I have set my novel on the shelf for the past three weeks.  I felt it a good idea to step away from it for a while and return to it with fresh eyes.  During that hiatus, I’ve had thoughts about my characters and how they’ll be received.  Will people think I’m writing about them personally?  Will the experiences they go through remind them of something that played out in their own lives?  Will I offend someone with the words written?

I think a writer has a responsibility to think about things like that.  We need to be sure of our facts.  We must be inclusive of the history and timeline of the story.  We must create characters that have human tendencies and passions to make them seem real.  Just as an actor must learn as much about his character before getting on stage, an author must be willing to create living, breathing human beings to be captured in the written word.

We live in a world of political correctness.  Not everyone believes the same as we do.  We all have different goals and are driven by different things, yet we worry how someone will react to what we say, do or write about.  I also believe that writing is just a reflection of life, yet it must be displayed in a way to hold the reader’s interest and leave him longing to read more. This is probably what separates the good writers from the average and excellent authors.

Tomorrow I will take another look at my work.  Who knows where it will take me this time?