[WolverineRM]

@arindown Awww, thank you!! In all fairness the book’s in the editing stage so I’ve had a while to develop them… which I kind of love doing with all my heart. 😝 And YES, Har is hands-down an ISTP-T. He can definitely be assertive, but yeah, he’s shy. 🙃 Plus, his PTSD contributes to that side of his personality. 😉

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

(@arindown Hey, thanks for tagging me! 😉)

@winter-rose Okay, this is gonna be long. 😆

So yes, I write Army stories, but I actually have LE characters too, including a POV character. I’ve never specifically sat down to research it, because it’s something I’m pretty well familiar with. 😝 But here’s my thoughts.

Heads-up, probably needless to say, this is obviously a pretty—sensitive I guess?—subject right now. So it’s more important than ever that you do your homework, make sure you portray him accurately, not to anything to give naysayers any more fodder. LE are some of America’s heroes. Don’t settle for anything less, not ever.

Something that’ll probably help is this YouTube series—haven’t seen it in forever, so I’m not sure if there’s any content to warn you of, but I know I loved it when I watched it before. 😉

As she mentioned, Courageous is an amazing movie, just sayin. 💕 Definitely a lot of good inspiration there.

Something I have always loved that I know is helpful for stories is listening to the scanner. And if you don’t have a scanner or don’t want one just for research, lol, there’s ways you can listen to it online, possibly even specific to your own town.

It depends on where you live, I guess, but even if you don’t have any ties to LE, chances are someone you know is—maybe a neighbor, someone from church? And remember, just because they’re not your classic city officer doesn’t mean they’re not LE and won’t still be helpful. 😉 And I’ve never met an LE officer that didn’t have some crazy or fun or unusual story they were more than happy to share. ☺️

Just some basic pointers to get you started…

– Not every day is big and exciting. Just something to bear in mind. And day to day stuff can be its own kind of exciting.
– Something small to get right will be your police codes (think “10-4”). You can just look them up, they’re consistent across the board.
– Just within a city police department, there’s a ton of different jobs. Knowing which one exactly you want your character to do and then researching that in specific will definitely be helpful.
– If you do have someone LE to ask about it, also ask if they’d be willing to read at least snippets of it. Be willing to listen to their suggestions.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask! Hope that helps for starters…

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@melodyjoy Thanks so much for tagging me!!

I love how real this feels, like I just watched Chloe doing all this stuff. And I totally feel for her in some people just not being draining. 😅

Honestly, the only thing I can think to change is smoothing out a couple places…

“I pulled a boxed dinner from the freezer and placed it in the microwave. I stood there waiting for the satisfying ding…” to “I pulled a boxed dinner from the freezer and placed it in the microwave, then stood there waiting for the satisfying ding…”

“We met at a single’s retreat at our church. At the time, he hadn’t been a part of our church until a month before,” to “We met at a single’s retreat at our church, where he’d started attending a month before,” or something like that.

Tag me when you post more!!

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@arindown, and @everybody

Ahhh, thanks for this!! And wow, I love reading about everybody’s characters!! This is such a fun thread…

Okay, I have kind of a big cast of characters without realizing it, so I’ll just touch on my four most important…

Harley Keane: my POV character. He’s 18, slightly shorter than average, baby-faced with blue-green eyes and unruly brown hair. He’s an ISTP, shy and playfully sarcastic, feels everything deeper than he lets on. Reckless and flighty, if you ask Nigel. 😝 Obviously, if you read about my story earlier in this thread, he’s really struggling with PTSD, and his world is kind of all in pieces… but he’s gonna be okay. 💙

Nigel Manning: Harley’s best friend. He’s 19, blond hair and brown eyes, built a little taller and broader than Harley. ENFJ to the core, caretaker and defender by nature, slightly bossy. 😉 He’s a chaplain’s bodyguard in the Army and it’s exactly what he wants to do, even though Harley thinks he should’ve been a SEAL sniper.

