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A Change of Character
Do you ever find that, while you're in the middle of writing your story, that your character has morphed into something or someone you don't even recognize? Or have you ever re-read chapters of your book and found that you know the character, you've written about, personally? Even worse, have you ever seen your character change into someone you don't even like, and you didn't even see it coming?
Of course! We all have! The choice becomes, then, what to do about the character. Do you leave her the way she is? Do you plod back through the many chapters and change her into who you want her to be? Do you create another character that can change her back or can bring out the best in her?
These ideas may seem hilarious to someone who hasn't written more than a short story. However, if you have done more than that, you understand that you may start out with a sweet, innocent woman and end up with a mean, rotten one. It just happens sometimes! Thus, somewhere along the way, you, the author, have lost focus of who your character is.
This reminds me of our lives in so many ways. We all start out as innocent babes, unconcerned about the world around us, because we feel from the very beginning that there is someone watching over us. But, somewhere throughout the course of our lives, we tend to lose our way. We may become spiteful, mean, ill-tempered. We may simply decide that our life is worthless and meaningless. Or, maybe you've just decided that the things you've been taught don't apply to you anymore. Hey, we all grow up.
Change isn't always bad, however. God can refine us and make us even better than we were before. We just have to be like the characters in our books and adhere to the author's will. God had written a special story for us to share with others and He has a specific ending in mind. But, He's not one to loom over us like a dictator and demand that we do things His way. He guides us and allows us to spread our wings.
Allow your character to spread their wings and soar!
