Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. -- Gene Fowler

Friday, August 6, 2010

The Character of Characters

It's the end of another week; where does the time go? I haven't done as much writing as I would have liked this week. I've enjoyed what I have gotten to, though. Revisiting those old characters was fun, and I plan to add to what I started this week.

It's fascinating to me how characters establish themselves in my mind. How they, gradually or right as they show up, display particular oddities, preferences, behaviours, that make them unique. I know that Character A prefers this kind of beverage to that one, and that Character B would never partake of that sort of snack. One character might favour a certain kind of clothing, or else they would certainly shun another kind. These two characters have a pseudo-adversarial working relationship. Some people, on meeting them for the first time, think they're married or siblings, but it's just the way they relate to each other. He grumbles; she, in his words, nags. But they're inseparable. It means they always have something to say to each other, and that gives me something to write about.

Every set of characters is different. Each has its own unique dynamic. Each is fun to write for various reasons. These people, they live inside my head. I don't know how they got there, but they come out sometimes and dance around on the page or screen long enough for me to capture their essence, then they go back to whence they came. I'm glad they drop by for a visit now and again. I have to give a few of them a call today and see if they can come out to play for a while.

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