Ever read a book and have a really hard time not thinking about the characters or leaving their world when it ends? Yeah? Me too.
As I write this, I am trying really, really, really hard to move past my first book, Kept, and into Shelf Life, my work-in-progress. But I’m still marketing Kept and doing blog tours and promo, and it is difficult to move on to new characters when I love my old characters so much.
It does feel like I’m breaking up with them.
“It’s been great, Miska and Dillan. No, seriously. You guys were wonderful. Your dialogue, your character arcs, your setting — wish I could live where you do! — you guys were perfect. It’s not you; it’s me. Honest. I’ve got these new friends now — Kyla, Brett, Lacey, Adam, Aurora. I need to spend more time with them. Like . . . all my time. So . . . yeah. It’s been real, but I gotta go.”
Moving on is not easy.
(And writers are weird.)
I tell myself I’ll love my new characters just as much once I get to know them better. Give Kyla and Brett a chance, Sally! They’ve got things to say, important things. If you don’t tell their story, who will?
I need to cross-stitch that on a pillow. Or tattoo it on my forearm. Either one.
It might be that the fear of failure is holding me back, the fear that this book won’t live up to reader expectations, that this story isn’t as good as the previous one — no matter what I do. It might be that I need to stay away from Facebook or get my desk cleaned up or get taxes done or . . .
It might be that I need to put all my fears and angst aside and just write. Turn off the internet, get out for the night so I’ll feel guilty if I don’t write (since my husband is home with the kids), and listen to these new characters who have been patiently waiting their turn.
I might need to remind myself that there’s nothing more fun than giving a voice to people who don’t exist and finding out that there are real people who benefited from what these fictional heroes and heroines went through.
Yes, it might be that I need to make sure I’m doing everything God wants me to do — not just by writing but in living. For reasons only God fully knows, He’s called me into a writing life, a life made up by fictional characters who often challenge me right where I need it. And, maybe, where a reader needs it too.
How cool is that?
So if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my desk straightened, taxes started, and this rough draft moving! Because I need to learn whatever it is these new characters have to teach me.
Let’s talk! What book/characters have you had the hardest time leaving behind? Or what book won’t you leave behind and reread often?
Sally Bradley writes big-city fiction with real issues and real hope. A Chicagoan since age five, Sally has been fascinated by all things Chicago (except for crime, politics, and traffic) for almost as long. She now lives in the Kansas City area with her family, but they get back to Chicago for important things -- like good pizza and a White Sox game. A freelance-fiction editor and former president of her writing chapter, Sally has won a handful of awards for Kept and another work-in-progress. Visit her online at sallybradley.com or on Facebook.
Great post! I love characters I can’t forget. There are a few books I like to reread a lot: Gone With the Wind, Two from Galilee, and Jane Eyre. Can’t wait to meet your new characters!
From one Sally to another, thank you! I’m with you; characters make the story. Rarely do I read a book where I don’t love the main characters.
I’ve read Gone with the Wind a couple times. That’s a good book!
Sally, I know how hard it is to leave characters behind. Right now, though, my problem is feeling unsure about the whole writing thing. I was recently told by a writing friend that she thinks I’ve found my calling writing the genre I do. But sometimes I feel like there’s something different I’m supposed to be doing, yet I can’t figure out what it is. It’s such an odd feeling, and I can’t seem to push past it, so I’m listening to it. For now. And I’m praying about it, trying to hear from God whether it’s a voice to listen to or ignore.
As for favorite books I come back to, that would be The O’Malley Chronicles by Dee Henderson. I fell in love with those books from the very first chapter of The Guardian (that was the first one I received, but my sister saw how much I loved her copies of the series and surprised me for my birthday one year by getting the whole series for me too). My favorites in the series are The Healer and The Rescuer. I’ve read The Healer more than any of the others, but they’re all wonderful. Have you read them?
Blessings and happy writing!
Andrea
Andrea, the O’Malley books are good! I’ve read them all too. I can totally see why people would reread them.
As for your writing, sounds like you’re on the right path. Hope God makes the direction clear for you. :)
As a reader, it’s hard to leave favorite characters behind! Especially if it’s a series & you get to know them through every life situation. And I wonder, will they really be okay? Weird, huh?
I am currently reading a series by Colleen Coble, The Rock Harbor Mysteries. I am more than half-way through the second book (there are 4). But I know eventually I will have to leave all these wonderful characters behind. That is a sad moment for me. It often feels like I am moving to a new town across the US & I will never see or talk to them again. But then again, that’s what a good author should do! Introduce you to some new “friends”, teach a lesson or two in the process, & move you on to others who (like you said) are waiting for their turn! Lastly, I generally don’t re-read books. It has to be something REALLY special for me to. I just pass on those books to family or friends to enjoy as much as I did.
Really enjoyed this blog today Sally. I guess since I am not a writer, it’s hard to see things from that perspective. I’ve learned quite a bit just by reading different author blogs. You have some of the same thoughts as your readers sometimes. How cool is that? Blessings on your writing, keep on writing for the great author of our lives, the Lord! :-)
Trixie, loved everything you said! “Will they really be okay?” :D Yes, love that!
I have a few books I’ve reread and some that I just visit mentally every so often. I think back to Elisa and John Murphy in Bodie Thoene’s Vienna Prelude. I think about Hadassah in A Voice in the Wind and others. It’s fun to think about their stories, isn’t it?
I have lots of “imaginary friends”. I had to tell some of them to wait so I could focus on one set at a time and get something actually finished!
I rarely re-read books but one series I have read a couple of times is Jan Karon’s Mitford series. I also love all of Karen Kingsbury’s books about the Baxter and Flanigan families. I haven’t re-read them but I was so sad to have to leave all of them behind once I finished the last book. (I also liked the O’Malley series, as Andrea mentioned.)
Loved your book “Kept” and looking forward to “Shelf Life”! :)
Funny but I don’t like re-reading books, no matter how wonderful they are. I just don’t have the time and patience yet I do make time and have patience for re-watching my favorite movies! :) I enjoy becoming aware of details, deeper meaning and dialogue from the movie that I did not pick up the first time and so forth. Love re-watching “Maid in Manhattan,” “The Preacher’s Wife” (the featuring Whitney Housten and Denzel Washington) and my all-time favorite, “Father of the Bride”! I’d watch Lifetime’s movie “Lying to Be Perfect” all over again if I had the DVD. I related to the main character who worked at a magazine as a writer and columnist! :)
Sadly, telling them to wait is easy. But saying goodbye… :(
Jessica, those series by Kingsbury are my favorites of hers! It was nice that you got to spend that much time with the characters, wasn’t it?
Hi, Alexis! Thanks for your kind words. :) I do like watching favorite movies again. One of my favorites is The Lake House. Have you seen that one?
No, I haven’t seen The Lake House or any movie involving time travel because I think too deep. Lol
Hi Sally, I hear you when it comes to saying goodbye to our beloved characters. I remember submitting Her Tycoon Hero to my editor last year, a story I had started writing 16 years earlier, and feeling like my teens were growing up and flying the coup. I’d written 5 other books at that point in time, but Cassie and Ryan were special because they were first characters I’d developed as a writer. They make cameo appearances in the next two books in the series and I loved seeing them again. :)
First characters!! So hard to say goodbye to. But I’m so glad they saw publication. That keeps them living, doesn’t it? :)
Thanks for the encouragement, Sally!