Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Those Random Guys in our Heads

USA Today ran a story this week about male students at Ohio State University who were renting a house. Sometimes they would find cabinet and microwave doors left open, things out of place. But since there were several roommates, no one could pin down the culprit. They even joked about having a ghost in the house.

Imagine their surprise when one of them heard some "weird noises like dings and alarms" coming from behind what they had thought was a utility closet in the basement. There, unbeknownst to them, a fellow student named Jeremy had been living.

Jeremy was evicted, but the students are still uneasy, because they don’t know how many keys to their home are still circulating. They don’t know who will show up next.

We at NovelMatters know that feeling. We had a conference call the other night to catch up on each other’s lives, and one of us expressed frustration with an unfinished book. “I’ve got these characters running around in my head, and I’m tired of them,” she said, weighing the time and effort she’d already spent on the book against the possible relief from just ditching the project.

Another author chimed in, “I want to evict some of those voices in my head!”

Yes, we are possessed. 

We are inhabited. 

We are novelists.


And while we may be able to be selective in who we kick out, I’m pretty sure they’ll always be peeking in the windows.

9 comments:

Megan Sayer said...

Ohhhh yes. Oooooh boy, I can relate so much to this at the moment. Thank you!

Susie Finkbeiner said...

I especially hate the very negative characters who try to force me into a gloomy mood. Ugh!

Cherry Odelberg said...

They are eating me out of house and home.

Patti Hill said...

My random guys were wondering if your random guys would like to get together for the game on Sunday.

Anonymous said...

Mine wake me up at night and run around doing novel stuff when I should be sleeping. They bother me in the shower, too, but fortunately I have a small diving instructor's white board and pencil to capture the antics.

The Kat said...

Yes, I know the feeling that I have an unwanted guest in my subconscious that needs to either be evicted or just investigated. It may be that this person will be the spark that leads to an interesting adventure that winds up in something I'm writing. Great post to read. All writers can empathize with your feeling.

Latayne C. Scott said...

I'm sorry not to have responded before to these wonderful comments.

I think I locked myself out of my brain.

Susie Finkbeiner said...

Don't you keep a spare key under the door mat?

Latayne C. Scott said...

Trying to find the door mat :)