The Writing Process

I’m beginning to think I am schizophrenic since I am hearing voices in my head. The voices are the characters in my novel. I feel like I know them so well that in any given situation I can tell you their responses. I can almost hear a tone and pitch of their voices but I definitely can hear their words.

I’ve noticed something else too. I hear music in the background for each of the characters. I’ll be listening to music and think “oh, Derek would like this song,” and Derek isn’t real. I know this but still the thought comes to mind.

Maybe immersion like this is necessary for me to commit to finishing this book since I’ve started so many books before and haven’t finished as their voices were lost to me along the way. The only way at this point that I’ll free myself from the “voices” is to finish.

My writing classes are a huge help too. The encouragement, the criticisms are the lifeblood of the process. They help me to refine and re-think the voyage along the way. I have completely changed my major challenge to my character as a result.

Another plus are my first readers. As I send them chapters they comment and refine my voices as well. Their encouragement (and demands that I finish and send them more to read!) is essential to the journey of writing.

At the end of this, I have to wonder, who is the real author? The person who types the words or the people who help refine the work? Perhaps it is necessarily a joint process.

Now if the voices will just quiet down enough to let me finish other things…