It’s the continuation of the 'Alphabet City' series as it’s time to talk about Part 8. This book shifts to the focus of drug dealing, drug addicts and the life of Kevon. He’s part of a gang (it was only fitting I wrote it this way) and I had to make him a bad guy in some ways.
He’s a drug dealer, destroying the lives of his own people in the community. I knew ahead of time the direction I was going in with this book. After living in a few neighborhoods with drug dealing, I knew in my mind how I was going to write this book.
One thing I always do with book series is plan out my chapters and write an outline of what I want to discuss in the chapter. A lot of times the outline doesn’t happen because I write books in my head and then put it on paper. I definitely planned out the chapters for this book but once I started writing, I was able to wing it. The content flows and it comes to me.
My goal is always to put myself in that character’s shoes and make sure I immerse myself into who he or she is as a person. You’ll see their personality traits, mindset on life, know their morals and values early on. I don’t like to drag it out and Kevon was someone whose only goal was to make money, that’s it.
At a young age, he saw what life was like having money and in his mind, that’s what he wanted. I always like to put characters in positions where they think they want something and then later on, they realize it wasn’t worth it at all. There’s a sense of remorse or questioning their decisions. His life is a rollercoaster ride and you’ll see that throughout his story.
While not giving the book away, you’ll learn of his fate and life as a drug dealer. As they always say, this life leads to prison walls or the morgue because of the dangers and repercussions of this life. For me, I’ve seen so much in my life so it makes it a little easier to write characters like Kevon unfortunately.
I hope you guys are enjoying the insight into writing these books. 'Alphabet City 8' is available on B&N, Apple, Kobo, Scribd and other bookstores! Paperbacks are available on The Bookpatch!
Be good everyone and go accomplish your goals!
Jamell Crouthers
Aquarianmind
Write a comment