Characters

I don't know why my lessons on character development always effect me so powerfully. Maybe it is because I am always on the hunt to figure out exactly who I am. Maybe, it is because I am trying to figure out why I am the way I am. All I know is that every time my courses get to this point, I am overcome with the weight of creating these ficticious beings.

Inside every fiction writer, I am sure, is some desire to recreate themselves through their characters. We can right wrongs which we have no power over changing in real life. We can become--somehow a better person than we truly are. We can be the hero; or the villian, and get away with all of our schemes and deceptions. There is no accountability for our actions, except what we choose to include in the story.

In my writing, I seen to have a tendecy to delve the deepest into the victim characters. I know what makes them tick. I know how they suffer for slights that stronger characters seem to be unaware of. They are often, in some part, mirror images of myself and my life experience.

That being said, I also can identify with many of my strong hero types. In my life I have had experience in facing seeminly unsermountable obstacles, and know what it feels like to come out triumphant on the other side.

Today, I shared with one of my students, an outline and character cast for a novel I am working on. Just explaining the action from my character placement development sheet, I could see that she was completely drawn into the characters as I explained them as well as the story as the synopsis was shared.

This gave me the shove I needed to get on with the writing process. I have obviuosly researched and developed the thing as far as I can go until I am actually writing it.

So, That is what I am going to begin doing, tomorrow. After over 2 years of research and development, I am going to take the brave step of actually writing the story.

Keep me in your prayers. It will be my first novel, as I am basically a short story writer. This story, however, can not be done any justice in short story form.

I also feel a pressing to write a series of short stories about my mother, and things she shared with me about her life. Have you ever had something that you are trying to ignor because you know it will be a hard, painful task, but it just won't leave you in peace? Well, this niggling thing is like that. I can hear my mother's voice in my ear saying, "I can tell you, because I know you will understand."

Well, I did, and do understand. But more than that, I want to tell her story so that someone out there, who has faced the same kinds of hurt will be able to say, "Someone understands."

So, keep me in your prayers for that one, as well. The important thing is that I figure out how to honour my mother's memory and memories, while presenting them as works of fiction. Hmmmmmm I am really not that good, so will need all the prayer support I can get.

God honoured me by allowing me to hear and see my mother from His perspective. My desire is to honour Him by presenting what I heard in a way that is within His design.

As I tell my students, "everyone has a story." All it takes is a writer to care enough to listen and courage enough to write it.

Be Blessed, my dear ones. It is Good Friday, today. I finally understand why it is called Good Friday. Took me years to figure that out. Now I know that it is because of God's ultimate goodness in sacrificing Himself so that we might have a way out from under our sin.

I praise His name!

Have a wonderful Easter full of joy and love.
Jude