Genesis of a new character

Characters are the engine that drives any plot—which makes the question, “Which is more important? Character or plot?” redundant. You can’t have one without the other.

The next question is, “Where do your characters come from?” And the answer is, “From just about anywhere.” Case in point: Alice Chalmers, the grungy girl mechanic who appeared recently in the pages of Magnificent Devices. Know what triggered her?

A tractor.

Yeah, so much for divine inspiration and the muse and all that happy Greek stuff. My inspiration for Alice was an Allis-Chalmers tractor. You know how tractor companies seem to have guy names? Massey Ferguson. John Deere. Caterpillar (well, okay, there goes that theory). Anyway, there used to be a firm called Allis-Chalmers and when I heard it spoken, in my mind’s eye I saw Alice Chalmers. Mechanic. Pirate’s daughter. Blond frizzy hair. Leather cap and goggles. No social graces, but a kind and generous heart.

Bingo!

Alice is so interesting and I love her so much that I think she might just have to go along on this crazy journey!