In
Unbidden Magic, I narrate the story through my main character, Allie Emerson.
My thoughts fill her head. My words come out of her mouth. She feels what I
feel. I’m currently writing Midnight Moon,
book 5 in the series and, as usual, Allie is frequently in peril. I know,
because I put her there. Consequently, I feel an overwhelming need to rescue
her.
Here’s
my dilemma: Like most writers, I have a life beyond writing. When I travel out
of town for soccer games, weddings, graduations and the occasional vacation, my
work in progress is put on hold.
Why
is this a problem? Because if I abandon Allie in the midst of a predicament,
she nags me until I write her out of it. Remember what I said about my thoughts
and feelings becoming her thoughts and feelings? It works the other way too.
In book 2, Moon
Rise, Allie is kidnapped and locked in a closet in the dead of winter with
no heat in the house. I’d just finished writing that scene when my husband and
I left on a golf outing with three other couples. Fortunately, my friends know
me well and didn’t have me committed when I kept muttering, “Poor Allie. I’ve
got to get her out of that closet.”
In
the book I’m writing now, one of Allie’s friends is snatched by a Trimark and
chained up in a creepy basement. Guess what? She started nagging me. “Get me out of here! Spiders! Yuck!”
This brings us to the next question. Exactly how many people do I have to be responsible for? Two? Four? Fifteen? Oh please, I already
have too many voices in my head.
Oh for crying out loud! Who names their fairy Clyde :) Poor characters. Save them, Marilee
ReplyDeleteWhadaya mean? I think Clyde's the perfect name for a faery who is "the voice of the cistern.
ReplyDeleteMuyhahaha!