Earlier this week, an interview question got me thinking. It was a question about whether, just as I inhabit my characters' minds in order to write them, my characters return the favor and inhabit my mind.
The most straightforward answer is no. I don't think about my characters unless I'm writing, or thinking about writing. If I'm trying to make an important life decision, for example, my characters don't weigh in, nor do I ask myself "What would Katsa or Fire or Bitterblue or Po or Raffin do?" They don't insert commentary while I'm at the store or the movies or the art museum. If they're witty speakers, they (unfortunately) don't inspire me with witty things to say. Nor, except in rare occasions with one particular (pretty random) character, do I ever encounter people in my real life who look like my characters or remind me of them.
The truth, in fact, is that I tend to forget about my characters when I'm not writing them. I was having …
