It's impossible to not feel close to one's characters when writing them. When writing their story. They react as you create or destroy the world around them, and because of that you feel what they feel, even when it is not how you would react.
I've gotten to a very sentimental section in revising my first draft, and I'm sorry to say that I don't relate to my characters and their reactions nearly as much as I did when I was writing this set of scenes. I distinctly remember my own emotional response then, but now--I've crossed out most of it! I've even made a note in my notebook that says "less crying."
But I wonder, does it have more to do with the distance that's created in reading something slowly? I'm partly editing as I go along, and therefore spend close to ten minutes on certain pages. Or is it simply because I'm now more objective, and realize that my characters are a bit wimpy in this section, and completely in contrast with the kinds of characters I want them to be/become?
Has anyone encountered a similar problem? Do you raise your brow at a certain character's response and wonder what, exactly, you were thinking at the time?
I think a lot of has to do with distance. When we're writing, we're so entrenched in the emotional world -- we're so connected to the character, and very...in the moment.
ReplyDeleteAs time goes by, we're able to see the writing a little more objectively. I've definitely had that "what was I thinking here?" and "why did the character do THAT, exactly?" moments. I'm working on major rewrites at the moment, and there's been an awful lot of paragraph slashing. I'm completely rewritten one character, killed off the parents of another, and I've taken out whole scenes.
It kind of hurts, but it's very necessary. If it doesn't serve the story, I've started to lop off (figurative) heads. But holy hell--it's hard.
It is very hard! But I just keep telling myself it'll all be worth it. Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteYeah - most of the time it's because they're not reacting with as much force as a normal person would. I've also done some critiquing on projects where really crazy mythical things happen to people who have no experience with an alternate reality and they simply accept it. That makes me crazy!
ReplyDeleteI've come across that too and it is really annoying. But I seem to having the opposite experience with my main character, she seems to be over-the-top sometimes, when that's not how I want her to react. Thanks for commenting!
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