Sitting here on New Year's Eve, getting ready for a wonderous new experience that I just don't understand, and having some interesting thoughts.
My marketing director (that's fun to say) suggests getting ready for my book release by having character interviews. I would need to research it to get more in depth on the subject, but I'm fairly sure I know what that is; running an interview of my character.
And it really drove home the observations I've had lately.
My characters live, sure, but not in the way some authors suggest. It really seems like people treat their characters as if they're a living, breathing person, completely separate from themselves.
But it's not like that for me. These characters I create are extensions of myself, and of the story I want to tell. I don't have characters jumping up and down, begging me to let them take control. It's never been like that.
It's always been more like a little kid playing with their GI Joes or stuffed animals; you're in complete control, and you make the figure go where you want. I make the stories, and I make them dance to my whims. They're puppets, not human beings.
So, while I never grew out of that childhood play phase, I just found better toys. And it deeply amuses me to think about holding up my little doll and talking from behind her. *high pitched voice* "Hi, I'm Keila!"
