7 Comments
User's avatar
Andromeda Romano-Lax's avatar

I've had characters who feel completely whole and real, yet I still wasn't sure they'd be able to hold up a novel, and characters I did have to prod along, the poor little Frankensteins. But I spend the most time thinking about the characters I abandoned, the ones who did nothing wrong, who might have held up, and yet I dropped them anyway; I think of them abandoned where I left them, shipwrecked on a deserted island or waiting for a cancer scan to come back, trapped in both time and place, and I FEEL SO BAD.

Expand full comment
Caitlin Wahrer's avatar

IF YOU FEEL BAD IT MEANS THEY WERE REAL!!!!!

Expand full comment
Kristin Offiler's avatar

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! As I head into another rewrite (hahahahah it's fine), I find I'm craving more stories like this where the writing process pans out differently than expected. And I agree characters are real. I only wish sometimes mine were real enough for me to tell them EXACTLY how I feel about them lol

Expand full comment
Caitlin Wahrer's avatar

I'm sure you would have anyway, but I need you to read this in Tim Robinson's voice: "I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT IT!" That's a good goal: write a character so real you can slap some sense into them. I love reading stuff like this too; makes me feel less alone in this weird business. So many books don't go according to plan. Makes me think of that saying about how you can be a perfect mother before you become one; you can also be a perfect novelist until you write a novel. I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT ANY OF THIS.

Expand full comment
Kristin Offiler's avatar

hahahaha gonna I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT ANY OF THIS whenever I hit a writing speed bump from now on

Expand full comment
Erin's avatar

ooooh this is so good! And honest. And I know all too well beating my head against a wall and thinking this should be the book, nope this, nope this. I love where you're at, and that you've committed to the summer and that you're going to invest those months and see where it goes. I hope you and this manuscript have such a great summer it gives you a UTI.

Expand full comment
Caitlin Wahrer's avatar

I just want to memorialize here what you already know Erin: that I laughed so hard at your comment that I had to sit down. (Thankfully didn't pee myself; don't have the UTI yet.)

Expand full comment