Readers fall in love with characters, and they love to hate others. Sometimes readers wish they could be a character, and they often wonder aloud, to the author, "Which one are you?"
If I'm honest, I'll tell you that I'm everyone and no one. I have to become each of them in order to write them... but their stories are their own, not mine. This is fiction, my own story is much too dull a tale.
Some characters have qualities I wish I had; they are prettier or smarter than me; often they are stronger than me - Emily is able to exact revenge on an abuse where I could not. In some ways, I become stronger because of them.
Other times, they are who I hope I'll never become. Their faith is weaker than my own; I think they would not be so distressed by their circumstances or desperate to change them if they trusted God. If I can learn what drives Claire to take her own life, perhaps I hope this understanding will help me avoid the same fate.
I am a part of every character I write, and they are all a part of me; but, I am none of them.
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