Character Development

Abigail (Abby) Jordan, the main character of my upcoming novel, I want to Go Home, considers herself a Christian believer because her family attends church and Sunday school. However, she hasn’t experienced a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. Despite her religious education, she doesn’t realize she can be filled with the Holy Spirit for the asking. It takes the traumatic events of grief, loss, and homelessness for her to discover that God has been with her all along. She merely needs to call out, “Help me,” and God sends “angels” to assist her. Whether these beings are real angels or merely compassionate humans isn’t important. I prefer to let the reader decide. What is important is that through the acts of admitting helplessness, asking for forgiveness, and surrendering her will to God’s will, Abby finally makes the spiritual connection that changes her very existence.

Does Abby’s life improve instantly once she recognizes God’s presence with her? Does God rescue her immediately from her dire circumstances? No. If I wrote the story like that it wouldn’t be plausible because real life isn’t like that. Yes, God performs miracles every day—whether we recognize and acknowledge them—but in my experience, God is not a sugar daddy who lifts us out of hardships and challenges, magically removing the natural consequences of our decisions and actions.

In I Want to Go Home, seventeen-year-old Abby is a victim of her family’s sudden poverty and her mother’s alcoholism, but she also makes decisions that contribute to her unwanted circumstances. She thinks she has no alternative but to take her young brothers and run away. She thinks it’s the only way to keep the Jordan kids from being separated and placed in foster homes.

I’m convinced that God gives humans free choice to make decisions, but because we are flawed, often our decisions are unwise. The character, Abby, makes poor choices not only because she’s a flawed human like the rest of us, but because her father’s death and her mother’s inability to handle life throw her into an adult role before her brain is fully adult. 

With my story of the Jordans, I wanted to follow a family from middle class comfort to homelessness. As the plot and the characters developed, I found myself surprised by the direction the story took. That’s one of the reasons I love to write. It’s satisfying to watch my characters take on a presence and personality that surprises even me who created them. Could this development be a result of divine intervention? I hope so. 

      

Cindy L. Freeman is the author of two award-winning short stories and three published novels: Diary in the Attic, Unrevealed and The Dark Room. Coming September 2018 from High Tide Publications: I Want to Go Home. Website: www.cindylfreeman.com; Facebook page: Cindy Loomis Freeman. Her books are available through amazon.com or hightidepublications.com