How a Fictional Character is Born (guest post)
- C.C. King
- 8 hours ago
- 5 min read
Writers, can you believe it's already December?!
The end of the year is in sight, which makes it the perfect time to reflect on our stories (the ones we written or the ones still living in that strange space of our imaginations).
As a fiction writer, I’m endlessly fascinated by how characters come to life—where they come from, how they appear on the page, and the ways we help them grow into people who drive an entire story.
The main character in my first novel, which I’m currently querying, came to me while I was washing dishes one Saturday. By the time the sink was empty, I knew something about who she was and what she was doing in that opening scene.
Because I love hearing the story of how fictional characters come into being, I’m especially excited to welcome Shirley Miller Kamada to the blog this week.
In her guest post, she shares how her character Zachary, of the novella Zachary: A Seagoing Cowboy, developed. We get to learn about how he surprised her, deepened, and took on a life of his own.
It’s a thoughtful, behind-the-scenes look at the creative process and how characters grow to surprise even their authors. I can’t wait for you to read it!
Before you dive in, here's a quick summary of the story to help provide some context:
"Zachary Whitlock knows sheep. He knows farming and knows what it’s like to have his best friend forced into an internment camp for Japanese Americans. What he does not know much about is goats and traveling by sea on cargo ships, yet he makes a decision to go with a group of volunteers to Japan to help deliver a herd of more than two hundred goats, many of which are pregnant, to survivors of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
I hope you enjoy learning about how this fascinating character came to be!
—CC
Imagining Zachary Whitlock (The Origins of a Fictional Character)
by Shirley Miller Kamada
After publishing my first book, No Quiet Water, I was often asked, “What about Zachary Whitlock? How did the events of World War II affect his life?”
I was drawn to writing about Zachary because so much of his presence in No Quiet Water ended up on the cutting room floor. Moved by his sense of responsibility to his family and his community, his willingness to work hard, his curiosity—I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I wanted to know more about his interests and motivations, his intelligence and compassion.
In order to talk about Zachary, however, I must also talk about Bainbridge Island, Washington, where he was raised, and where my first novel, No Quiet Water was set.
During the drafting of that book, when I shared information about the story of Zachary Whitlock and Fumio Miyota in workshops, I heard, “Oh, you can’t do that. Snow Falling on Cedars features Bainbridge Island. You can’t write a book set on Bainbridge Island.” I have since heard the complaint, again in workshops— “Must all books about the history of Japanese American people on the West Coast be set on Bainbridge Island?”
But I had envisioned the people and the families in the story and the sort of activities that would fill their days well before I knew “where.” I knew there must be farming. I wanted sheep and lambs, planning that the neighbors, the Whitlocks, would raise them. I could plainly “see” Mrs. Whitlock combing wool and spinning yarn. I knew raising chickens had to be part of daily life. Mr. Whitlock wrote textbooks used in college classes. I could see him at his desk, working after dark by lamplight.
I knew Fumio Miyota and his family would be caught up in the internment.
I’d attended a writing workshop on Bainbridge Island and was intrigued by the ferry ride, the landscape, the climate. I called the Chamber of Commerce and, feeling a bit silly, asked the woman who answered the phone if anyone raised sheep there. She answered, “Oh, yes!” and gave me a few names to contact. So, the Miyotas farmed and the Whitlocks raised sheep on Bainbridge Island. The fact that Zachary had helped to raise the family sheep gave him enough knowledge (and courage) to think he could manage a herd of goats going all the way to Japan
When I began my research, I did not know that Japanese Americans on Bainbridge Island were the first to be incarcerated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I asked myself, did the Miyotas have to farm on Bainbridge Island? Because of the timing, yes, and because I felt the world needed reminding that Bainbridge Islanders were first sent to Camp Manzanar in California’s Owens Valley. Still under construction, living conditions were primitive.
The Whitlocks were, in belief and practice, apolitical conscientious objectors. This went a long way toward shaping Zachary’s thought processes and decision-making. Writing this novella made me think about his depth of character and the kinds of questions he might ask himself as a child of such people. Exactly what is our obligation to others? Does that obligation outweigh our own beliefs—especially if meeting that obligation requires us to counter those beliefs?
I could go so far as to say that those two questions alone informed the humanity of Zachary Whitlock.
I came to know of Floyd Schmoe, a man with a strong sense of justice who gave much of his time visiting internment camps, personally surveying the conditions to which people of Japanese descent were subjected. Looking further into the activities of the American Society of Religious Friends, I found that they helped connect those incarcerated with legal assistance, accomplish banking tasks, and brought needed supplies to the camps. When I learned that after the war Floyd Schmoe had taken charge of a mission to Japan with what was then known as the Heifer Project, the connection was made—in my mind and my heart.
I came to think of Zachary as a young Floyd Schmoe. From there the story took on a shape and grew, with a mission of its own.
—SMK
About the Guest Blogger
Shirley Miller Kamada grew up on a farm in northeastern Colorado. She has been an educator in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington, a bookstore-espresso café owner in Centralia, Washington, and director of a learning center in Olympia, Washington.
Her much-loved first novel, No Quiet Water, was a Kirkus recommended title and a finalist for several awards.
When not writing, she enjoys casting a fly rod, particularly from the dock at her home on Moses Lake in Central Washington, which she shares with her husband and two spoiled pups.
Connect with Shirley:
Grab a Copy of the Novella:
And don't forget to add Zachary: A Seagoing Cowboy to your list at GoodReads!
How do your characters develop? Shirley and I want to know! Fill us in by commenting or sending me a note!
Peace & Plenty,
