MUSE MONDAY
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| Mason look alike |
Ever so often, a character from one of my stories will come to mind. They won't appear in the exact context of the book. For instance, I just finished writing a book and haven't started the next one. That led me to thinking about Phoebe, from Southwest of Love and Murder, who is a murder mystery writer. She's still living on the ranch with Mason and her son Sky. I actually wondered what she might be writing right now.
My brother just got back from an Alaskan cruise, which led me to wonder about
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| My backyard in Minnesota |
Sandra Holiday from Sleeping with the Lights On. Last time I heard from her, she worked as a tourist guide at a lodge in Alaska. We might've had a cup of coffee in my backyard in Minnesota before she left for the frozen tundra.
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| Harte's lodge |
August, from A Legacy of Love and Murder, married an Austrian Inspector who bore a striking resemblance to James Bond, the Sean Connery version. I imagine she's learned to ski and sold her art studio in Tucson. Maybe she visited my Austrian friend at his lodge in the Alps.
Yep, my characters are like friends, living far enough away that I don't get in on their daily life since they solved the murder, calmed the suspense, and went on with their lives. I miss them at times just like you miss distant friends.
When you read my books, I hope you are totally wrapped up in my characters' lives. But my guess is, when you reach "the end", the story really does come to an end for you. Not so, for me.
Call me weird, but what I create, lives on. I miss them and hope the story I set in motion, the one they revealed as I wrote, continues to be the happily ever after life they deserve. And may the villains stay where the villains were condemned to when last we met. (although the truth is I thoroughly enjoyed knowing them too!)
I think about some of my characters. But they remain frozen in time where I last left them. After all, I write historicals and so they are all obviously dead. But I can imagine modern people as their descendants.
ReplyDeleteThat would be more difficult. Mine don't seem to age but they continue with adventures.
DeleteThis just goes to show how real our characters become to us. I often wonder how mine are doing...which makes them start talking in my head again, which leads to another sequel...
ReplyDeleteAlways great when it ends up a sequel, Laura.
DeleteI'm jealous of you guys who write the longer stuff. I'm mostly poems and short stories or flash fiction so I don't get to hold on to characters the way you do. A little jealous. I can pick up on the life of one of my characters tho. You're giving me ideas!!!
ReplyDeleteBut in shorter works you have to develop your characters so much faster. Hard job! Kudos to you.
DeleteHi, Brenda! Oh my, I've never thought of living with my characters longer. But when I read my stories, I see them in my head and they are alive.
ReplyDeleteYes, Vicki, they're alive! Even if you leave them behind.
DeleteI like checking on my characters, too. But now I want mine to be quiet, so I can work on new stories! Unless, like Laura, they lead to a sequel. :)
ReplyDeleteGood point, Sandra!
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