Reading to Escape

Did you ever get into that mode when you're writing where that annoying little voice starts to tell you that this is silly, that these characters aren't real? And it really puts a cramp in your creativity because how can you possibly care about these people if you just know they aren't real and they don't matter?

No?

Just me then? Okay. When this happens, the best thing for me to do is put down the document and walk away, right into the open arms of somebody else's fictional characters. When I start to read, especially if I've met this author or I know anything about her/him, that same thought nags me--she created these people. They're not real. But as I keep reading, I'm inevitably pulled into their story. They feel real. They do matter. And I care about what happens to them.

The same can be said about my own characters, your own characters. Someone is going to love them and care about them almost as much as you do. Face it, you love them. They're real to you in some way. Sometimes all it takes it a little reminder. A little remembering what it feels like to be a reader, and to escape in the written reality that some amazing writer has created for you.

That's all I can say today because I miss Amy and Elder and I have to know what happens to them.

Happy Thursday!