tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post3857935887561204154..comments2023-12-11T11:36:37.489+00:00Comments on Macmillan New Writers: Round Robin: Frances Garroodmattfwcurran.com Web Admin http://www.blogger.com/profile/13651266491906006561noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-12499978453954714612010-12-16T11:17:22.326+00:002010-12-16T11:17:22.326+00:00I have a similar thing with my characters - they h...I have a similar thing with my characters - they have an unnerving habit of walking into my head rather than being consciously created. Occasionally they do things that surprise me (as others have said, it's difficult to convince non-writers of the possibility of that) - most notably a character in the WIP, whose dark side suddenly spilled out all over the page while I was writing, and turned out to be darker than I'd realised. <br /><br />Thanks for the new year wishes, and same to all of you too!FLBhttp://www.fayelbooth.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-52290036119013583472010-12-15T10:40:40.888+00:002010-12-15T10:40:40.888+00:00I love your line about not knowing 'who's ...I love your line about not knowing 'who's going to happen next' - that's exactly how it is, isn't it? I love it when new characters just saunter nonchalently on to the page and proceed to rewrite your book for you!Alishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-61013925907536950202010-12-14T22:21:16.452+00:002010-12-14T22:21:16.452+00:00Hi Frances
A great post and I agree with your com...Hi Frances<br /><br />A great post and I agree with your comment about being able to say things within the MNW group that don't sound pretentious.<br /><br />Thanks too for the questions. I hope my answers (when I get them done) are half as literate and thoughtful as your own.<br /><br />Best for Christmas and the New Year to you and yours.Brian McGillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17569349052013628187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-87107137409698618432010-12-14T19:22:32.765+00:002010-12-14T19:22:32.765+00:00Thanks, everyone. It's good to be able to talk...Thanks, everyone. It's good to be able to talk about things like characters coming to life to people who understand that that's what really happens. Saying this kind of thing to non-writers can seem pretentious (not to say eccentric!).Frances Garroodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10614916006798375706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-80198446787885934232010-12-14T15:20:37.060+00:002010-12-14T15:20:37.060+00:00I agree, Frances - watching your characters develo...I agree, Frances - watching your characters develop in ways that you don't expect is one of the great joys of writing. The opening lines of Dead Ernest are, by the way, amongst my all-time favourites: "No one had expected Ernest to die, least of all Ernest".<br /><br />A happy to Christmas to you, and to all of the MNWers - and many thanks for your kind and generous remarks about our various successes this year. Good luck to everyone with their writing in 2011!Len Tylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14998938558543525457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-4603752098419013242010-12-14T11:53:50.504+00:002010-12-14T11:53:50.504+00:00The feeling of having a character "come alive...The feeling of having a character "come alive" as you write is one of the great joys of writing.<br /><br />In The Dog of the North I introduced a character as "stage business" simply to give one of the other characters someone to talk to. As I wrote on, she developed a stubborn and unsentimental opportunism that I came to enjoy - so much so that, had the series continued, she would eventually have had her own book. You can never plan that sort of thing!Tim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-7898196491680555442010-12-14T09:20:16.297+00:002010-12-14T09:20:16.297+00:00Thanks for those very thoughtful answers to my que...Thanks for those very thoughtful answers to my questions, Frances. Have a great 2011!Eliza Grahamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-37329559672875858222010-12-13T16:52:19.664+00:002010-12-13T16:52:19.664+00:00I like your wording: "the characters arrive u...I like your wording: "the characters arrive uninformed." This suggests not only that you may not know everything about them, but they themselves are in a state of discovery of their own character and the story in which they're about to participate.<br /><br />I sometimes feel that writers imbue their characters were far too much self-awareness and too a priori of a grasp on the fictional world around them.<br /><br />Uninformed seems good for all concerned.C. N. Nevetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375714948653196993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642795057392908919.post-71216470992721217712010-12-13T16:32:57.114+00:002010-12-13T16:32:57.114+00:00Frances,
The process you describe so well capture...Frances,<br /><br />The process you describe so well captures nearly perfectly the way my characters come into being. Nice to know that other writers experience it the same way. <br /><br />Thank you for your insightful response.<br /><br /><i>drw</i>Doug Worgulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999842399881132161noreply@blogger.com