That’s what I took away from the article in The Guardian earlier this week. You can read it for yourself here, but a quick summary is this: a majority of authors “hear” their characters.
This was a small poll of 181 authors at the Edinburgh international book festival, but it was interesting to see how the characters pop into their creators’ heads.
I can’t say I’ve had the same experience. That’s a good thing I think. Do I really want to hear Doug whine about losing all his money or Helene complain about her daughters? No thank you.
But as an author, it would be interesting to get so involved in the world that I have created to feel like I am part of that world.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve found myself lost in whatever shenanigans that Blake and Libby are up to, or how Tasha is going to react to her next speed date. And I have noticed that if I close my eyes and let my fingers start typing, dialogue comes out much faster.
But has Sara has told me what she wants out of her life or Brad shared his feelings about Carlton to me? Nope. Hasn’t happened yet.
I’m not saying it won’t. I’m still new to this whole process. Sure, I’ve been writing off and on for almost forty years (oh lordy, where did the time go?), but it’s only been in the last three or four years that I have made a conscious effort to sit my butt down in my chair every day and write. (Okay, not every day, but most days).
And for those of you out there who aren’t writers, what does this mean for you?
Well, you may want to write down what the voices are saying. You never know. You might have a book in you!
Until next week…
Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash