Sometimes the Character is Right

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

So, here I am again, staring at a blinking cursor, wondering what I should talk about. Yup, you guessed it. I have no topic.

I could mention the fact that I’m having trouble with my current work in progress, but really, that’s old news! I’ve been having trouble with it since I started it. I get so far and then either write myself into a corner…or off the cliff. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my characters don’t want to do what I want them to do. They, apparently, have minds of their own (which I find so strange, because, well, I created them!). Hmmm, that could be a direct reflection of myself and isn’t that a sad thing to realize? Of course they don’t want to do what I’m asking them to do. Why would they? If they are truly a reflection of me, then they would be stubborn. That’s not to say being stubborn is a bad thing. Sometimes, stubbornness if all you have and if it’s all you have, then you work with it.

Take Gabe, my hero. He’s a really nice guy. Funny. Kind. Sweet. That being said, he’s got a stubborn streak a mile wide. Just the other day, I was writing along and I had him do something that was totally out of character for him. I swear, his voice popped (small disclaimer here…I frequently hear my characters voices in my head and for most the most, I listen ‘cause they say some really good stuff) in my head and said “Are you nuts? I’d never do that!”

My response at that point was “I’m the writer. You have to do it.”

And don’t you know that man, that character I created just crossed his arms over his chest, stiffened his back, and said, “No, ma’am. With all due respect, you are out of your cotton-pickin’ mind! I’m not doin’ it!”

He was right, of course, and the scene went much better after I listened to him. I think I should listen to him a bit more and stop being so stubborn myself then maybe, just maybe, I can finish this story and move on to the next (because there’s quite a few I need/want to write)!

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie