corporation his father formed.
~*~Lacy Deleon--she was the little niece of Sam Deleon in Texas True, born in the Flats in Austin, a prostitution area where she and her little brother, Antonio, were born and lived. When True Cameron married Sam Deleon, she found the small girl and boy and brought them home, causing a huge problem. But True was determine to raise them as their own children. Lacy, now grown into a proper young lady, discovers her lurid birthplace and challenges the local government to do something. She would meet a brash, young attorney/senator and entice him to help her.
~*~Antonio Deleon--Lacy's little wild brother in Texas True. He was a hellion as a kid, although lovable and good-hearted. But he didn't understand the word "no." I see him grown and sowing too many wild oats and getting in trouble. I'd like him to meet a strong-willed female rancher who challenges him to straighten up and learn to be a man.
~*~Laura Lynn Paxton--Jo King's half-niece in Texas Promise . Beauty Laura Lynn has such a horrible past she knows little about, but sets out to find the burial place of her prostitution mother in New Mexico. In doing so, she hires a tracker to help her.
~*~Alexander King--son of Dalton and Jo King in Texas Promise. I have high hopes for the darling child. Just look at his name. He has it all--handsome, rich, smart, educated, adored by the entire family...and takes it all for granted. Until...what? His story will require much thought.
Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com
http://www.celiayeary.com
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Celia Yeary is a eighth-generation Texan, and her life revolves around family, friends, and writing. San Marcos has been her home for thirty...
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Where is Your Heart? by: Dorothy R. Crofts http://www.amazon.com/ also available at Barnes and Noble "Dorothy's poetry puts a ne...
18 comments:
Good morning, Shauna, and whomever else is awake this early. I'm up because I must dress up later and go to a "luncheon." I know--it's not one of the most fun things to do, but sometimes we do what we gotta do!
I do hope you'll stop by each day and leave a quick comment. I think--I KNOW--Shauna would love you as a Follower.
Thank you.
Hi Celia,
Like you, I need a way to keep all the names and attributes straight. When I write a book, each of the major characters get a file. Every trait, relative, nuance, hobby, etc goes in that electronic file. Each of the subcharacters gets a paragraph in the entire character list file for the book. I had to do this for the kids in Death, Island Style to make sure I kept the fidgetty ones fidgetty and the serious ones serious.
I think you have lots of great ideas for future stories. I look forward to reading them.
Maggie
Good morning, Celia and Shaunna. Lovely blog, Shaunna. I just wrote a long post and lost it! Woe is me.Celia, I didn't realize until today that your dime novel characters were part of the Cameron clan. How could I miss that? And yes, I understand about the characters who are offspring of your books who are clamoring in your head to have their own stories. They are very real to us, aren't they? Since I have read all of your books, I don't need to be included in the drawing. I know the winners will fall in love with your characters, too.
MAGGIE--the hardest part of writing a novel, sometimes is keeping hair color, eye color, and yes the fidgety kid or not, straight. Some people makes storyboards, but that just seems over the top--how about 3x5 cards? Those still work really well, and you don't have to wait for them to open.
I don't think I'll ever get all those stories written, but I love to picture the characters and plots, anyway.
Thanks for getting here so early--I know this is your super busy day! Take care--
LINDA--you and Maggie live on the East Coast..so you're here nice and early. I do appreciate it.
It's easier for me to think up a story if I know the characters. That's where the genealogy chart comes in handy. I have a built-in list of people already created, complete with a name and family history.
The Dime Novels? Yes, all of the characters--heros and heorines--are from that geneaology chart.
Kat, and Charlotte, and Max. Only Addie and the Gunslinger are not Cameron characters. I don't know why, though.
Thanks so much for visiting early--I hope you have a wonderful day.
Celia, you know how I love genealogy, but I haven't created a chart for my characters yet. It makes sense, though, with a series. Thanks for the idea.
Caroline--yes, I know you do. You probably have so many story ideas you don't need a chart. But mine worked for me because of all these "ready-made" characters.
Thanks for coming by and commenting.
Okay ladies, I was up while you were chatting here, but my eyes like a little time to really open and well, hey, I'm in the Pacific Time Zone! I love the idea of using the genealogy for more than one book. I've only used the idea once and am thinking I need to add a time chart to it as my series, should it be picked up and published, has a lot of time travel and well, when a character messes with events and alters the outcome - things get dicey to keep it all in line!
Thanks for visiting this morning.
Celia, like you I have a list of offshoot characters I want to build their stories yet. So many "friends" but so little time. We shall see how far I get in future.
Delores
Good post.
I have pulled out charts and made family trees. I have also tried to do the whole background on feelings and what they like and plan to do and dreams and,... it goes on. I don't spend a lot of time going through the depths of my character's mind. Well rarely, and I do keep track of names and birthdays and hair color and eyes, and even the spelling of the name.
Sometimes I think it's kind of pain, but it is good to remember your characters. Especially when you start putting blue eyes on a character who had green eyes in an earlier story. Or made them a year older.
Hi, Shaunna--I'm glad to see you. I thought maybe you'd over slept! I certainly wanted to this morning, but I had places to go and things to do. I like being back home.
A time chart is very good, too. I do have a simple one, but realized to keep all of them in the historical category, I could not go far into the 20th century. So, I just fudge on the timeline, because no one will know. Even I couldn't say off the top of my head.
A.--I hear you. The best laid plans and all that. At least I entertain myself with this!
Tina--you're wise to keep charts like that. I do as I write a story, then it stays in a spiral notebook. Yes, I still use spiral notebooks and 3/5 cards! Anyway, especially with a family saga, you must have this info at your fingertips.
Busy morning and lots of fun. I'm home from the doctor with good news/bad news. The good is everything looks good, if not a bit out of focus. The bad news is that the dialation and looking at the computer screen don't mix well. That and it won't return to normal for most of the day. so everyone enjoy visiting with Celia and Celia, thanks for visiting this week!
Great day here! Thank you all for making it so. Tomorrow is Tickle/Tease Tuesday and oh yeah, Celia knows how to tease us!
Great day here! Thank you all for making it so. Tomorrow is Tickle/Tease Tuesday and oh yeah, Celia knows how to tease us!
Hi Celia. I didn't actually present the information as a chart, but for Domingo's Angel I had lists of characters' birthdates, their family names and nicknames, their professions and their relationships with each other. Not to mention the names of nearby villages and distances from Amendillas. And, of course, tying the whole thing in with the dates of real events. I quickly realised that unless I kept detailed records I was going to have dreadful gaffes, like a character being only twelve years younger than his father, or joining the army at the age of ten.
If we knew how complicated it was going to get, we'd probably never embark on these things!
Love
Jenny
xxx
Jenny,
You make valid points. Nothing worst and time consuming than finding an error like you describe close to a deadline and having to rewrite many scenes. Genealogies, charts, 3/5 cards no matter how you keep track of them, it is a must! thank you for your comment.
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