Writers often say that characters begin to write themselves, and I never used to believe that. I always thought that was complete hogwash.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Every character a writer creates has some of themselves in it somewhere.
In real life, people are constantly saying one thing and doing another, but if you write your characters that way, the story becomes too hard to follow.
The problem with being a writer is that some readers tend to think that anything that comes out of a character's mouth is you talking.
I'm not one of these 'the characters write themselves; the story just fell out of me' kind of writers. Wish it was like that.
I think all characters are facets of the writer. In a way, they have to be if you're going to write them convincingly.
I'm always writing about character first. Plot, such as it is, comes from the characters.
I think every writer will tell you that their characters are always partially themselves: who I am and what I've experienced. It's always there in part of my characters.
I know when I go and see a writer, the first thing I think to myself is, 'Are they the character in the book?' You just can't help it; it's the way people are.
Writing is a mysterious process, and many ideas come from deep within the imagination, so it's very hard to say how characters come about. Mostly, they just happen.
Definitely they write themselves. It's an amazing experience. It's like the characters have come alive and are sitting on my shoulder talking to me, telling me their tales.