Societal Commentaries

Are fictional characters real, to ask an author that question poses an interesting conundrum? If the author answers yes, his fictional characters are real, many people will look at him like he is crazy. On the flip side of that, if the author says no, his characters may rebel, and the author will find writing future stories very hard if not impossible.

On the surface how can fictional characters be real, as they are only a collection of letters that form the words, that give characters their names and their descriptions? So if they aren't real, how do they become real? Does a combination of words give them life or is it the belief of readers that gives them life?

For myself, when I started out writing Hearts Across Space, I had no idea whether characters were real. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about it. Hearts Across Space was designed and outlined as a three-book series, and yes, I said that four-letter word 'outlined'. However, that outline only lasted a few chapters as certain characters including two that were designed only as cameos demanded that I not only expand their roles but change how I was writing their story. Yes, I said demanded, and yes, I said their story. When I mentioned to ACFan, and a few others that I was being forced to throw out my outline because of some characters, they just laughed at me and said, "Welcome to the club".

So, you may ask how did those characters become real and take over your writing, it is very simple actually. They simply evolved and interacted with my thoughts as I was putting letters on paper or on the screen. How is this possible? As I type or write the word that defines a character's personality and physical description, an image appears in my mind, and as I add more words about the character, especially about their interactions with scenes and other characters they change from a 2D representation to a fully rounded 3D lifelike image with character/personality and intentions.

The number of outlines that get tossed, and prequels that, were forced to be written because of characters must number in the trillions. As characters are developed and expanded, they not only take on life in the author's thoughts but in the minds of the readers as well. Just as an author versus a writer put you in the scene and story, a well-crafted character, draws you into becoming them and experiencing their story from their eyes and or perspective. If a character can draw you into the story and becoming them, and you are real, then how could they not be real?

Many of the prequels that are written, and quite a few of the spin-offs were written because characters changed the direction of the original story and the author had to write more books to cover the issues, and scenes that weren't covered originally due to their characters taking control of their story.

In Hearts Across Space, the 'Imps' Logen and Cobi weren't supposed to appear much later in the story and were only supposed to be part of Alexii's back story. However, they appeared in my thoughts and completely changed the direction of the story, and what was supposed to only be a few paragraphs about them became a whole chapter, and now they are an integral part of the story. A similar thing happened with Alexander. He was also only supposed to make a few cameo appearances in Book One, and not become a major character until Book Two, which was supposed to be about him. Well, Alexander ruined that when he took over my fingers and wrote Chapter Three. What's an author to do? 

When I asked 'Goos', Jonah, and A'lexii this question their answer was a resounding "Duh"! 

Another answer to this question is if that is if you become the character, and believe they are real, then they are real.

I believe that a lot of characters are created and molded as a result of things occurring in the world around the author as they are developing the character(s). They are a subconscious manifestation of how an author wishes that he or she or people in the world would believe and behave. Can fictional characters influence the world we live in? The answer in my opinion is a resounding yes. If a Fictional Character can get people to think and act differently, then yes, they can affect the world we live in. If more people would take Draconis' wisdom and her way as their personal belief, this world would be a far better place to live.

Another example of how Fictional Characters are real, is when people start to ask, what would a character think, what would a character say, or how would a character react?

Are all Fictional Characters real? Of course not. Only those that the author has breathed life and soul into.

You may call me crazy, but I firmly believe, 'Goos', A'lexii, S'ean, and Jonah are real, as I become them and channel them into the words that I write.

If Fictional Characters weren't real, the words we write wouldn't be the same and you wouldn't enjoy reading them as much as you do now.

I want to thank 'Goos', Jonah, Timmy, and A'lexii for their help in writing these words.

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