How I Made My Main Characters Grow in My Novel Series
Author Nekesa Afia shares how she went about growing her characters from the first to the second novel in her series. She picks four characters who appeared in both novels and (without spoilers) sheds light on how they’ve changed.
The thing about writing a long running (we hope!) series is that the characters need to grow and change. When I sat down to start drafting my sophomore novel, Harlem Sunset, which is also second in a series, the first thing I thought about was how I wanted my main characters to be the same, but different.
We all learn lessons, and for my main character Louise, every book holds a lesson. Everything is meant to teach her something. Whether she actually decides to learn from it or not is her business, but the lesson is there!
I’m constantly thinking about how my characters can grow and change over the years my books take place. Yes, some of that is location and the time period, but it’s more building a character with heart and personality, and then seeing what I can do to change it.
Plotting out my character arcs was one of the first things I did when I began to plan out Harlem Sunset. I always want to build on their personalities, their flaws, and everything that makes them human.
I’ve written before about how I made my characters feel so real. Now I’d like to visit the sequel (#spoilerfree) and talk about what changed and what stayed the same with a few of the Harlem Renaissance characters.
1. Louise Lloyd
At the end of Dead Dead Girls, Louise really, truly thinks that the worst of her life is over. She’s ready to move on with her girlfriend and her best friend and live her best flapper girl life. Of course, that’s not going to happen. Her growth is in how she handles it. In a change from Dead Dead Girls, Louise is all in this time—for Rosa Maria. Louise’s love for Rosa Maria drives this book.
As the main character, it’s Louise who the reader follows. And she has grown considerably since the end of Dead Dead Girls. She has a new job, a new apartment. She’s even quit drinking and smoking. Louise is committed to living her best life possible. But she’s still wary of men, still stubborn, still easily outraged. She still feels the need to stick her nose in everything.
She’s still piecing herself together. She’s still in a hurry to be someone and do something, and with a new case to handle, Louise will have to use the experience she got in the first book, and nothing is what it seems.
With Louise, it has to be baby steps, learning one thing at a time, or else she’ll hit a wall mid-series. It’s often one step forward, two steps back with Louise. I tried to hit a balance in her traits to show her growth.
2. Rosa Maria Moreno
Rosa Maria remains Louise’s stalwart, steadfast girlfriend. And her life is turned upside down when she’s accused of murder. But she remains practical and introverted, with her eyes on her goals. In Dead Dead Girls, Rosa Maria was Louise’s beacon of support, of warmth, her home. Now, it’s her that Louise is fighting for through this entire book.
Rosa Maria has her own goals. She wants to be taken seriously at her job and wants to finish the book she’s writing.
#Lousa has taken a big step since the end of Dead Dead Girls. Living together, their lives are even more intwined. They get to sleep in the same bed, they get to inhabit the same space without judgement. But their relationship is also threatened over and over.
With Rosa Maria, I wanted to focus on her getting her goals, much like Louise in book one. Whether she gets her goals remains to be seen.
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3. Rafael Moreno
Rafael has probably gone through the biggest, most visible change from Dead Dead Girls to Harlem Sunset.
Louise and Rosa Maria’s changes were more internal. But our favorite lazy gay is now a business owner who is possibly caught in a small love triangle. Even though he has a business to run, he hasn’t lost his charming, fun-loving qualities. He’s the same guy, deep down, just with a lot more responsibilities.
This time around, I wanted to show him as more mature, even though he’s still the man Louise can turn to, and still looking to have the easiest time possible. He’s Louise’s sounding board, and probably always will be.
4. Josie Lloyd
Josie has the saddest arc in Harlem Sunset. After the loss of someone very close to her, she is untethered.
To put it frankly, in this book, Josie has to fight to choose what she wants. She has to decide that she wants to live, and then do it.
Josie is still 17. In Louise’s eyes (and mine) she’s still a literal child. She has the whole world ahead of her for the taking, and she just needs to decide to do it.
Where Louise and company were at the beginning of Dead Dead Girls is not the same as where they are at the beginning of Harlem Sunset. Everything in the past has to somehow influence the future, and for me, that’s the most thrilling part about writing a series. I’m excited to see how my characters grow and change as I continue writing.
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Twenty-four-year-old Nekesa Afia recently finished her undergrad degree (bachelor’s in journalism, with a minor in English) and is a publishing student. When she isn't writing, she’s dancing, sewing, and trying to pet every dog she sees. She’s been writing since she was a child and this is her second novel.
