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May 2009 Article “Help!
My Imaginary Friends Won’t Shut-up!” By:
Kelly Moran
If you were to ask a writer how they knew they wanted to be a writer,
you’d most likely get a variety of responses. “I
read a lot.” “A school assignment.”
Yada, Yada. Want a valid way to tell a
writer from the general population? It’s the characters. Yep. Simple as that.
Often referring to ourselves as schizophrenic, we have characters that are
constantly talking, plotting, and editing inside our heads. These characters are
not, in fact, figments of our imagination, nor are they just words on paper.
They live, think, breathe- And are very, very real. We cry when they die. Laugh
when they do. Hate the antagonist with the same fervor. Root for them to win.
Fall in love all over again. And the majority of the time, much to our delight
and dismay, they never, never shut-up until they are heard. A lot of new writers make the
common mistake of thinking that because you know your character so well, the
reader audience does too. Not so. Be sure to make a list of their physical
characteristics, their personality traits, accents, responses, likes, dislikes,
and what’s in their heads. When appropriate, add it to the dialog or plot.
Don’t let that very authentic person to you become one-dimensional to your
reader. Make them realistic, genuine, flawed. Let them tell the story, not you.
It is, after all, about them. For you family and friends of
writers, or general book lovers, please be patient. It’s not necessarily that
we would rather type until our hands bleed, or stare at the monitor instead of
attending that lunch date, or slam that third pot of coffee to crawling in bed.
See, it’s because we have no choice. We need to maintain and grasp that thin
thread of sanity, or visit the coo-coo’s nest. On a last note, the next time
you find yourself walking down a busy street and pass that stranger who is
shouting to seemingly nothing, twitching uncontrollably, or muttering sweet
nothings into their own ear- Remember they are either a writer who didn’t give
in to the characters in their heads, or they are just the next New York Times bestseller at work. Kelly
Moran
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