Thank you, Kevin, for your willingness to host a blog essay
related to my new mystery/thriller Architect of
Courage. In it, protagonist Archer Landis is a successful Manhattan
architect whose orderly life falls into disarray when the woman he loves is
murdered. That’s just the beginning of a summer of disastrous events that
befall him, which put him and everyone around him in danger. Events that,
ultimately, he has to try to sort out.
I’m pleased with the reader response, and one question
people often ask is, what was it like to write a book from the male
point-of-view? First, I never considered having a woman protagonist for this
story, so I had a male firmly in mind from the get-go. I took into account that
he is a successful businessman and a lot of the story’s action takes place in
his office, not at home. His role as the leader of a prominent architectural firm
is essential to who he is, and fits his “let’s get on with it” personality. You
see this in his interactions with his staff, helping them move forward through a
variety of difficulties.
In thinking about this post for you, Kevin, I realized that,
in fact, most of the principal characters in this novel are men: Landis’s two
principal associates, his lawyer, the police detectives, his right-hand when
situations become dangerous. Many conversations occur among these characters,
and in them, especially, I worked on the gender issue. Women (at least women of
my generation) were socialized to express themselves tentatively, “It’s just a
suggestion, but would you like a roast beef sandwich? Or, maybe . . . something
else?” whereas a man would say, “Let’s have a roast beef sandwich” and be done
with it. Of course I’m exaggerating. (See how I did that? Tried to get you to
go along with my example by using the “of course.”)
I reviewed all the dialog numerous times to make sure the
“weasel-words”—the things you say to minimize importance or weaken a statement—were
removed, except in instances where the speaker was genuinely unsure. I don’t
know, what do you think? (See?) A document search found every instance of the
word “need,” which I usually replaced with “want.” There’s a subtle difference
between “I need you to finish that floor plan” and “I want you to finish.” Once
you go on the hunt for weasel-words, they’re everywhere!
By excising that fluff from the men’s conversation, the
women’s voices became more distinctive. Yes, there are women in Architect
of Courage! One character readers single out is Landis’s
receptionist/assistant Deshondra. She’s young and a practitioner of upspeak?
You know what I mean? It makes sense that her conversation would be kind of
(there I go again) a counterpoint for the men’s because of her youth,
inexperience, and gender.
All this focus on how Landis expresses himself provides a
window into the more fundamental issues of how he thinks, analyzes problems, and
reacts to situations. Even though he doesn’t talk about feelings a lot, his
behavior reveals what’s going on inside.
I have a second novel that includes chapters in alternating
points of view, female (my protagonist) and male (a police detective). Compared
to Archer Landis, I find the female protagonist harder to write. There’s too
much “me” in there. She’s not me; I need her to bring her own self to the
project. What I want to avoid is a book in which the main character seems to be
the author projecting, what I call wish fulfillment literature. Action heroes
are prone to this.
Thank you again, Kevin, and I hope your audience members who
read Architect of Courage will enjoy it!
Victoria Weisfeld ©2022
Award-winning short story writer Vicki Weisfeld is a
Midwesterner (Go Blue!) transplanted to New Jersey. Many of her mysteries are
set in those places. Her mother’s Texas family inspired stories about Brianna
Yamato, rookie reporter and expert investigator for the Sweetwater (Texas)
Register. Vicki’s first thriller, Architect of Courage, out June 2022, is set
in the summer of 2011. Everything goes from bad to worse to worst for Manhattan
architect Archer Landis, who must find the courage first to survive, and then
for redemption. Visit her blog at www.vweisfeld.com.
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