One of my favorite things about writing a novel is that I have one-hundred percent creative freedom with what I choose to put into print. The plot lines, the mystery and suspense, the budding romance, scenery, homes and lifestyles, even the clothes people wear and food they eat – all of it is just made up. Sure, imagination is informed by life experiences and real places and things, but by and large I can write whatever I want to write. But of all the components of make-believe, my most favorite part is creating the people. The living, breathing, feeling, emotional, complex characters who are very much like any people we would meet on the street or at work or perhaps members of our families. I’m certain every fiction writer reaches a point in the creation of their their characters that those people become very real to them. I just never knew how much fun it would be.

The deeper I dive into my story and write scenes that my characters are living out, the better I know these people. I know what they look like, their mannerisms, how each would react in certain situations and what range of emotions each experiences. I think through scenarios that I’ve been through and put one or more of my characters in my place – how would that person have reacted? I am sometimes surprised at how strong my opinion is on what a particular character would or wouldn’t do, and why. I’ve also discovered that the characters that I’m most fond of are the ones who are the most complex and flawed. They don’t always make the right decisions, or there’s too much emotion tied up in why they do something, but they’re the most real to me. The characters that I don’t know as well I actually feel that I need to spend more time with them, to study them in social situations. So I imagine random scenes, maybe not even related to my story, for those characters to play out. Or I make up their family history or some back-story that shaped who they are to help me understand what drives them. Maybe I’ll meet an interesting person in real life and apply a personality trait they exhibit to one of my characters.

I realize as I write this that it sounds a little bit crazy. That I’m “getting to know” imaginary people I’ve made up out of thin air. But that’s the fun part. There are no rules and no limits, no one telling me what I can and cannot write, a tale that ends only in how I choose. I can be completely creative and completely in control all at the same time – who knew?!? If you have a desire to write a story, or a poem or a song, star in a play, or even just play make-believe with your kids, my advice based on personal experience is to just go for it. People may think you’re a little bit crazy (really we all are in our own ways), but I promise you’ll never have so much fun as this.