The Other Children We Raise
The job of a mother is never done. And neither is the job of an author. It's funny because the two are very similar. As authors, we birth these characters from our thoughts, just as we do our children. They start as nothing more than a thought, an idea that might turn into something more. Then, once their name is written down on paper, they become real. Tangible. Moldable. Character mapping takes time. You mold and sculpt your characters as you envision them. You document how you think they're going to look, sound, think, and feel. But you still don't fully know them until you begin writing their stories. And even then, they surprise you. First drafts are their toddler years. They might be a little bland or perhaps even a little over the top during that first go-around, but that's because you're still getting to know them and discovering how they actually operate compared to how you originally imagined them. With every round of edits and every change that's made...