It's been one of those weeks. Too much stuff going on to keep up, but I will say this, I've acquired a lot of good fodder in my comings and goings. It's amazing what ideas strike at the least expected times!
Before I continue, I'd like to thank my good friend, Lily Robinson, for the shoe picture. She sent me an email with several, and this one was perfect for how I'm feeling now.
Okay, so, where was I? Oh, yes. Fodder. It comes at the oddest times. My kids, all three of them, have had life changing events this week. It's a lot to deal with, especially since not all of the events were good. But, here's what I learned...as bad as things can get for my normal, run-of-the-mill kids (our last name is Mills for a reason, you know), it has to be even worse for my characters. In fact, it has to be so devastatingly worse, that I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on my most awful enemy.
At first, I was hesitant to cause my characters so much suffering. Just like I am with my kids. The last thing I want is for them to go through anything less than utter happiness. But then (and I knew it all along but refused to admit it), I realized my characters would suffer a far greater defeat if I didn't really let them have it. They'd never see the light of day if I didn't put them through the most awful kind of hell.
So I did. And, you know what else I realized? Writing hell for my characters made all the little crappy things my own kids were going through seem like a walk in the park (trite, I know, but this a blog, people, not a novel!)
Anyways, my point is this...writing YA has always been an escape for me. It took me back to my own youth. Now, it's an even greater escape. I get to take all the bad stuff that happens to my kids, quadruple it, and dump it in the lap of my characters. It doesn't get much better than that.
Do you ever transfer your own suffering, or that of your family, onto your characters?
Have a great weekend!
