On Characters
This morning, while considering whether or not to spend all day in bed, I thought about writing. First of all, I did get out of bed. If nothing else, I have an appointment to give blood at 3:00PM.
Lately I've been reading Philip K. Dick: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations. In the introduction, David Streitfeld writes that, "One reason he (Dick) was so prolific - forty-five novels in thirty years, plus five fat volumes of short stories - was because his characters offered companionship he could find nowhere else."
I started to wonder what kind of relationship I have with my characters:
- 3 Aliens
- 2 Wayward Sons
- 2 Spies
- 2 Men Experiencing Mental Breakdowns
- 2 Estranged Sisters
- 1 Cyborg Detective
- 1 Family on Vacation
- 1 Vampire
- 1 Killer
- 1 Widow
- 1 Abandoned Child
- 1 Sympathetic Bartender
- 1 Remorseful Father
- 1 Time Traveler
- And So On
This has been said before (by much smarter people), but I think characters are just different reflections of a writer, something like a funhouse mirror or prism breaking light apart. Characters are the writer's unsaid insecurity, curiosity, fear, and most importantly, hope for the future.
I don't think I'd ever want to be friends with my characters. But if I did ever meet them all, I'd certainly give each one a hug.