Has anyone else started speaking like the characters they are writing about? Or is it just me?
Like most writers, the characters I write about seem so clear and close to me that they are practically real. It seems that like my real friends, my characters can have an affect on me that lingers on even after I put my pen down.
Having spent the last few months immersed in editing my first novel which is set in the old west, this very English writer found herself suffering a slight identify crisis this week.
In the middle of a very serious discussion on one of my department’s year end accounts I found myself uttering the words ‘I reckon so’. I can honestly say I have never used that expression before, especially in the middle of a formal meeting. Whilst by itself it doesn’t sound too bad, added to the ‘ain’t’ I’d already caught myself saying, I can’t help what other words from my characters vocabulary I have also let slip.
The only saving grace is that I haven’t yet acquired accent to go along with my new vocabulary. At least I hope I haven’t. That really would start people questioning my sanity.
Having spent the last few months immersed in editing my first novel which is set in the old west, this very English writer found herself suffering a slight identify crisis this week.
In the middle of a very serious discussion on one of my department’s year end accounts I found myself uttering the words ‘I reckon so’. I can honestly say I have never used that expression before, especially in the middle of a formal meeting. Whilst by itself it doesn’t sound too bad, added to the ‘ain’t’ I’d already caught myself saying, I can’t help what other words from my characters vocabulary I have also let slip.
The only saving grace is that I haven’t yet acquired accent to go along with my new vocabulary. At least I hope I haven’t. That really would start people questioning my sanity.
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