Dallas Rhys: Harley and Nigel’s sergeant. He’s 25, dark hair, dark eyes, built like a tank, never raises his voice. His own kind of intimidating, fiercely protective of his guys, never lets anyone get close to his heart. Doesn’t always come across very understanding, and he knows it—but he’s got more going on than anyone realizes…

Keith Hayes: *all the heart eyes* Picture your Army vet, Texas rancher, can-still-take-on-the-bad-guys-any-day type guy, and you have Keith. He’s a Vietnam vet who also has PTSD, but he’s doing really good. He raises rodeo stock, and his horses are his pride and joy—especially Rebel and Turner, a blue-eyed paint mare and a jet-black gelding. He also has a blue heeler who’s kind of his service dog, and his family is the best. And yeah, he’s pretty important to the story. 😍

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@melodyjoy

Yeahhh, I don’t always like research either, but it grows on ya. 😉

Awww! Well, it’s easy because I’m on my phone. 😉 But there’s usually ways to get them to pull up on computers, you might have to look it up…

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@naiya-dyani NAIYAAAAA it’s so good!! It captures his personality so well somehow!! 🥰

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@beth20 Yay! I hope you enjoy it!

@claire-h Sorry, I got it, just hadn’t approved the comment yet

@seekjustice YES CHELSEA 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

@chalice of course the form had to eat yours 😏 (I promise it has worked sometimes! I can’t figure out why it does or doesn’t at any given time…) Can you leave a comment…?

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

Thanks y’all!! 👏🏻 🎉

Okay, so my form has decided to be finicky, so @elisha-starquill I got your email where you commented—@claire-h, if you could comment on the post…? Thanks so much for wanting to read it!

@eitan, no worries, I totally get that, and thanks!!

@eden-anderson I hope it is ☺️

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

Thank y’all… 🥰🥰

@beth20 Ooh, that’s such a neat premise!

@chalice Okay, that storyline has so much potential to be so crazy and fun 😆

Also @beth20 and @chalice, I’ll post the link to my alpha-call post and tag y’all in it. 😉

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@chalice Eeeee, I can’t wait!! McKinley 💙

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@kimlikesart

Of course!! It took me a bit to get the hang of things here too, but everyone’s nice. 😉

His name is Thunder Canyon. 🥰 And yeah, he’s big, even for a retriever, but he’s so gentle.

I write contemporary war fiction–modern day military stories. 💙 It’s a niche I think needs filled, and I love it.

I love that!! It’s neat that you’re writing over so many eras. 👍🏻

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@chalice

Oooh ooh ooh I am so here for this!

(Okay so, I’m slightly biased because I love broken characters, and make them all messed-up and moody and I’m done for.)

My POV character in my WIP, Harley, isn’t exactly bitter—well, maybe—but he’s seething angry with the world. He hates himself, he hates his best friend, he hates his battle buddy, he hates his sergeant, he hates basically everyone who gets in his path.

But like Elisha said, no one’s born angry. If you get to the root of why she’s so angry and bitter, that’s your key to making your readers love her. In my case, Harley’s naturally rambunctious and goofy, but trusting and pretty tender underneath… til a certain tragic point in the story. You only get glimpses of the old Harley in flashback sequences, but it’s enough to show you he’s changed. That’s my way of getting in my readers’ hearts. Plus, my tragic halfway-point is (hopefully) heartbreaking enough that you sympathize with him, even if his behavior’s enough to get on somebody’s nerves.

Also, because this is your POV character, you get the chance to get in their head. From the outside looking in, that character isn’t very likable—I can’t imagine reading about Harley from third person, he’s so clammed up and snappy. But getting inside his head, you get to see the inner workings of his mind. Does your character realize this isn’t how she should/wants to be? Does she know why she’s like this? Does she wish it were another way? Does she have flashes of realization that it isn’t fair to hate all those things?

