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My guest this week is Mary Welk, author of novels, novellas, and short stories, including "Hickory, Dickory, Doc."
When interviewed by Mary Buckham
and Dianna Love for BreakIntoFiction.com’s “Five for Five Writers
Extravaganza”, author Jane Porter had this to say about the craft of writing:
“Great fiction requires great characters. Avoid stereotypes!”
Realism was one characteristic I
hoped to infuse in Dr. Ben Benjamin when I created him for the short story “Hickory
To accomplish this, I began my
tale by introducing Ben in the company of Lawrence Wainsworth III. The very
name ‘Lawrence Wainsworth III’ conjures up images of landed gentry and old
money. Toss in the fact that he owns a blue ribbon horse named King Tut and the stable Tut lives in and you can
pretty much figure good old Lawrence
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Ben is the complete opposite of
Wainsworth when it comes to money and social status. Rather than describe this
difference through a lot of background narrative, I let Ben explain his position
in the community in two brief but telling sentences. His comments are in
response to Wainsworth’s description of an argument that occurred during a chic
party at the local country club.
Who was I to doubt Larry's story? He'd been a ringside witness to the
main event, while I, Dr. Ben Benjamin, youthful veterinarian to some of the
most pampered horses in the state of Maryland, hadn't even been invited to the
Hunt Club Ball.
Ben’s social standing is now
clearly delineated for the reader; he may walk and talk with the rich, but the
young vet is still considered a servant, albeit a highly educated one. Ben’s
financial condition is likewise revealed when Wainsworth asks a favor of him.
Ben responds thus:
I hesitated only a second. Lawrence
The dissimilarities between the
two characters are further explored when Wainsworth says,
“Jack Fielding and I went to school together at Mansfield
And Ben’s thoughts on this are: Larry uttered that truism with sublime self-assurance,
then dismissed me with a soldier-like two-finger salute. I felt a bit like Alice Mansfield
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Creating credible characters is always
a challenge. Often, the best way to answer that challenge is to let the
characters speak for themselves.
ABOUT MARY WELK
