Emma Appleton's Blog - Posts Tagged "insane"
You're insane! - But it's my character, not me, honestly!
This week has been hellish. Well, maybe a little more strange than usual, to say the least. I was told I was insane by my absolutely NOT normal manager. I replied, no not insane, it's the creative genius that comes with opening that part of your mind when writing.
I suspect a lot of writers have that bordering insanity, whether its anxiety at a bad/mediocre review, or a worry about their storyline. I have yet to experience writers block, indeed I appear to find inspiration to write on a daily basis. If I ever found myself staring blankly at the screen, I would take it as a sign. I'm free! thank god! The characters have left me alone at last.
So these characters, where do they come from? I have been asked this question a few times, and have been unable to give a concise answer. Friends nudge me, oh they can see my character in my people. Now, I didn't think that was the case.
The women in my books so far, Nicole Shaw and Anna Morgan are fictional people, not based on anyone I know personally. Poor Libby doesn't even have a surname yet! I'm sure there must be traits of me in Nicole, but no, she's like my quiet friend. Apart from her love of good food, Italy and gorgeous dark haired men. I'm more likely to relate to Anna, she's more confident and career focused, but even that isn't strictly true of me either. Libby? well she discovers she's a lesbian so I'm not sure.
I went to see a medium a few months ago, when I started writing "Just Tell Me" and I couldn't stop thinking about the people, the story had taken over my life. I felt the real emotions of my characters when they went through their story, I thought I was cracking up. Maybe I should have just got professional help back then. Daniel MacIntyre had become real to me, and I needed some assurance I wasn't going crazy. So I went to see a fortune teller, because that clearly would reassure me. She told me I was channelling the spirit world into my books and that the people were telling their story through my writing.
Ok, so that sounds crazy. Not insane though, just crazy. Well not as crazy as when an actual man called Daniel MacIntyre appeared on my Twitter feed. That was really freaky.
I started to see coincidences in my real life to my creative one. But post writing. I had to admit, It was time to stop for a while and get a grip. What makes some people obsessed over stories? is it an escape from real life? My real life doesn't seem that bad though!
Maybe the fortune teller is right. Are the characters actual entities or just figments of a vivid imagination? As adults we are encouraged to be sensible and leave our inner child in the past. Who knows? but I do know writers are a little bit insane so I guess I've found my niche in life.
I suspect a lot of writers have that bordering insanity, whether its anxiety at a bad/mediocre review, or a worry about their storyline. I have yet to experience writers block, indeed I appear to find inspiration to write on a daily basis. If I ever found myself staring blankly at the screen, I would take it as a sign. I'm free! thank god! The characters have left me alone at last.
So these characters, where do they come from? I have been asked this question a few times, and have been unable to give a concise answer. Friends nudge me, oh they can see my character in my people. Now, I didn't think that was the case.
The women in my books so far, Nicole Shaw and Anna Morgan are fictional people, not based on anyone I know personally. Poor Libby doesn't even have a surname yet! I'm sure there must be traits of me in Nicole, but no, she's like my quiet friend. Apart from her love of good food, Italy and gorgeous dark haired men. I'm more likely to relate to Anna, she's more confident and career focused, but even that isn't strictly true of me either. Libby? well she discovers she's a lesbian so I'm not sure.
I went to see a medium a few months ago, when I started writing "Just Tell Me" and I couldn't stop thinking about the people, the story had taken over my life. I felt the real emotions of my characters when they went through their story, I thought I was cracking up. Maybe I should have just got professional help back then. Daniel MacIntyre had become real to me, and I needed some assurance I wasn't going crazy. So I went to see a fortune teller, because that clearly would reassure me. She told me I was channelling the spirit world into my books and that the people were telling their story through my writing.
Ok, so that sounds crazy. Not insane though, just crazy. Well not as crazy as when an actual man called Daniel MacIntyre appeared on my Twitter feed. That was really freaky.
I started to see coincidences in my real life to my creative one. But post writing. I had to admit, It was time to stop for a while and get a grip. What makes some people obsessed over stories? is it an escape from real life? My real life doesn't seem that bad though!
Maybe the fortune teller is right. Are the characters actual entities or just figments of a vivid imagination? As adults we are encouraged to be sensible and leave our inner child in the past. Who knows? but I do know writers are a little bit insane so I guess I've found my niche in life.
