Every character I write is one I feel drawn to and compelled to write. But there are some characters that go beyond that, some I have to write even if it means bringing them into an alternate universe. No lie.
One set of characters started out life in a contemporary world and I pulled them into a paranormal one. It involved a name change for the hero. He informed me that his first name was different in this alternate dimension and it also involved name changes for all his brothers and sisters. Okay. The heroine kept her name, but her entire life changed and her personality along with it.
Some might argue that this makes them different characters. I know better. These are the same people, but the circumstances of their world changed and that impacted who they are.
It's actually kind of interesting. I've maintained from the beginning that if I rewrote Ravyn's Flight and put different characters in the lead roles, that the story would be completely different. Oh, it might begin the same, but my characters' choices drive the plot, my plot never drives my characters. Even if I wanted to write that way, I couldn't. If I try to force my characters to do something they don't want to do, they go on strike and I spin my wheels until I fix what they dislike.
I have another set of characters that will not go away. I've been turning things around in my mind, trying to find a way to get them into some kind of story since their original idea is going nowhere. I need to write them. I have a burning desire to write them. And I will. Eventually. One way or another.
