As a writer, I’m sure the possibilities have occurred to you. Yes, Characters really talk to you and try to enforce their wills over the story, They also live through you. Moreover, you live through them.
Just like parents relive their past through the antics of their children, writers live the lives of their characters. "What?" you ask. But I’ve written some really bad characters and I don't want to be like them."
I agree, I write women’s fiction and I have no desire to be the women I write, but those women teach me valuable lessons.
These were my thoughts the other day during our critique group meeting. I brought a chapter from my cookbook and graciously distributed it as homework. I also brought chapter ten of The Trophy to read. I wrote Christy into that story several years ago, and I like her. What’s more my critique group likes her.
I live parts of her life every time I read or edit one of her chapters and I admit, her life is more exciting than mine. I guess you could say she is written well, but then, I’ve had a lot of practice with her.
Writers are a crazy bunch, we travel to far off lands, do dangerous, and romantic things. Our characters take us there. Sometimes they take us to places we don’t want to go, "But," you say. "Don’t the characters we write come out of our head, or from people we’ve known?" Aha. I guess we really are crazy, but most of us were very good at playing make believe as children and writing a just an extension of that.
Doesn’t that make you wonder about some writer’s childhood? Is there a place you always wanted to go? Did you always wish you were more . . . Then Write it.
Good luck with your writing—see you next week.
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