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| Peter Leavell |
My daughter helped me add depth to my characters.
Each person perceives pain differently, a lesson learned
when I heard a sizzling sound and saw my daughter’s hand on the hot stove
burner.
She didn’t cry.
We rushed her to emergency, and the doctor said the burn
wasn’t horrific, but the poor child needed a therapist. (Her parents did too,
but that blog comes later—after we see how things turn out). So we took her to
a specialist, and doggone if she wasn’t more scared of a session with the therapist
than when she smashed her finger in the door, ripped her nail off, had to get x-rays—and
didn’t cry.
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| Peter, his wife Tonya, and kids! |
Each person, the therapist explained, feels pain at
different levels. My daughter, for example, falls out of chairs, climbs trees, breaks
her arm—and barely feels it. Understand, the therapist explained, that she’s
simply trying to feel something.
Anything. She may seem like a thrill seeker, but instead, she’s desperate for
sensory input.
Desperate wasn’t the word. All encompassing sums it up. My six-year-old’s
unwitting search to feel anything was
the basis for many, well, rather poor decisions. After months of therapy,
through specific exercises, her brain was able to recognize pain.
Characters in our work should have specific pain thresholds.
Each day, people make decisions based on pain or pleasure. It’s a great way for
our readers to connect to a character.
Everyone enjoys the soft touch of a rose petal, but the
thorn we avoid. When our favorite rubber ball bounces in the bush, how long
do we hesitate before braving the thorns and grabbing it? Where that line is
drawn for each person is different. Tad, the main character in Gideon’s Call, is like my daughter and longs
to feel, so he is forever full of bumps and bruises (climbing trees) and searching
for hot or cold (fire or swimming). His girlfriend, on the other hand, feels
pain easily, and likes only the softest touch. It makes her shy.
Pain thresholds aren't at the forefront of every
novel, but it does add an extra element to your character’s makeup.
My daughter is eleven now, and dances ballet. She likes the
pounding, the spinning, and most of all, the leaps. And she has a happier set
of parents.
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Peter Leavell is an award winning historical fiction author. He and his family research together, creating magnificent adventures. Catch up with him on his website at www.peterleavell.com, or friend him on Facebook: Peter R. Leavell.
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| Multi-Award Winning Gideon's Call |
Based on true events from the Civil War, Tad longs to better himself, but is hindered by his skin color. When his plantation owners evacuate, they leave their slaves without any money, education, or leadership. Can Tad overcome unimaginable prejudice and family secrets to become the deliverer of thousands? Gideon's Call is winner of Operation First Novel 2011 and Christian Retailing's Best First Novel 2013.
