Don't you hate it when your characters won't listen to you? In my work in progress, I had intended to have my MC have a touch of OCD. Not a lot, mind you, just a little. Well, instead of OCD, she's turned into a bit of a slob. She only wears ratty college sweatshirts and tends to toss her backpack and clothes around her dorm room. OCD is out the window (or maybe under the bed - the room is so messy it's hard to tell), so I have to go back and take out the few references to OCD that I'd put in the beginning of the book.
This happened with my last book. I love the name Olivia and hadn't been able to use it in real life (my boys - and husband - had issues with it), so I named a minor character Olivia. Apparently she didn't like the name so much, because everytime I typed it came out as Nina. After a while I got tired of fighting it and Nina she became (and seems very happy with it).
I guess that this is all part of the magic of writing fiction. It's like I'm not really creating anything; just writing down the movie that is going on in my head. I can't even glorify my position to that of director - more like directed. It's not so bad until I start verbalizing the conversations that my characters are having - usually in the car, at a stoplight with the people in the next car staring at me. Thank goodness for cell phones because now you can just pretend you're on the phone and not sitting by yourself in a closed car acting out the confrontation between a college freshman and her would-be boyfriend.
On this date: In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone.
PS - Thanks for all of the blog comments! It's nice to know that people are out there.
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4 comments:
Oooh, do I know what you mean! I have a character who is hiding something from my MC...which would be fine, except that she's hiding it from me, too, and I AM THE AUTHOR!!! (Imagine me stamping my feet and getting all red in the face). But she just rolls her eyes at me and leaves the room. Sigh. Maybe if I pretend I don't really care what her problem is, she'll come out with it? (Now I'm whistling and looking up at the ceiling...)
Maybe we're all suffering from the same mental illness because I have the same problems. Maybe it's a real syndrom with a real name. Has anyone bothered to look it up?
My mc (MG) took over a few times and at the end of the novel, he went and (accidentally) killed his best friend! I couldn't believe it! I cried for days. I yelled, stomped my feet, and cursed at him.
I finally gave in when I realized he was right to do it. But I hear ya cynjay!
So...writers are either highly evolved, creative, intellegent beings or...the other alternative.
I vote for highly evolved, creative, intelligent beings.
"The other" is just not an option for me at this time in my life (although my family would disagree).
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