Friday, June 29, 2012

Daring to Re-Imagine

It takes a certain amount of bravery to dare to imagine in the first place, but even more courage is needed when you dare to re-imagine.  I have been re-imagining different aspects of my books and have come to several realizations.  Who knew that changing 1 word can have a powerful impact?  For example, part of my stories were set at Sandy Point Marina.  (an imaginary marina, whose name I made up ... come to find out there really is a Sandy Point Marina in MD)  Anyway, I recently decided to call the marina Dagger's Point Marina.  BAM!  That one tiny change had a tremendous impact. 

My stories were initially set on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.  But I recently decided to make a place that was all my own and re-imagined the bay as Fable Sound.  Fable Sound is a legendary body of water that holds many secrets and exists only in the realm of imagination.

Another little tidbit involves re-imagining my cast of characters.  It's no secret that I wrote the Nautical Mile Series about my boys.  But giving the written characters an identity of their own has been very freeing.  I can see the fighter, the friend, the savior ... all more clearly by placing the characters in their proper context.  Kevin became Remo (the fighter), Triston became Ames (the friend), and Kyle became Sabin (the savior).  These names reflect a blend of American, French, and Spanish; adding distinct flavor to the books.