For Christmas our family gift was a Wii. I set up my Mii character (you create a player for yourself, choose gender, hair, skin and eye color, and all sorts of other things). Some of the characteristics were like me and some were ones I wish were me. Through this creation I play games and perform various tasks.
Thinking of my character and the make believe world that didn't exist until a week ago, made me think of writing. With the Wii I see that character as me. As a writer I'm a voyeur into others lives. Even though bits of my personality leak into my main characters, it's not me. I talk with my husband about these people and tell him what is happening in their world. Sometimes he says, "You know they're not real, right?" Of course I do, but as I write a story the characters do seem real. They surprise me with things they've gone through or how they deal with their problems.
Now my confession: some ideas for my stories come from real life, but more often then not ideas pop in my head from who knows where. As I write their story I'm hearing it for the first time. Often I don't feel like the creator but rather the scribe.
How do you feel when you write or daydream? Are you in charge or are you more of a bystander?
New Release Spotlight: Cara Putman
3 days ago
I feel like I am my characters when I write, otherwise I'm not sure how I could write the emotions they feel and how they think. This is especially true with my YA WIP. Although I do get into some of my characters a lot more than others. I like being able to live through my characters lives - they do things I never will and in worlds I can never visit. :)
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