Into the Fire

If you're a reader of many novels, you get a feel for authors. If you fall in love with the character(s) in a book, you can't help but wonder how the author managed to create that "person". Was it a composite of individuals the writer knew personally? Was it based on a specific guy or gal with tweaks here and there to ensure they might not be recognized – or worse: recognize themselves? 

I must admit there is much to be observed and/or learned about authors by reading their work. You can tell what they find attractive or admirable, desirable or repugnant, laughable or threatening. You can tell if they think fast-paced is necessary or if a meandering comfort works best for a particular type of story. 

Do they want you, the reader, to imagine the physical features of their hero or heroine, or do they want you to focus on how they think and their motivations for their actions and reactions? 

Let's face it. Authors can't hide behind their stories. There are pieces of them in every book. It might just be a small part of who they are that's visible in those words on the page, but it's there. 

Characters – how they're portrayed, their dialogue, even the way they dress indicate how the author wants you to experience them. In order to do that with any accuracy we authors have to crawl inside their skin for a time – short or long – and lose a bit of ourselves to our alter-egos. In that process we probably reveal a lot more of who we are than we realize.

Or do we?

Father, thank you for every word, inspiration, thought-process, times of prayer, and all that we need to create the stories we write. Thank you is never enough. We're all desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.