Characters

One of my dreams as a writer is to come up with fantastic, compelling characters that people want to call their friends. My favorite characters of all time are Todd and Christy from the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. I spent my teen years making friends with these two, and was overjoyed in college when I read about their wedding. My dear friend in college used to admonish me time and time again by saying "Todd and Christy aren't real! Stop talking like they are!" They sure felt real. I was completely aware that I would never actually meet them, but I felt comfort thinking that they could really be out there, living their lives.

I want to write like that. I want to create characters that feel real to readers. Characters that will make readers pick up the story every so often to visit them like they would their family and friends.

One of my main struggles in that area comes from the idea "write what you know." I don't feel like I know much. I absolutely cannot pattern a character after myself, because I lead a pretty boring life. I LOVE staying home and watching reality tv. And I love reading of course, but I'm pretty sure a book about someone who stays home to read won't be very marketable.

I guess, then, my objective is to create characters of people who I'd like to be. I'd like to be a proficient traveller. I wish I were more outgoing. I wish I could talk to strangers and instantly make them my friends. I know I'd be more interesting if I had a more interesting job. I suppose I could write stories about these kinds of people and what I imagine their lives to be like. That's the essence of fiction, isn't it?