Yeah, along those lines, even if you keep them inside her head, those little flashes of realization may be exactly what you need—it was for me. For half a chapter Harley’s brooding and yelling at everyone. But then there’s just this little moment of, this isn’t how I want to be, this isn’t the real me, why am I like this. Even if he’s angry and worked up, that gives you a reason not to dislike him for it.

But yeah, mostly the backstory, which I’m trying not to spoil for my own story… 😆 If they have a reason to be like this, you’re gonna feel bad for them no matter how they snap and bite off people’s heads. 😇

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@arindown Thanksy, I will… ☺️

I’m a city girl myself, but I’m currently living in a small town… quite the adjustment, but I think it’d be a really setting. And yeah, “Mayberry” is one big reference, although I’m obviously more familiar with the song than the show. 😉

Well, if you get something to post tag me, I’d love to see it. 😉

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

@kimlikesart

*waves* Go Texas!!! 💙 and homeschoolers 😉

Hope you like what you see around here!

His-fic is the best. 🥰 I mostly write contemporary, but I absolutely love historical fiction, and I write short his-fic stories sometimes—I just can’t do a full novel of it… yet. 😉 What era do you like to write about?

I love rabbits ☺️ I don’t have mine anymore, but I loved him so much. I do have a golden retriever now, though, and I love him to bits. He’s the best dog.

STRATEGY GAMES!! *squeals* You mean board games? Which ones? I love Risk, Stratego, and Battleship… does Clue count? 😝 I’ve playing Risk for, like, eleven years, and I can finally win it now. 😅

Good to meet you!

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

[WolverineRM]

I think it ate my post, second try 😝

Oh boy *rubs hands together* Thanks for this, @eden-anderson!!

My WIP, currently in the self-edit stage and 73k words, is Stop the Rain: Never Leave a Fallen Comrade. It’s the story of a teenage US Army MP (military police) during the heat of Iraq: growing up—joining the Army—getting deployed—mostly, coming back home. I firmly believe that there’s not enough YA books about our military, nonetheless about PTSD, so I’m out to change that. Harley comes home without a scratch, no physical injuries. But he’s hurt, and he doesn’t want to admit it. It’s the story of far too many of our soldiers, and I want to open people’s eyes to that. And it has a happy ending, because I want any soldiers or military families to read it to know, there is hope.

Since you asked for snippets, here’s my opening scene…

I’m laying on my back, staring at the far wall of the barracks, the chipped paint—that wall probably hasn’t been painted in twenty years.
My chest is tight, and I’m too scared to close my eyes.
A door slams, and I bolt upright. Then I’m trying not to cry, and I’m mostly failing, and since when do teenage boys cry in the middle of the night.
Since when am I scared of the dark.
I squeeze my eyes shut and clap my hands over my ears.
But even then, I’m helpless to ward off the screams and the explosions. I can’t stop trembling, so I sit there with my hands clenched to my head and try to wait it out, knowing I’ll eventually be exhausted.
An hour later, I’m still sitting there shaking. Only now I don’t have time to fall back asleep. I’ll have to get up for PT too soon.
I don’t usually wish I had scars everyone could see. But then there’s nights like this where I can’t sleep no matter how tired I am. And I have to get up and face the next day just like any other workday.
I’m Private Harley Keane, US Army Military Police.
And too many people think I’m okay because my body’s intact.

I don’t have my own Pinterest, nor a specific board for Stop the Rain, but I have a board on my mom’s Pinterest with sections for all of my stories, so if you’re curious… https://pin.it/7rJn5V5

It’s releasing Veterans Day, and in case you’re curious and want to read it, I’m looking to have it alpha-read this coming month… 😉

 

@eden-anderson That sounds so sad and so beautiful all at the same time!! That snippet… 💔 It honestly doesn’t sound cliché to me… it sounds like something that needs to be told.

@arindown *melts into a little puddle* No idea if you’re a country fan, but I felt like I just read the description of Rascal Flatts’ “Mayberry” as a novel and I just love that to pieces… 🥰

• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by WolverineRM.

I ask where he got these crazy ideas anyway
He just smiles and says, it’s the way that I was raised

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