As much as I love the freedom of a first draft when anything goes and horrendous mistakes are allowed, now that my new first draft is complete, I’m rediscovering the next best thing. It’s the 2nd draft, when somehow, like magic, the characters have matured enough to write their own stories.
I haven’t checked the DSM-5 for inclusion of this phenomenon that many of us writers have. The personalities of fictional characters blossom into opinionated and insistent people. Distinct voices and preferences, wants and needs. They may fall asleep, but they never disappear. It’s really quite amazing to experience. Also, a little strange. If it’s not a mental illness, it probably leads to one.
My latest main character isn’t the most admirable, but her motives are enforced with primal strength. Eight chapters into the rewrite and she has argued about dialogue she would never say, thoughts she would never think, and actions she would never do. It’s almost as if all I have to do is listen and take notes.
I never would have believed it before I wrote novels to completion. The overwhelming series of tasks seems impossible from the beginning. What I didn’t expect was that my own creations would help me, and not just help me, but almost write it themselves. That’s magic.
