When Readers Act as If Your Fictional Characters Are Real
The April4th-5th Weekend Journal of The Wall Street Journal featured the major article LOST IN FICTION by prolific novelist Alexander McCall Smith (known in part for the “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series).
I highly recommend reading the article for Smith’s discussion of how real fictional characters can become, and thus what pressure this has on the characters’ creator.
Read the article now and then leave a comment below on what you think of Smith’s discussion.
— Phyllis Zimbler Miller
The article presents two important theories. I agree with both.
Fictional characters take on a life of their own. The writer may start out with preconceptions of how the character will respond to the plot events, but often enough the writer finds the character has their own personality that refuses to cooperate. Mallory will REFUSE to fall in love with Bill. Seth WON’T be involved in the shenanigans.
The question of moral responsibility of the writer is trickier. I abhor violent television and video games. These have been demonstrated to reset the moral judgment of the viewers. Is this true for novels? Do we have a moral responsibility to only show good winning out? It does leave the reader feeling better, but evil does sometimes win out in the real world.