Keep Calm...

A roast, according to Wikipedia, is ‘an event in which an individual is subjected to a public presentation of comedic insults, praise, outlandish true and untrue stories, and heartwarming tributes, the implication being that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and therefore, show their good nature.’


Whereas I’m more used to the meat and veg with gravy version, a comedy roast, it occurs to me, might be a fantastic way to get to know your characters. After all, what shows a person more clearly than their friends and families recollections and stories of them? It’s all about what they’ve done, or in the case of the untrue stories, could conceivably be imagined to do. And the only real way to show character in fiction is through action and reaction.

Anyway, it’s a theory. And, to see if it holds up, I thought I’d give it a try. Starting next Sunday, with the protagonist of my current novel-in-revision, Stella Fortune, as seen by her sometime best friend, Dylan Albright.

And yes, I imagine some of the jokes might be about her name.