This week I reread a small book - Writing A Woman's Life - written in 1988 by Carolyn Heilburn. In the book Heilburn writes about her alter ego - Amanda Cross who writes mystery stories. She talks about how creating a female lead in her mystery stories she was creating a fantasy version of a life she might have had. That she wanted to "create an individual whose destiny offered more possibility than I could comfortably imagine for myself."
What a wonderful model for creating fictional characters. Give them every possibility and see what happens. This inspired me to let go of trying to control my characters, let them tell me what to write. Recognizing that I have no control over my characters has set me free - however briefly - from the trap of 'writer's block.'
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