If you write stories, I'm sure you will relate to my experience. I had a Lilly moment. Lilly is the main character in my mystery novel WHIPS, CUFFS, AND LITTLE BROWN BOXES. To know her is to love her ... or maybe hate her. It depends on the day. To put it briefly, or as short as I can possibly make it, Lilly is a forty-year-old, single woman who has issues. Guy issues, mother issues, friend issues, crazy neighbor issues, job issues, and the list goes on, but I promised to TRY and make this short. Anyway, Lilly gets inside my head and if you want to say I have a case of multiple personalities, okay. I'll buy that. I love my Lilly. In fact, I love all the characters in that book. They are family. But I digress ... I had a Lilly moment when my niece was explaining--she's fifty-five, divorced, and seeing this really great guy--that her guy friend had made an insensitive comment about her weight. WELL, Lilly popped into my head and the fireworks started. She went on a rampage about how great my niece looked and if guy friend didn't like it, then he could ... well, you get the picture.
Okay, so this little anecdote was really meant to be educational and informative, a writer's tidbit of advice. So, getting right to it ... Know your characters, become friends, create the whole picture for them, have conversations with them! If you do this, when you write their scenes, they will act naturally, genuinely, and everybody reading will say, "Wow! Now that's great writing!" Of course, side effects include the occasional Lilly Moment, i.e. replace Lilly with your character's name. But it's worth it!
So, go write yourself a few friends and have a great story to tell :-)
WHIPS, CUFFS, AND LITTLE BROWN BOXES
CINDERELLA GEEK
3 comments:
I've done that too, had moments that was just putting me as my main character, Lydia. I feel we know our character so much that we just get into their mindset and can't always remember that it is real to us and not necessarily to others. Good post!
If you write stories with multiple people in it, chances are you will have to have multiple personalities to make it work. Is that why some say all writers are a little crazy?
Krista ... And sometimes my characters have more entertaining things to say, so it's nice to "trade places" once in awhile!
Sarah ... Crazy and it also doesn't help that writing is such a lonely job ... we end up talking to ourselves just to have some company!
Thanks, ladies for the comments :-)
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