Week 3 of Ruth Snyder’s hosted #Blog Hop features a character sketch of our heroes! (Many thanks again to Ruth for hosting and Cate from CommuniCATE for sharing!) I decided to introduce folks to a character from one of my less-developed stories DragonFriend, a fantasy aimed at younger readers:
Hagan is the son of a blacksmith in an unremarkable village by a river leading to the sea. He towers over the other folk of the village with that gawky adolescent awkwardness that turns into thick muscle and a wide belly with age. His wide, friendly face is framed with thick black hair and a pair of green eyes gaze in quite wonder and amusement at the outside world. He loves to laugh, a deep, jolly sound that shakes him from his toes. Hagan’s size and muscle often fools people into thinking him slow or stupid, but he is neither. Whether with a sword or with words, Hagan is both quick and careful, sensitive to the world around him. Unfortunately, Hagan sometimes fancies himself to be more clever than he is or misjudges his own strength, which can get him into trouble.
His life is simple and quiet as he labors in his father’s forge, listening with rapture to the tales that various travelers bring in from the outside world. Whenever he earns extra money, Hagan spends it on books, acquiring a small personal library. He uses these books to teach himself reading and writing, and finds he has a talent with languages. But his dreams of adventure seem out of reach…until he sees his first dragon.
The world is full of dragons: big ones, little ones, earthy, airy, mystical, wise, powerful, and everything in between. Until his eighteenth year, Hagan had only heard stories of the beasts. But when a young Swamp Dragon washes up in the riverbank in a storm, cold, shivering and terrified, Hagan’s life changes forever. His boundless compassion and curiosity does not allow him to leave the little dragon unaided, and this choice leads him out of his village to wizards, the keepers of knowledge and magic.
Unlike many other would-be practitioners, Hagan is not particularly interested in magic or power. What he wants is to learn, specifically draconic dialects. Communication, he believes, is the key to understanding, and Hagan wants to become, in his words, “a mystical biologist” to study and understand dragons. It is a journey that will require all of Hagan’s courage, wits, strength, and good-humor…not to mention plenty of food!
The Cat's Cradle : On Hiatus! 
Kat, Hagan sounds like an endearing sort of guy 🙂 You mention Hagan is featured in one of your “less-developed” stories. Will you be working on it more this year?
Thank you, Ruth!
Yes, I’ll probably work more on DragonFriend this year. I usually have several projects in the works at once so if I get sick of working on one, I can switch gears and still be productive (even if it takes longer to finish). Some writers say you should only work on one project at a time, but that’s never really worked for me.
Thanks for stopping by, reading, and commenting!
It is exciting to see you develop as a writer. If I am not mistaken, we met at Camp Sagitawa at a ladies retreat and then i recognized you at the fall Inscribe conference. (Tell me if I got my wires crossed!) Hagan sounds quite intriguing. I alos like to switch things up and always have more than one project on teh go. Blessings!
Thank you, Tracy! I’ve never been to any writers’ conferences, so you must have met someone who looks or sounds or writes like me. 🙂 Thank for stopping by and commenting!
Hi Kat – ah fantasy, I love it!! You can’t go wrong with a story filled with dragons, I always say. Hagan is a very appealing character – best wishes as you finish the story.
Dragons are pretty awesome, although I hope to have stories featuring other fantasy creatures as well. The others tend to get a little short-changed! I’m glad you like Hagan. Thanks for the best wishes, Sara, and for commenting. Good luck with your own work!
I love that last “… and plenty of food.” This sounds like a likeable character–whose story may also inspire a chuckle or two?
I dearly hope so, Violet. Hagan is a rather light-hearted person, so I’m hoping to craft a story to match. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Hagan sounds intriguing, as does the story line. Well done!
Thank you!
I’d like to read Hagan’s story. He and the dragons sound interesting.
Thank you, Janet! I hope that you’ll get to read his story some day. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to work on “DragonFriend” very much because of more pressing or high-octane projects…but it has not been abandoned! (I almost never abandon stories.)
Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
I like the character too and hope we’ll hear more about it as you’re able to complete it.
Thank you! I’m glad you like him. Hopefully there will be more in the future. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!