Hey guys! Today, you get a break for me, lol, and we all get to hear from Mannah Pierece, author of Cast Adrift, the first installment of the interstellar Arcana series. She’s here to talk about my absolute favorite part of storytelling: the characters.
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Noe
Noe is pronounced Noe-y. It could have been spelt Noë, but friends of ours decided to call their daughter Zoe rather than Zoë, so I went with Noe.
Noe is a minor character in the series of books I am writing. Like the other minor characters, the story is never told from his point of view. Unlike the other minor characters, he has a life of his own.
He arrived in chapter 18 of Cast Adrift; about two-thirds in. His arrival was a consequence of a twist in the plot and was convenient for me as an author because he is a source of conflict. I struggle with inter-character conflict. Maybe that’s a consequence of being happily married for over thirty years – I do not understand why people who argue all the time live together. It is a bad enough idea here on Earth, but trapped in a metal box travelling between the stars? Picking the right people for your crew would be high on any spacer’s list of priorities.
Having arrived, Noe had to behave ‘in character’ so he needed a backstory. Unhindered by consequences – Noe is only a minor character – the shackles were off. I have always been fascinated by children who survive: the five-year-olds who ran for the cupboard when the gunman started shooting; the handful of children who emerged from the concentration camps at the end of the Second World War; the eleven-year-old Syrian girl in a refugee camp who looks after her five younger siblings because, one morning, her mother went out and never came back.
So Noe became a survivor: the child just old enough to be taken rather than slaughtered by slavers; the opportunist who latches onto the adult least likely to kill him; the cynic willing to pay the price, however high, for protection. Noe is damaged but he is tough rather than brittle; tempered by experience.
This time, in chapter 18, he fell on his feet. He found himself in the Willow’s crew. For the first time in his life, the adults around him want nothing but simple cooperation and the completion of perfectly reasonable tasks.
Can he adapt? Of course he can; there is no way an opportunity that good is going past Noe without him taking advantage of it. Can he be trusted? That is another matter entirely. You will have to read past the end of Cast Adrift to find out.
What would I do if I met Noe? It would depend on if I recognised him.
If I did not, I might assume he was pretty girlyboy who makes the most of his assets and relies on others for protection. I might even be condescending, the possible consequences of which make my blood run cold.
If I did recognise him, I would try to avoid him. If I could not, I would be extremely polite.
You do not want Noe as your enemy.
Noe has yet to tell me if he is capable of being a friend.
You can meet Noe and the rest of the crew of the Willow in Cast Adrift by Mannah Pierce . You can find out more about Mannah Pierce’s interstellar world of the far future, in which Noe lives, by visiting www.mannahpierce.com.
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Wow, Noe sounds like a fascinating charrie, and I love that par you mentioned at the end, how he just hasn’t told you if he’s capable of being a friend yet. Even as writers, sometimes we just have to wait and see how our character arcs unfold, and I think that’s one of the most intriguing parts of the process. Thanks so much for sharing about him, Ms. Pierce!
Question time, readers! If you’re a writer, what’s a character of yours who’s taking forever to reveal his or her intentions to you? What’s one of the most surprising characters you’ve ever read about (keep your answers as spoiler-free as possible, please!)? Can’t wait to see you guys in the comments, and thanks again, Ms. Pierce, for guest posting!
Mannah Pierce has been building her imaginary interstellar world of the far future story by story for four decades. At the age of fifty she decided to try sharing it with readers online and then, five years later, spurred by the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, she wrote and had published Cast Adrift, her first fiction book.
In the everyday world, Mannah Pierce was a scientist and teacher but now works for a charity. She has been married for over thirty years and, predictably, likes cats.
Read more about her journey as an author at http://www.mannahpierce.com/blog.html.