Kay DiBianca is still on leave, so today I’m sharing her very first post here at TKZ, a guest post, hosted by Debbie Burke.
WHAT MY HORSE TAUGHT ME ABOUT CHARACTER ARCS – Guest Post by Kay DiBianca
by Debbie Burke
Today, I’m pleased to host cozy mystery author Kay DiBianca who shares her fun and unique perspective on character arcs. Kay is a familiar name around The Zone, offering frequent, insightful comments. Welcome to Kay and the horse she rode in on!
It was a day for speed. A wind-at-your-back, smile-on-your-face day when a youthful gallop overruled frumpy caution, so we barreled down the dirt trail into the park and around a blind turn. As the bushes on our right gave way and the road ahead came into view, a terrifying specter suddenly loomed up in the middle of the trail, no more than fifty yards in front of us.
Dixie, my high-strung, prone-to-panic filly, slammed on the brakes. I had no idea a horse could stop like that. Two stiff-legged hops – thump, thump — to a dead halt.
I went straight over her head. Turns out an English forward seat saddle is particularly ill-suited for sudden deer sightings.
As I was flying through the air, anticipating an unpleasant reacquaintance with Mother Earth, Dixie began some kind of crazy cha-cha in reverse, trying to flee the tiny deer creature. I was still holding on to the reins, however, so she couldn’t turn and run. Instead, she made a determined dart backward, dragging me along in her wake.
You might be wondering why I didn’t just let go of the reins and save myself from a mouthful of dirt and a painful awareness of my sudden change in circumstances. I’ll be honest with you. I would have let my horse drag me into the next county before I allowed her to return riderless to the barn. I have my pride, you know.
Body-surfing down a dirt trail at the whim of a frightened animal is an excellent way to focus one’s mind. I’m older now, but sometimes I still get that urge to gallop furiously into the next adventure, no matter what form it takes. But when I recall that day in the park, the awful taste of grit in my mouth, the look of terror in Dixie’s eyes, and the acrid scent of fear in the air, I pull back the reins on my emotions and proceed at a deliberate trot.
Whether dramatic or not, we each have a set of experiences that have transformed the way we view the world. Likewise, we all know the characters we write about must change from the beginning of the story to the end, and the change must be meaningful.
So TKZers: Tell us about a character in one of your novels that went through a metamorphosis. Was it a dramatic, once in a lifetime experience? Or a slow coming to grips with reality over the course of the story? How did you accomplish the change in a way that would grab your readers?
I’m deeply grateful to Debbie Burke for giving me the opportunity to post to the Kill Zone Blog. And thanks to all the TKZ contributors and commenters for allowing me to be part of the journey.
SAVING ONE LIFE IS LIKE SAVING THE WHOLE WORLD.
Kay’s delightful cozy mystery, Dead Man’s Watch, features characters the reader cares about.
Available at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.
Thanks for rerunning Kay’s delightful post, Dale. If TKZ readers missed it the first time around, they’re in for a treat today.
All the best, Kay!!!
You’re very welcome, Debbie, and thank you for hosting her inaugural post.
Thanks, Dale, for re-posting my first TKZ post, and thanks to Debbie for hosting me back then.
Although I’m still dealing with my husband’s health issues, I hope to be back in the saddle (metaphorically speaking 🙂 ) and return to TKZ as a contributor soon.
My pleasure, Kay! It was a great first post. Keeping you and your husband in my thoughts, and looking forward to when you return as a contributor to TKZ.
Having been a member of the polo team at my high school back in the ’50s I completely enjoyed your description of what happens during an abrupt stop by your ride. It was my first experience with glide testing the human body, but unfortunately not my last. As my pilot friends used to say, “Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.”
Love the story! As I ponder my characters’ arcs, I think back over some of the most memorable movies I’ve watched. All have a definite character arc – The Proposal, Two Weeks’ Notice (yup I’m a Sandra Bullock Fan), A Man Called Otto . . . Without a solid and believable character arc, the story falls flat.
Well put, Jane. “A solid and believable character arc” is essential
Delightfully written, Kay! Thanks to Debbie for hosting you, and to Dale for leading us to it again.
***
In my novel, No Tomorrows, we meet Annie Lee-a soccer Mom who lives a typical suburban lifestyle. Happily married, four kids…nothing out of the ordinary happening to upset the perfect life she’d always dreamed of living.
Until there is.
During one of those typical suburban grocery-shopping, homework-helping, PTA meeting days, Annie Lee becomes convinced she has no more tomorrows.
The reader follows her as she devolves from a confident woman who has everything she ever wanted to a fearful, peer-around-every-corner victim waiting for the axe to fall.
And when it does, it’s not at all what she expected.
***
I think Annie is us. Instead of anticipating our future, we often dread it because it’s an unknown. And most of us don’t like unknowns.
But here’s the funny thing. When the future arrives, it’s still coming…so we might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride.
🤓
That’s a heck of a character arc, Deb. You’re right about the future–it’s arriving in the form of now, and we can’t be certain what form it will take, better to embrace not being sure than fretting.
Enjoyed your first post, Kay, and your story. Completely understand why you refused to return to the barn without your ride. That’s just . . .horse sense.
🤣🤣🤣
Loved this! While I haven’t gone over a horse’s head, I have gone one way with the saddle while the horse went the other. Looking forward to your return!