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Do any of you have characters that...well, seem to get jealous when you are ignoring their stories?
I have three books currently in progress; two fiction and one nonfiction. The nonfiction one (regardless of whether it gets commercially published) is going to be the foundation and textbook for a course that I will be teaching through my church this coming spring, so I have been focusing my attention on that work and leaving the two fiction books on the back burner.
A couple of nights ago I was having trouble getting to sleep, and one of the characters from one of the fiction books just popped into my head. An entire chapter for that book sort of coalesced in my mind on the spot. At the risk of sounding like a raving nutter, it was almost as if this character were staring at me, tapping his foot, saying, "This is what you should write next."
I was unable to sleep the rest of that night, and unable to make the time to write the following day, and I was again unable to sleep that night. The following day, I was able to write the chapter, and it came out more easily than any chapter I've written in that story so far. And I was able to sleep that night.
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Yup, sometimes I can hear my characters talking through the fillings in my teeth. Usually they say nice things but around Halloween, well...let's just say it can get messy.
The real answer no. But I get ideas at random times, and have dreamed the odd good story--so nearly.
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I don't know about characters specifically, but sometimes I'll have ideas after I've gone to bed. When I get a good one, I try to get up and write it down.
I actually had a church leader tell me once that when I get ideas in the middle of the night I should get up and write them down. Good advice.
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No. I can see them, and know what they're saying and doing...but they don't seem to know I'm alive.
Posts: 8809 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Yeah I've had this happen a few times. It's actually how I came up with the ending for one of my stories. I had been dealing with an agonizing case of writers block, and decided just to not worry about it and start whenever I felt like it. About a week later I dreamed almost the entire scene. I keep a pen and notepad by my bed, so I wrote the gist of it down as soon as I woke up.
But what I think is kinda funny is that when I've been doing a lot of writing for several days in a row, I dream that my friends and I are interacting with different characters that I've written. Maybe I'm just nuts, I don't know, lol .
[This message has been edited by MasterTrek (edited December 07, 2007).]
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My characters act out scenes in my sleep or when I'm falling asleep or barely waking up A LOT. I lose a lot of sleep when they're really "busy" with storylines, dialog, action, etc.!! But they're good muses to follow, my characters. LOL! I'll see or hear entire scenes, have new sub-plots pop into my head, all kinds of stuff. The trick is to stay awake long enough to remember what they said before going back to sleep (it's always WAY too much to write down unless I get up and come into the office and use the computer - which I do, sometimes).
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I have ones that don't let me go to sleep to begin with. Sadly, they don't wake me up. That sounds exciting.
Posts: 141 | Registered: Feb 2007
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I think when you become a writer you become god (whoops, is that blasphemy?) for the little worlds you have created and they actually begin to exist somewhere in the multiverse. Unfortunately that probably means there is some pimply youth some where out there who is writing MY story.
God, I hope its not a tragic comedy--it has been so far...
It's funny you should say that. The very chapter that my character wanted written was one that dealt with the fact that books create individual universes. Heh. You might find Leslan to be an interesting character indeed.
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I never work on multiple stories at a time. Or rather, I never am in the "writing phase" of multiple stories simultaneously, but I think I can still relate. It I am neglecting my writing for days at a time, I feel like I'm being pressured to write. It's lamost like the character is trying to come alive or something, it's sort of creepy when you look at it like that.
Posts: 2195 | Registered: Aug 2006
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I am destiny
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My MC lives in my shower. No kidding. I have an adult male taking up residence in my bathroom. I get in the shower and come out at the end with a huge idea, revelation, or character development. This morning was no diferent; I know how to end book #7 now. My best friend thought I was crazy. She would tease me relentlessly. If I said I took a shower, she'd ask what my MC and I talked about. Regardless of the teasing, I appreciate the few minuets alone to think about my books.
The teasing changed one day. My friend was visiting my home and used my bathroom. She came out looking pale and confused. "What" I asked. "I belive you." she said. "Belive me?" I asked thoroughly confused. "Your MC lives in your shower," she said. I laughed, "You belive me now?" "Yeah and my MC was sitting on the back of the toilet talking to him."
We had a good laugh that day. But I have learned something; don't take things for granted. Like inspiration, even if it is from a guy in your shower.
Actually, at times there are more characters in my shower but my main MC is the most prominent. He and others live in my head autonomous from me and coment on my life and tell me how things should go in thier storys all the time.
I think the only diference between writers and those who hear voices in thier heads is writers have the ability to turn the voices into stories.
quote:A couple of nights ago I was having trouble getting to sleep, and one of the characters from one of the fiction books just popped into my head. An entire chapter for that book sort of coalesced in my mind on the spot. At the risk of sounding like a raving nutter, it was almost as if this character were staring at me, tapping his foot, saying, "This is what you should write next."
Was this character a chamber maid, by any chance? Posts: 746 | Registered: Jun 2007
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If all the characters I've created are really real somewhere and I'm really directing their lives, I'm going to hell on so many levels.
Posts: 657 | Registered: Jan 2007
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Having a couple of characters suddenly "gel" in my mind and then insist that I "write our part NOW" was how I learned that a novel does not need to be written in the order in which it will be read.
I wrote their part as they demanded, and then went to work on other parts of the novel. Once I'd finished the first draft, I was able to go through in the regular order and do the rewriting.
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I get woken up by characters all the time...even characters who aren't in the book at the time...they just appear out of nowhere. I've actually dreamt almost complete dialogs before...
Posts: 50 | Registered: Sep 2007
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Kathleen hit it on the head for me. I don't write in order. I am amazed and awed by people who do. It just doesn't work that way for me. I write whatever the characters are beating me on about. If I try to ignore them, I find I can't write anthing else. I'll often end up with the ending long before the middle is fleshed out as a result. It makes for a lot of consistency editing but it's a fun ride.
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