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Ichabod Brooks has had a long and exciting life that could fill many books with adventures. His youthful years were reckless, but he survived and gained the skills that would make him a legend. The middle of his career showed that he had no fear and he developed his reputation with a little help from bards. Now, he’s a seasoned veteran who is mellow and hard to truly surprise.
And it was only that third stage that I bothered writing about because I liked the idea of a protagonist with a history. The only problem was I didn’t know how much of it I should plan out beforehand. Too much detail would take away from the current story and I didn’t want to have him start at the beginning of his career. It would undo the desire to have a hero who had a family life. Not to mention the amount of time I’d be putting into crafting stories that I didn’t plan on writing. Those days/weeks could have been better spent writing the things I planned on publishing. So, what did I do?
Dug right into the third stage of life stories and crafted pieces of a history as I went along with outlining and writing. Every character he works with brings their own tales to share with Ichabod. Just reminiscing about the old times as they add more adventures under their belts. I like how you get to piece his experience together and it doesn’t take away from what he’s doing. Just like with his wife, Ichabod’s past is a puzzle that you get to discover as you read along. It helps fill out a character who has already lived a good portion of his life too. You don’t so much see him evolve, but see how he did it to become to person you see now.
Maybe I’ve spent so much time writing stories about heroes starting out in their careers, so this still throws me. The champions are all met at the beginning of their grandest adventure. Cassidy and Lloyd are introduced to each other at the same time the readers meet them. Clyde will be met when he becomes the first Dawn Fang and kicks off that event. Ichabod Brooks doesn’t fit with these characters because he’s not on an epic adventure and is older. I don’t need to bother with him training or learning the ropes of adventuring. It’s a little disorienting at times too because it means he keeps a cool head and can connect to a previous experience. As much as I can have Ichabod be surprised, it isn’t the same as someone who is new to the life.
This mystery past of Ichabod is another thing that keeps me coming back to him for more adventures. What I write about him now will reveal where he’s been. It’s almost like two adventures in one, which I hope the readers feel at times too.
Learn more about this hero in THE LIFE & TIMES OF ICHABOD BROOKS!
Cover Art by Circecorp
Legends of Windemere 
Makes for a wonderful character, because you can get right into it. I love a good origin story, and will keep writing them. Those are more about the shock of the initial experience and living it with the character. The veteran frees you from quite a few things, and can be a breath of fresh air at times. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday were veteran characters, and the movie Tombstone did okay.
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It’s always a tough call. The pull flood of origin movies made it difficult to do those. I’ve found people have very little patience for an inexperienced character too. They expect a quick maturing and few mistakes, which only really works for older characters. Veterans definitely remove that issue. The biggest downside to this is that an older character is seen as ‘for adults’. Never understood why the age of the character denotes the age of the audience these days.
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You could add a Robin type character. (Don’t do that.) I’ve done a little of both, and my older antihero worked because of his dog. I liked Jason Fogg’s origin story too.
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I shuddered at that suggestion. As much as I like Robin, it would be a disaster. The closest thing to a sidekick for Ichabod is his relationship with Morgan. She still does the idolization, but is definitely her own character. I like how she seems to enhance the long past factor of Ichabod. Having a young fan means he’s been at this awhile.
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I agree. Sorry for the late follow up. We left town.
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No problem. Been a busy weekend here.
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Update later tonight, depending on whether we get everything put away in time.
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I’ll do my best to stay awake. Big Lego day here.
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I brought the Ichabod books yesterday. He sounds like an interesting character, and I’m looking forward to reading his stories.
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Thanks. Enjoy the stories.
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I like the idea of characters with a history. Makes them pretty well rounded.
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And clears the stumbling early years that most have.
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Yes. 🙂
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I also like a character with a history, and the fact that you can get right into Ichabod’s adventures. It allows us to see why he has the reputation he has.
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He’s going to be a fun character to pull out from time to time. Still seems to be a hard sell, but everything is these days.
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Well, if you ever decide to write the early stories, you could have them told by a bard. They could be amazing stories, then at the end of the book or story, someone could claim that the stories are lies, the bard could look at the loud mouth and simply explain that he knows the tales are true because he’s Ichabod’s son.
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I was actually thinking of that kind of scenario ending with Ichabod entering the tavern. There’s the bard from Jester Flute who could be the narrator. For some reason, I keep seeing his son going into a similar business to his parents.
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Your idea makes more sense. The bard from Jester Flute would be perfect for that kind of story.
You’re likely right about his son following in the same line of work.
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Especially with the souvenir collection. I was leaning toward monster hunter for a little difference.
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Many of us have the experience of starting off first-level characters, but then gaming groups drift apart or more on to other games. It’s fun reading about a character who kept at it for all that time.
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That was a difficulty with Legends of Windemere. Most of the original group actually left the game soon after the second book started. I couldn’t cut them because of the first book needing them.
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out the story of the character Ichabod Brooks from the Legends of Windemere blog
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Thanks for the reblog. 🍕
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Pingback: Writing Links 7/31/17 – Where Genres Collide
I think you’ve hit the perfect balance with him. Well done!
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Thanks. Hard to know if I’m hitting the right notes until it’s published.
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