When Your Character’s Come To Life

 There have been a few times during this journey of writing Comatose that I’ve genuinely questioned whether or not my characters are real people.


One of the more defining moments came early on, when I was struggling to picture them—how they would talk, how they would interact, how they’d feel in the room with me. I made an intentional choice to sit down at Starbucks (this was before I found my local coffee shop home) and imagine them there with me.


Some were easier to picture than others. Merri? Instantly. I could almost hear his laughter, see the playful teasing, and imagine him poking fun at the way I drink my coffee—but never in a cruel way. That same day, Nico earned one of his signature trademarks that you’ll see in the book.


But Elias and Alerix were different. Both powerful. Both handsome—but in completely different ways. The challenge was how to separate them on paper. How would I create two distinct presences, each with the weight they deserved? That’s when I stopped focusing on appearances and started imagining how each of them made me feel. And that was the shift.


Since then, Alerix has been pretty good about staying in his lane. Elias, on the other hand? Every major shift in this story has come from him. That little turd has a way of taking the reins—and he did it again last night.


While writing at darts, Elias made a choice I didn’t see coming. But it was so in-character for him that it clicked immediately. As I moved into the next scene, I realized his decision didn’t just shape the moment—it shifted the entire manuscript. It revealed the one massive flaw in my original draft, and as a result, I cut a lot. Things I once thought were important suddenly weren’t. Honestly? They never were.


This is what I’m learning about being an author: things will never go according to plan. Characters shift. Manuscripts shift. Timelines shift. And if you’re really invested, even you as the author might shift right along with them.


So, back to writing I go—back to this world that’s coming to life so quickly, I can hardly believe it myself.



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