: Characters jumping out of their stories I just read an article online and thought "this is great, I should forward the link to Phoebe." Phoebe is one of my characters. I've already had characters

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If I were you, I would write a book about a writer who worries she is losing her mind when she begins interacting with her characters as though they were real people. That's a book I would buy if you wrote it!

As advice to the real-life version of you, however, I would say, don't worry about it. We all have many people living rent-free inside our heads --alternate versions of our selves, or copies of real people who have had significant impacts on our lives. You just happen to be more in contact with it than most people. For a writer, it's hard to not see this as an advantage.

I wouldn't worry about it as any sort of a sign of mental illness or anything. Although, as I said earlier, it would be fun to read a book about a writer who does worry about that (or about a writer who really is mentally ill, or about a magical realist version, where the characters actually do intrude into real life).

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You're describing a habit of thought.

You've spent a lot of time developing your characters, so you may have also developed the habit of thinking about them as their own personalities, like memories of someone you know but haven't talked to in a very long time. Of course you know they're nothing more than fictional characters, but the human mind will form habits if it does things often enough.

Actors have a similar issue when the qualities of the characters they play during a long film production seep over to their regular lives simply because they've developed a habit of thinking, feeling and behaving in character.

The solution is to consciously put Phoebe back in her box.

Whenever this happens, think to yourself, "No, I'm putting my fictional characters away until I choose to think about them."

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Question:

What's the best way to channel, handle, or survive this part of the writing process?

Answer: Keep a notebook handy. Always. And, set aside time to spend with that character.

But additionally, set time aside for the other characters too. Give them one-on-one time.

The characters that arrive fully-formed may well be a part of yourself that is within your core personality. Your truest thoughts. However, the other characters are within you too, and given some coaxing they might share some very valuable insight. Quiet insight.

But secondarily, don't be afraid to direct the strong characters. Put them in situations they don't want to be in. Insist they have conversations with the people they'd rather avoid. You're in charge. It is nice when a character is opinionated, but that doesn't mean they get to write the story.

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