Do any of you writers out there fall in love with your characters? I don't just mean hunky heroes, but villains too. Do they spend more time on paper than necessary? Until now, I'd witnessed this phenomenon with one of my CPs, and in a contest entry I'm judging. But today, I fell for my villain in my WIP. He's such a juicy character - an aging former heavy metal star with a Cockney accent and really poor hygiene. I find myself writing about his daily activities - his adulterous romps, his mindless hours spent playing video games and clubbing. When I went back to proofread, I was shocked that I'd done this since I always call my CP on it. But he's so fun to write.
I must take the advice of an agent I read a while back - KILL YOUR BABIES! I know - shocking to hear, huh? But I have to separate the wheat from the chaff, painful though it might be. Such is life.
Do you fall for your characters too?
On another note - I must share an email I got today - made my day:
"Just wanted to tell you that I think you tell a great story. I'm enjoying Kitten Club when I can squeeze in a few minutes here and there to read. Congrats on getting a new reader hooked."
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3 comments:
I do fall in love with my heroes.
I might be able to fall in love with a villain - but not one with poor hygiene. ;)
Yes, I definitely think about them night and day when I'm in the midst of getting the story out. But I have two excellent critique partners who prevent me from giving the wrong character too much air time.
Congrats on the Kitten Club email! Must be a great feeling.
I can't wait to read about your Cockney guy.
I do fall in love with my characters, which is bad because even though they're fully formed in my head, I just assume from the little bits and pieces I share that it's enough for the reader. But it's not :-)
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