I've learned something interesting about characters in books. And I really don't care about what anyone else has to say about it.
Fictional characters are real. They are real in the sense that there you are with them on the adventure, be it fun or tiresome. You hear their voices. They tell you things. They share intimate details. You can smell them.
I had to ponder this idea of real fictional characters for a while to arrive at some conclusions.
Conclusion 1 -- You know someone just like the character. Or you are the character. It's called association. You associate with them, their traits, mannerism, bad breath, whatever.
Conclusion 2 -- If they're your own creation, you are seeing something in them you like or dislike about yourself. A psychiatrist could maybe help you sort that out.
Conclusion 3 -- You just love them so much, you want them to be real. I couldn't imagine what life was like during the age before electronic media. I could read Winnie the Pooh and imagine what he was like moving, talking, bouncing along. But to see him come to life in an animated movie... Now that gives the character a whole new dimension. My even better example is this one -- Harry Potter. I remember reading the first book, then the movie came out. From that moment on, the visual story in my head while reading the books had Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter as well as the rest of the cast.
My own characters have come to life. I've walked with Sam and Mrs. Steers through the back streets of London. I've had to sit back and watch bad things happen to them for the sake of the story. I dream about them at night.
It's hard work to write, but worth the prizes.
CSM
Fictional characters are real. They are real in the sense that there you are with them on the adventure, be it fun or tiresome. You hear their voices. They tell you things. They share intimate details. You can smell them.
I had to ponder this idea of real fictional characters for a while to arrive at some conclusions.
Conclusion 1 -- You know someone just like the character. Or you are the character. It's called association. You associate with them, their traits, mannerism, bad breath, whatever.
Conclusion 2 -- If they're your own creation, you are seeing something in them you like or dislike about yourself. A psychiatrist could maybe help you sort that out.
Conclusion 3 -- You just love them so much, you want them to be real. I couldn't imagine what life was like during the age before electronic media. I could read Winnie the Pooh and imagine what he was like moving, talking, bouncing along. But to see him come to life in an animated movie... Now that gives the character a whole new dimension. My even better example is this one -- Harry Potter. I remember reading the first book, then the movie came out. From that moment on, the visual story in my head while reading the books had Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter as well as the rest of the cast.
My own characters have come to life. I've walked with Sam and Mrs. Steers through the back streets of London. I've had to sit back and watch bad things happen to them for the sake of the story. I dream about them at night.
It's hard work to write, but worth the prizes.
CSM
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