Creating Fictional Families

How do writers go about creating fictional families? I suppose there are a lot of ways, but I start by looking at MY family, and I go from there. (Yes, this is a picture of me and my siblings. I’m the youngest. The cutest, right?)

When I submitted a 6 book series to Love Inspired, I knew that I wanted a tight-knit family. I wanted a lot of romance too. And I wanted some built-in tension.

So, I created Amos Yoder–a widower raising 5 girls. See the tension? He doesn’t really know what to do with 5 girls, and now they’re all adults or near-adults. Why is no one married? What can he do to help? (Ha! Stay out of it, dad.)

But 5 girls can be sort of confusing to read about if they’re not DIFFERENT enough. The oldest and youngest were easy. Sarah is the oldest, and she took on the role of caring for her sisters when her mother died. She’s the Little Mama.

The youngest was easy for me too because I was the youngest. I knew a little bit about that role in a family. For me, it meant that I was the one who could tell funny jokes, make people laugh, ease the tension a little bit. I was also the “baby” of the group too. So, yes, I was a little spoiled. Ada was a lot of fun to write, and you’ll get to read her story very soon.

But what about those 3 middle sisters? They needed to be different because everyone in a family is an individual. So I made Becca the person who wanted to travel, wanted to be “anywhere but here.” For an Amish girl, that’s a difficult dream to have. I made Eunice the tomboy. (How many times did my mom tell me to stop climbing trees? A LOT of times.) And then we have Bethany–sweet, quiet, shy.

So what did I have? 5 sisters. 1 worried father. 6 weddings. I guess you can figure out how I reached SIX weddings. Hahaha. I needed one more thing–the perfect setting. A setting that would kind of act as another character. A setting that defined who they were as a family. Which is how I picked the outdoor market in Shipshewana. It’s big, busy, and a nice combination of Amish and Englisch.

As far as who gets married when, I don’t know the answer to that question. I do know that Becca is up first. An Amish Proposal for Christmas is available now, and I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

~VC

Comments 58

    1. Sounds like a fun series.
      My husband is the only boy in his family, he has 5 sisters. So, he could tell you a few things about 5 girl siblings. 😉
      Blessings, Tina

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  8. Wow The Amish Christmas Prospal reminds us that plans do get change. From all of the Amish fiction I have read, for the most part they believe God orchestrates their lives. Also a wow if she ends up in Texas over traveling the world. True love to me always wins out. Have a glorious and wonderful weekend and the rest of the year.

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  13. The black and white photo reminds me of my early Easters. We were a family of 3 girls, 1 year apart, and Mom made all our Easter dresses and school clothes. The photos were also in black and white. I was the middle child.

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  15. Oh, this will be good. Love the picture. I’m the oldest of 4 girls, so this story will be fun to read. My poor dad! Even our dog was a girl.🤣

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  16. oh wow but this sounds wonderful. I love how you took from your own family and expanded upon it. Oh and yes you are just so cute.

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  24. I love the way you broke it down in the email: who, what, where, when. And what a cute photo of you and your siblings. Question, why is no one smiling?
    Are the five daughters afraid to marry and leave their father alone to fend for himself?

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  27. Looks like a great book I come from a large family a older brother and older sister and 7 younger brothers and 3 younger sisters 2 nieces violet age 2 and Lottie 10 months 2 nephews lon 1 and Vince 11 months and two nieces or nephews on the way.

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  32. How adorable! We had five kids in our family, four girls and one boy, he was the oldest – and every one of us was different. My baby sister is 13 years younger than I am, and I’m the oldest girl. We weren’t tight knit though. I appreciate how you took the time to try and figure out six different stories all with a different flavor. I appreciate you sharing your gift with us!

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  35. Your book sounds like a great read and I love the book cover! Thank you for sharing about it. Have a great weekend and stay safe.

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  36. I really like family stories because you can get to know the entire family. They are all present in the books but each book is usually centered around one or two individuals. These books are extremely satisfying if you get to see inside the characters and perhaps watch them grow.
    This was an excellent idea you had, Vannetta! I am looking forward to reading these books.
    Ps…throw in Cola, Phoebe, Milo, and Duke characters in these books, too.

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  40. Love your books and Congratulations to the other winners I Love that you use your family as your inspiration in your books and Yes the Picture’s are so cute! Blessings and have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. This is going to be a great series! I’m the youngest of (six boys) four girls ! And we’re all different, kept my mom going I’m sure lol So excited to read this and the cover is beautiful.

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  46. I like how you described your way of getting your stories together! I seem to really enjoy when storylines are written about a place I’m very familiar with, like Shipshewana♥️. I think creating characters, their personalities, their family interaction, and all the rest of the good stuff that makes a book a great story, is what grabs readers’ attention, along with the beautiful covers.
    I love reading your books! I can’t wait to start this series

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  47. This sounds like a fun series. It makes me think of Jane Austen’s Bennet sisters — all with very different personalities and a father who doesn’t know what to do with them!

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  50. Looking forward to reading this series. The characters sound fun. I’ve always wondered how authors “designed” all these different characters. Great info! Thanks!

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  51. I enjoyed Becca’s story and look forward to reading each one to see the great tale you created for the other sisters and Amos. You are one fantastic writer and Shipshewana Amish Market is a great place for your new series. Blessings

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