As a writer, ending a book is incredibly satisfying and sad all at the same time. Satisfying for obvious reasons, but sad because it’s saying good-bye to people who have consumed my mind for so long. Yes, I know they aren’t “real”. How can I get all worked up over something I made up in my head? Well, that’s just the thing. Sometimes make-believe can become more real than reality. When my book ends, their world ends. And to me, that is a sad thing. Perhaps I could avoid this whole mess if I came up with an idea for a series (it would at least be prolonging the inevitable… because every story’s got to end at some point).
I love meeting my characters. They pop out of nowhere. I’ll see an elderly guy at a grocery store and something about this person strikes a cord – and a whole new character takes shape in my mind. One time, I saw a young, blind girl at church holding hands with who I assumed was her dad – and oh boy, did the ideas start rollin‘. Doesn’t that sort of make you wonder if you’ve ever been the spark that ignited a character in a writer’s mind? Weird, right?
To me, first meeting a character is like a really awesome first date with that guy who always made my tongue a little dry and my knees a little weak. It’s such a honeymoon. I fall in love with them almost to the point of obsession. (I have a very obsessive personality. Just ask my husband about Sims and hermit crabs and he’ll tell you all about how obsessed I can get with certain things.) It’s one of my most favorite things as a writer – creating characters. And right now I am more than a little pumped about the characters in my newest story.
Fun Writing News: I am so stoked about my current work in progress. This will be my third novel, and I think it’s going to blow my other two out of the water. Or at least I hope so. I don’t have a title for it yet – which drives me slightly bonkers. So if you happen to have any titles floating in your head that you wouldn’t mind putting up for adoption – I would more than gladly take them into my home and love them like my own. In its most raw form, the story centers on a relationship between two estranged best friends – and that’s all I’m saying. So if you think you can work with that – I’m not kidding – send the titles this-a-way.
Question to Ponder: If your life were a novel, what would it be titled? Ooo – that’s kinda fun!