Sharing life: with a roomful of characters

October 3, 12:33 PMRomance ExaminerSally Painter

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Romance Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

I think most writers feel they share their very lives with their characters. While creating and weaving our magic, characters come to life and invade all our sacred places.

Only another writer can understand how the hero could keep you awake all night ‘talking’ to you about the heroine or how another character could be demanding you stop everything and write her story. RIGHT NOW! And if you are insane enough to ignore her - well, your life is going to be a living hell until you relent and bite the bullet, if for no other reason than to shut her up.

Oh, nevermind your agent is waiting for the latest rewrites, nevermind an editor wants to see your half-finished manuscript, because it is supposed to be finished. Write her story now! Your character demands - or else!

Sometimes I feel as though I’m Whoopie Goldberg in the movie Ghost. Where are you? What do all you people want? And I also wish I could just push this loud-mouthed intruder out, like Whoopie’s character does Orlando.

But I’m not Whoopie’s character and this heroine, although haunting, is no ghost. So what is the alternative? I have no idea. I'll write her story, while making the deadlines. Of course, as soon as I start to write her story, you guessed it, another group emerges to invade my life. And yes, out of this group there is sure to be at least one demanding his or her story be written right now!

I’m sure you have heard other writers say they never run out of story ideas. Well of course we don’t, there are too many characters literally crawling out of the woodwork. And everyone of them is pouring out their innermost thoughts and feelings. They love to relate all the dirty details of every conflict they ever had.

We certainly never have to ask if there’s an Orlando in the room. He’s in the shower, the kitchen, the car, the grocery store, and the doctor’s waiting room. He’s everywhere! Wherever we are, there is our ever faithful multitude following us around, constantly chattering .

Is this constant companionship a curse or a blessing? How often can you have so many guests in your life and not have to feed them or provide entertainment? And speaking of entertainment, one thing that is guaranteed as you carve out your career, you will never be bored.

So when you attend a writers' convention like Romantic Times, just stop and ask yourself: How many people are really there?