Connecting With My Characters
October 30, 2008 Labels: help from above, writing life 3 comments
While writing the second edition of Help From Above, I've found myself really connecting with my characters. Sometimes I feel as if I am that character. In fact, I feel as if I have multiple personalities. Seriously, I really do! When I write the dialogue for each character, I become that character. Then I write the reply for the other character, and I become that character. For instance, George is an ill-tempered man, and when he gets angry with the angel, Ronald, I feel his anger and it tends to reflect through my dialogue. Ronald, on the other hand, does his best to be gentle, so when I put Ronald's reply to George into words, I feel Ronald's gentleness and apply it to his dialogue.
Is all this connecting with my characters good or bad? I'm not sure. Weird? Maybe. Nevertheless, that's exactly what has been happening as I write the second edition of Help From Above. The good thing is when I find myself in this... state of mind I guess you'd call it... the words flow like water from a faucet from my fingertips. I'll go back and edit later, of course, but as weird as it sounds, it's a wonderful feeling, and I think it will reflect throughout my novel. Whether that's good or bad, I'll just have to wait and see, but I'm sure my readers will let me know one way or the other. But honestly, that's how I feel and I don't know how else to describe it other than it's as if the characters jump into my body and take over.
Have you ever felt this way? In what ways do you connect with your characters?
You're not weird, Misti. You're a writer. Well ... maybe that makes you a little weird, but I think many (maybe most) of us identify with our characters. I also think that makes the characters more real to readers.
It's good to know I'm not alone.
I suppose we writers all have the right to be a little weird, right? ;)
Sometimes, a character might be an extension of yourself, the writer. Others you do need to get "into" the mind of the character, and understand how they may feel, or what influences them. It's all part of the creative process which compelled you to write in the first place. Having feelings you want to express.