Who Was Your Character at the Beginning? At the End? How Much Are They Like You?

All right, y’all.

3 days left of National Novel Writing Month 2020.

Anybody else feel like this is the month that will never end?

Whether you’re in NaNo or not, let’s take one final opportunity to look at our characters.

Here at the end of the journey — whether you’ve finished your manuscript or just your 50,000 words — how has your character changed?

Did anything happen with them that you weren’t expecting?

Did they follow everything you had planned down to a T?

Are you two still friends at the end of this journey?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, our characters are the only ones who understand our novel writing journey just as much as us.

So spend one last section of time with them during this NaNo to reflect on everything you two have been through together, then get write on in to finishing up that manuscript!

See you tomorrow.

My Response

Vaeda has had me guessing from the start about who he is and how he works. There’s been so many ups and downs on this journey with him, but now that I’m moving toward a week out from finishing, I’m appreciative of him. He taught me much about myself on this journey, especially in regard to self-awareness and inner truth. I felt him during the writing process, and I feel his absence now that it’s done. I look forward to returning to him in an editing manner one day.

For once, I think I’d actually say we wrote this story together. So often, I feel at odds with my characters over who’s in charge of the story. Being a stubborn person myself, I tend to attract stubborn characters who think they’re just as right as I am. Vaeda has always felt differently because Vaeda has had me analyzing him instead of showing himself to me. There’s also the whole lack of sight thing that adds to his lack of physical characterization, and I don’t think that was unintentional on his part.

Although this story was constructed and oftentimes forced, I’m happy with what it’s turned out to be, as well as what it might become. Vaeda and I are certainly still friends at the end of this journey. I’m almost scared to introduce him to any of my other characters out of fear they’ll notice our closeness. I got some jealous characters in there, and they’re going to want to keep Vaeda quiet for a while. But Vaeda, just like the rest of them, will come back to me when he’s ready to finish off the remainder of his story.