Let them Speak

I have been writing, writing, writing. Which makes me happy, happy, happy. I am in the terrifying position of having a completed, rewritten several times and polished historical romance that I can do nothing else with besides send to agents for the time being. So I have been. I'm up to five agents queried, so you can see I mean business. I'm 8 rejections short of J.K. Rowling's 12 rejections for Harry Potter, so that tells you I have a long way to go.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the rewrite to the sequel. In the previous book, the protagonist was of similar personality to me. It was somewhat easy to write from her perspective, because anything she might say or think, I might say or think as well. I've been realizing this time that my main character is very different from me, which has caused me to have to flex my writing muscles.

I had come to a "blah" section of writing where I didn't feel that undercurrent of overwhelming emotion I like to feel as I'm writing a story. I came to the conclusion it was because I have been letting my voice sneak in, causing my character to go silent.

It's easy to do. I tend to think my opinions and preferences are the best ones. I disagree with some of hers. And I don't always understand why she does the things she does. But to tell her story, based on Jesus' story of the Prodigal Son, I have to let her make some major mistakes. I have to allow her to dig herself into a pretty deep pit, or the point of the story and the message Jesus had for the wanderers will not be as clear.

It takes effort to write something that you don't believe. To put words in her mouth that I don't approve of. What if someone reading it thinks I feel that way?

But writing means letting go of my voice. Getting the author out of the way and letting the story come through. And the more I make a concerted effort to let her be herself, the deeper the story becomes.

So my advice to any other writers who feel like they just aren't getting below the surface with their characters - Let them speak. Don't talk over them. Shut up, even if you don't agree with them. It may be that they have something to teach us.

Thoughts? Leave a comment.