Back Stories

I did not get up early this morning to write. Sigh! I was just too tired and slept through my alarm.

_______________________________________


Below is what I have so far in terms of back story for my characters. I had more than this one back story written but was not happy with most of them and am in the process of rewriting.

Thomas (Tom) McDermott.

47 years old; born on November 12, 1962. Intelligent, streetwise, 5', 11". Dark brown hair just beginning to gray, blue eyes. NYPD Detective assigned to the 6th Precinct, Greenwich Village, Manhattan. 48 years old. Raised Catholic, now on the fence about it. Entertained the thought of entering the priesthood earlier in life. Explored the seminary but ultimately decided against it. He now attends mass occasionally but can't decide to either leave the church completely or get back into it. His ambivalence about his religion is a direct result of what he has seen and had to do as a policeman.
He was raised on Long Island in Smithtown. He now lives alone in an apartment in Queens. Tom is separated but not divorced. His wife is Lisa, a practicing Catholic. Two daughters, Margaret, 16, rebellious, in high school and Barbara, 19, away at college, more conservative than her sister, also a practicing Catholic like her mother.
Tom served four years in the Army directly out of high school. He then attended SUNY Stony Brook (the State University of New York at Stony Brook); earned a bachelor's degree in history. Tom entered the police academy at 28 years old.
He drinks regularly but not heavily. He is in moderate to good physical shape but not great shape. He could lose a few pounds. He has just started lifting weights and running but does not do it regularly.
He is reserved but not too much so. He likes Italian and Mexican food best. He enjoys older, i.e.: 1940s and 1950s, movies. He also likes modern horror movies but will pretty much see anything. He will also see any movie with Sandra Bullock. When he reads he reads history. He can't stand reading police mysteries; he thinks they are not very accurate. Besides he lives that life everyday. His favorite music is Jazz. His mother is dead and he is estranged from his father, a hard drinking Irishman.
He does not want to go any further up the chain of command in the NYPD and is happy where he is. He believes that too much compromise is involved in becoming a "boss" and prefers to do detective work.

I'll have more tomorrow.
________________________________________

Bill Browning blogging from Starbucks in Midtown Atlanta, Friday, 5 March 2010.