Writer's Insight: Characters

by ~Ombreon

Writers. Some say that we're completely insane. I believe it's true to an extent especially since I talk (and sometimes fight) with my characters on an almost daily basis. I'm often not sure which is more annoying: characters or real people.
Some writers would argue characters are more annoying since they're with you everywhere. True, you know them almost as well as you know yourself since you made them, but they still suprise you. You think you know every little detail about them, but you don't despite the fact that they live in your head. Sometimes they can be completely different in your head than they are on paper. Sometimes they're similar, some times they're the exact same. Just like real people, there's no real telling.
Some would argue real people are more annoying. They're not with you all the time and you will never know everything about them. No matter how close you are with someone, you'll not always be able to tell what people are going to do or how they'll react. You think they'll react one way when BAM!, they do the complete opposite. People are nice, mean, friendly, suspicious, loud, quiet... We all come in different shapes and sizes and personalities.
Both people and characters lend a certain air of of excitement, bore, mystery and annoyance to a writer's life. This might be one of the reasons writer's write so much. When they write, they create new characters. It's just like meeting a new person; there's a certain sense of amazement, mystery and novelty. You never know what the character is going to be like. Some are shy, scared and sensitive while others are mean, loud and annoying. It's so much fun to get to know a new character because you discover a little more each time you write them
Some non-writers think writers are crazy. That's true definitely; you have to be some level of crazy to try to write an entire novel. Some might also think the bond between a writer and their characters is creepy and unhealthy. It can be at times like in the case of a writer that shall remain unnamed of a certain extremely popular vampire series, but it isn't a bad bond for the most part.
For a writer, especially a social outcast with few friends and a batshit insane family, the characters can offer a certain sense of security and familiarity. They can, to a degree, take the place or fill in the gaps of a distant family and ever-shifting friends. The characters are a constant in the writer's life, always with them. They can be the closest and most valuable fiends a writer makes.
Characters can also help a writer make sense of what's going on around them. A writer may start a story exclusively to get their revenge on a person. In time, they may discover the person's motivations. They may come to understand what makes the angry person tick or take pity on the person.
Characters can also help a writer discover who they truly are. Even if in a high fantasy world, the characters that seem the polar opposite of the writer might be the closest ones in the most similar situation.
A little bit of the writer's soul goes into every character. Through these characters, a writer can discover who they truly are. They can help a writer through the darkest times in life. They can tick us off or become the family or friends we desire and need. These characters, through words and actions on paper, show the accumulation of a writer's life experience and their deepest fears and brightest dreams.
Are writers that talk to their characters crazy? More than likely. But it's also like talking to yourself. It's an exploration of who you really are. Cherish your characters and listen to what they say; you never know what they might reveal.