This is how I built my nameless and faceless hitman.
First I had him sighting through the sights of a sniper
rifle and sharing his dislike at the mime artist he could see. This was to give
my sniper a human personality while also foreshadowing later events.
Then I told how he hadn’t modified his rifle as it was
already carefully crafted and lovingly designed. Here I was showing how he
could appreciate beauty in mechanical objects and faith in their original
design.
My third constructive element of his character was to reveal
his target was his ex-girlfriend. Most literary assassins don’t kill women, but
I wanted mine to be different. I wanted to give him a personal agenda which
would make him standout from the crowd. (Which is silly really, as all assassins
prefer to blend into the crowd.)
The next piece of character building I did with my assassin
was for him to only ever load a single bullet into his gun. He classed it as
his trademark and if his prey escaped that one bullet, then his own moral code
would prevent him from making a second attempt to kill the target. I did this
to bring back the assassin from being overly cold and un-likeable.
By giving my assassin an accomplice who he referred to as
his apprentice, I turned his murderous trade into a noble profession in his own
mind. The training of an apprentice is a responsibility bestowed on the better
and more reliable tradesmen which gives my assassin another character trait.
So there you have it. One assassin built from the ground up.
And before anyone asks, no I don’t know his name or what he looks like. I don’t
think I ever will.
I’ve written a follow up to Shooting Stars and I plan to add
several more stories to the collection and then I’ll release a collection
featuring my nameless hitman.
I'm fascinated that you don't know, or want to know what he looks like - so many readers seem to demand full descriptions, although I prefer to leave as much as possible to the reader's imagination.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to read this though, Graham.