How to Conquer Writer’s Block: Tip 25
YOU AND YOUR CHARACTERS
My writing flows best when the outside world and its possible critics do not enter my creative space. I’m alone with my characters. I am only thinking of them, and the world we’ve created together. That said, the author has to learn to be a “good parent” and listen carefully to her characters: Here’s what the wonderful Jennifer A. Nielsen has to say about this. Her most recent book is ELLIOT AND THE PIXIE PLOT, coming this August, a sequel to the terrific ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WARS.
“I think, very often, writer’s block is created when the writer is trying to force characters to do something that they don’t want to do. Any writer knows their characters take on wills of their own, and they sometimes resist the plot moving in the direction the writer had intended. So when I hit writer’s block, I back up and try to listen to the character. It almost always works for me! There’s always this debate about how much “control” authors give their characters. I’m not that person who just lets the characters wander free range and see what story is produced from that. But I’m amazed by the number of authors who create a strong-willed character then become surprised when the character resists a certain choice in the plot.”
Jennifer A. Nielsen
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