At least I find it harder to write.
Why is that?
I have recently written a short auto-biographical piece, and in the process discovered just how much I prefer to write about imaginary characters. So I started wondering what the difference could be. I don’t think it’s as simple as ‘imaginary characters do what you tell them too.’ A made-up character has to be as developed as a real one. They need to make just as much sense. Both types have their own logic and need to stick to it. I don’t think imaginary characters are as lose and unrestrictive to write as they might sound.
I’ve been pondering this for the past few days. I think what’s holding me back is honesty.
Real characters (in this case me and a few people very close to me) need to be portrayed honestly. When I write about the characters in my head I only need to be honest with myself. Writing about the people in my life means I have a responsibility to them as well. Retelling an event the way I remember it might not automatically mean telling it the way it really was. But I owe it to the people who share this tale with me to try. And that’s hard. And maybe it also means facing up to my priorities and the way I have interacted with the people in my life.
It’s all hard.
Think I’m starting to understand why I spend so much time with the people in my head.
(I’m not as crazy as that sounds! Promise!)
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And don’t forget, when you write about fictional characters you know them intimately and truthfully. How many of us can say we know ourseles with the same degree of clarity?
If you can see yourself as clearly as you see your characters, you’re doing well!!
Janette
Author
Good point. Maybe that was what I had such trouble with: trying to see myself with clarity.
Yeah, reckon I’ll stick to those fictional characters 🙂
janette said what i was going to say – the difference for me is that i know my fic characters well. there are no secrets and no hidden agendas going. they make sense, even if they do surprise you during the writing process every now and then.
like the new skin, by the way.
Author
Real people make less sense than the characters in my head. Yeah, that sounds right to me.
Thanks, the last theme was making me depressed… 😉
My problem is that I know myself too well–and I have no intentions of exposing my foibles to the rest of the world! 😛
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