One question that comes up a lot is how I came up with the character of Ryan Lock. The answer is that in some ways, I didn’t. He came up with himself.
What I mean by that is that when I started to write the book that became Lock Down (it was originally called Extraction), Lock wasn’t called Lock and he was going to be Scottish. Except when I started to write the opening chapter where he first appears he sounded American. Not just sounded, he was American. Sometimes that happens with characters. You have it in your head what they’re going to be like but they disagree.
So, right from the get go, Ryan Lock was someone who challenged authority, and that to me is the key to him as a character. He casts a critical eye over everyone and everything, he is a sceptic without being a cynic, and above all he has no particular respect for authority.
With everything that’s gone on in the last few years, especially when it comes to the behaviour of politicians and their buddies in the banks, I think a hero who challenges the established order and asks awkward questions is a good hero to have on your side.
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It's interesting how characters sometimes come to life of their own accord in the author's head, often in a way that conflicts with any original plan for them. I've gone as far as altering significant plot-lines to accomodate characters that have 'changed' in the past, because otherwise their actions would conflict their personalities.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your feeling that a loose-cannon character is popular with readers, especially these days. I reckon that we'd all like to be the one who stands up to authority, who challenges and changes things for the better and who won't compromise with corruption. It shines out in your character, Ryan Lock, and makes him all the more likeable for it.