Backdrop Influences Characters

Previous discussions about characters touched on physical attributes and arcing behavior. This might be a good time to discuss the story time and location as they affect characters.

The time your story takes place dictates a great deal about how a character behaves and speaks. The A Pirate's Legacy Dolphin series takes place in the early 1600's. As this is a novel with an historical perspective, it is necessary to know what is going on between and within the major players - Spain, Portugal, France, England, and The Netherlands. Much of the action is set in the Caribbean, but events in Europe have a decided effect on what happened in the New World.

In Order of the Brethren, the major player country is England as it begins to encroach upon Spanish claims in the New World. The Dutch are in revolt against Spain so we see Dutch Jews appearing as pirates. (These were descended from Jews expelled from Spain in 1492) Some English colonies are just beginning to appear in North America. The island native populations have been largely decimated by Spain. These include Arawak, Taino, and Carib, however there are still remnants lurking about in out-the-way places.

Finding the costumes and customs for Spain and England during this period is relatively easy with both written descriptions and paintings. Not so for the natives. Some information has been documented on the Internet, but it takes digging, and some important tidbits are salted away in the most unlikely sites. It was necessary to reconstruct a few details from documents and photos taken in the early 1900's.

Knowledge of the types of ships, their operation, and sea lore is readily available right down to the loading and discharge of cannon, and cleaning of the ship's hull and the ever aromatic bilge.

A writer must also watch how their characters speak. Dialects can add a degree of color to a character, but be careful. Too much can slow, confuse, and frustrate the reader. In a previous book, The Urchin Pirate, one character is a Dutchman. Thanks to Google translator it was possible to select words as would have been used while speaking English, yet not completely bog down and lose the reader.

Entering the kitchen, she found Mr. Amstedt sitting at the table, a steaming mug of the black liquid in hand.
             "Goedemorgen, Lady Evreux," he said, rising quickly, bowing slightly as two gnarled fingers touched his forehead in a salute.
             "Good morning, Mr. Amstedt."
             "I hope m'Lady do not mind. A habit I have since developing a taste voor de foul brew."
             "Not at all, Mr. Amstedt, but it really isn't all that foul. It smells wonderful." 
             "May I fetch m'Lady a cup?"
             "Thank you." She took a seat across the table from where he sat.
             "Jou still have de look of vorry." 

In The Brethren, a seaman is accused of murdering his captain. By clipping his "ing" words gives the flavor of his origins. 

          “He deserved to die. It be worth dyin’ knowin’ he’s burnin’ in hell.”

 

When captured, Francois is taken aboard the victorious ship. It is owned and operated by a Scot.

          “He was manin' the gun that first fired upon us.” Captain Douglass' reply was brusque, his usual manner. “I dun no consider ‘im that harmless. He’ll be under guard ‘til the doctor says he can be placed in irons.”

          “Then what?” Mr. Guzman asked.

          “I’m no sure.” The captain was obviously wrestling with the dilemma. “We can no turn ‘im over to the authorities on the islands comin’ up. He’d mouth all over what happened and then our secret would be out.”

Of course, Spanish is used, and at least in the United States many words are recognizable. As most of these characters come from the south of Spain, it is necessary to use words, phrasing, and spelling appropriate to that region. 

Dialogue is vital when constructing a character and tells volumes without lengthy description. This can tricky. Listening how people speak from various parts of the world is relatively easy thanks to YouTube, just don't get carried away.

 

Another important resource is a good dictionary. (http://dictionary.reference.com/) Not long ago another writer was critical about my insistence on having a dictionary available when using Microsoft Word 2010. (The one provided is as anemic as a vampire.) In my case, it wasn't for spelling. The good dictionary also reports the etymology, when a word came into existence and common use. A writer can get away with using modern terms in the narrative, but not in dialogue. For instance, would a character in this period use the phrase/word, "sort of," or "sorta"? The phrase originated between 1200 and 1250. Plenty of time for "sorta" to enter into the vocabulary of individuals in the 1600's. 

Terms are important as well. We are all familiar with the command, "fire," when ordering the discharge of weapons. That term originated about 900, but aboard ships of this time the command was "shoot." Either could work, but being more historically accurate adds to overall flavor of the speech.

A parenthetical note about accuracy. Alcoholic beverages in this era were wine, brandy, and beer. Because of water quality, many Europeans drank a watered down wine. In The Urchin Pirate I referred to rum as one individual's favorite drink. Rum did not come into existence until 1645, some forty-five years after the story time. Oops. A little detail I overlooked. Don't tell anyone and we'll let that slip by.

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