Character Development: Why I Wrote a Novel about Four Sisters

Why I wrote a novel about four sisters 

(and how I approached their character development)

Writing a novel had never occurred to me, let alone a story about four sisters. Until a few years ago, I had written what I knew, in my voice and from my point of view, reflections like mirrors to my soul. I had studied the craft of memoir for years, and eventually, Under the Birch Tree: A Memoir of Discovering Connections and Finding Home was published. But after decades of writing about the personal, my work begged to be broadened: I needed to discover where my writing could take me. I had remained in a place of comfort until one day, a meander through the woods among the flora and fauna of a forest diverted my attention from a well-accustomed literary path to a new place of writerly inspiration. 

One day, while walking through the silence of the woods and settling into the present moment, I couldn’t help but reflect on pages of my past. I felt like my life was separated into thirds: the past, the life I was living now, and the life still ahead.

Considering my takeaway, I thought of the diverse challenges women face, my own included, and I realized that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. A rainbow of diversity—different ethnicities, cultures, dreams, and goals—offers women the chance to strive to be their best selves. And women strive to get there despite the many conflicts faced, and the decisions needing to be made along the way. 

Some women may not plan to become mothers, or to meet a life partner. Yet there is a shift in her intention when someone unexpectedly becomes part of her life along with a toddler in tow. Or perhaps a younger sister will follow in her older sister’s footsteps by attending college yet finds a more meaningful place working at a job where she feels she belongs. Or maybe a woman hides behind an occupation to avoid finding the one true person she is meant to be. And the youngest one who blocks out the noise of her sisters’ direction to find her own place. 

These women are portrayed in my debut novel, The Wisdom of the Willow. Simply creating female characters involved in conflicts and struggles does not make for a complete women’s fiction story. Creating these women with close familial relationships—sisters—would add another layer to their internal and external development.

To envision my characters’ growth, I started with their internal conflicts. Deb, the oldest and a corporate executive, questions the state of her marriage. Rose, an actress, wonders about her place in life after portraying other people. Linney is confronted with changes in the ownership of a small shop she manages, threatening her place to be. And Charlotte, the youngest and the one often overlooked, fights not only to overcome the age difference between her and her siblings but also to be recognized and valued. 

The sisterhood of four women would not be enough to secure a narrative. Creating their development within their relationships to each other, to their mother, and to the natural world would guide my storytelling.

I created a safe place where wisdom and lessons would be passed down through a generation to give the sisters a place of reference, a starting point from which to measure their growth. Their mother would teach them in the simplest of terms about life through the understanding of the inner connections the natural world has with us, and the one that we have with Mother Nature. A willow tree, bending in the wind but never breaking, would be a metaphor and common thread for the lives the sisters would eventually lead. 

But I felt that telling a story in the third person would not do justice to the characters. Each sister’s voice mattered, and hearing them allowed the reader to have a good look into their perspectives, personalities, and reasoning. Each character’s vulnerabilities and joys could only be made relatable by telling the story in their voices, in first person. 

As I had learned from the writing of my memoir, our reliance on the natural world to guide us when we face struggles in finding our places needs to be examined. The knowledge of connection, from our dependency on trees and on Mother Nature, is central to my characters’ development as their mother teaches wisdom under the umbrella of the willow. 

In the end, the sisters’ inner conflicts, and their exterior struggles to come together as they handle their mother’s terminal illness and eventual death, result in finding their places in life.

My portrayal of the fictional lives of women, of sisters, reflects women’s real-life struggles, accomplishments, and their success in finding their best selves. And discovering safety and security beneath a tree can offer wisdom to guide women in their present and future lives. 

I approached character development as a mirror of my life from the past, present, and future. When sharing the same wishes and realizing the challenges and conflicts women face, there is validation that women are not alone. As friends or sisters, women connect in their shared conflicts and struggles.

I illustrate how the wisdom Debra, Rose, Linney, and Charlotte have learned from the natural world guides their life decisions. And in the end, Margaret Dowling, mother to the four sisters, hopes she has given the willow tree’s wisdom in guiding them to their places.

About the Author: 

Nancy Chadwick grew up in a northern suburb of Chicago where Deerfield was marked by four corners, and making connections to it and to home would later become subjects in her writing. She got her first job at Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago and after a decade moved to international corporate banking. Nancy’s writing inspiration comes from her years living in Chicago and San Francisco, and meandering through the woods of any forest. Her memoir, Under the Birch Tree, and her debut novel, The Wisdom Of The Willow, are published by She Writes Press. Her essays have appeared in The Magic of Memoir: Inspiration for the Writing Journey, Adelaide Literary Magazine, and blogs by the Chicago Writers Association Write City, About Write, and Brevity. 

THE WISDOM OF THE WILLOW

Included in the “Most Anticipated Books of 2024” by the Chicago Review of Books

In the backyard of Margaret and Joe Dowling’s new house in the north suburbs of Chicago, Joe plants a young willow tree as a symbol of home, belonging, and growth. As the years pass, the willow becomes a place for Margaret to share life’s wisdom with their four young daughters.

Years after leaving the nest, now in their early forties, the Dowling women find themselves faced with changes that will define their lives. Debra, the oldest, is shattered when she is asked for a divorce. Rose, who has long hidden her true self, finally begins to evaluate her pattern of being in uncommitted relationships. Linney fears losing Magnolia, the magical shop where she works. Charlotte, the youngest, is the only one who knows their mother is terminally ill, and has been charged by her with keeping it a secret. And Margaret, now faced with the greatest of challenges and struggling with whether she has done enough to help her daughters find their way in life, calls them all to the family home to reunite under the willow one last time.

A metaphorically rich and reflective tale of sisterhood and strength, The Wisdom of the Willow is a story of hope and healing, of the choices that shape our lives, and the challenges we all face as we seek to find our places in the world.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing