Love and Learn to Love

I'm sitting here at Panera Bread, lapping up my Onion Bistro soup as a quick meal before I delve into my new novel. But that's when a thought occurred to me: Why haven't I saved my protagonist yet? I assume this takes some explanation for you to truly get the meaning of this internal monologue. A few days ago, I watched as my main character, Ray Jicomick, got caught committing one of the most heinous crimes possible in his distopian continent called the U. I won't divulge too much into this topic, not wanting too reveal the plot of my upcoming novel. But as I sit here at my table enjoying my meal, I couldn't help but want to write more and more just to find out how Ray gets out of that sticky situation (or does he even get out of it?). I wanted to keep writing, not because I promised myself to write 2000 words a day (at which I have been failing miserably), but because I felt an intimate relationship with my protagonist. I couldn't stand the thought of him simply hanging there in limbo waiting for me to carry on with the story. And I feel two very distinct lessons have come from this experience, and theese two lessons are the reasons for this blog. First, to truly write good fiction (or even have a chance), you have to be emotionally attached to your characters, so much so that you want to write just to keep them from having to wait for you. You don't want to take a break from the computer because you need to know what happens next. The laundry can wait. You really don't need to order another latte, but what you do need is to keep writing soley to save your protagonist. And the second lesson I want to get across is this: You aren't going to feel this passionate about your characters from the get-go. It takes time, like any relationship, before you can truly connect with what you're writing. I didn't care about what happened to Ray until I was 10,000 words in. It's not a magic switch that makes you fall in love with your protagonist (or if you're a really good writer your antagonist), it's dedication and stick-to-it-ness. You can't love without getting to know somebody, and sure, there are those love at first sight kind of characters who you just want to pull straight out of page one and marry, but let's be honest with ourselves, most of the time, it takes time! And, as writers, that what we have to give up if we want to be successful. So, to reiterate, those two lessons: 1) Love your characters, and 2) Give yourself time to love your characters. If you can follow these, then you can write whatever the hell you want. Just thought I'd share a bit of personal incite. Peace out. -GC Werthmann