Imaginary Friends

Writers of fiction are those who never outgrow their imaginary friends.

We embrace them, coddle them and try to talk (write) them through their problems.

One of the delightful parts of being a writer is that you are never truly alone. The more you write your characters, the more they become a part of your life.

One of the more difficult parts of writing fiction is that your list of friends grows over the years. They get more demanding of your time and they compete with each other.

So now I’m scheduling playdates.

Today Jeremy will find out what jungle he’s lost in. Tomorrow Kel will finally get off that cliff he’s been clinging to for over a month. Perhaps on Monday, Sparky and I will figure out where we left off and what he’s supposed to do next.

If I’ve been absent for a while it’s because the fictional playdates run over. Sometimes they run over play time for the menagerie, but never for long. Dog, cats, and bunnies make sure they get their time.

Sometimes I see actual living people and do things in the real world as opposed to the ones I create.

One of my favorite groups for learning and doing is the Mountaineers. Totally cool people, doing totally cool stuff. I highly recommend them for anyone who wants some time away from the keyboard. https://www.mountaineers.org/

My imaginary friends find me flat and boring if I don’t constantly embrace experience, research and the learning of new skills. They’re always challenging me to take the next leap.

My “real” friends also want time. Since the “real” friends are totally cool, fascinating people, I make room for them too. Every new person I meet adds to the richness of my life.

I fall in love with all sorts of people all the time. I have found that life can be equally as fun away from the computer screen and the worlds that you control.

As for the imaginary friends, most of them have to wait in line. They are given a notecard, a short bio, perhaps a problem or two and then they go in the card box. Some are screaming to get out onto pages of their own.

Perhaps when Kel is off his cliff and Sparky finds out who “Fire Guy” is, one of them will have their chance.

As to the rest of you who inhabit the “real” world, please feel free to call me friend. I won’t make you take a number or shove you in a box for I know in the “real” world each friend I have can touch my soul and make me fly. And that gives all those voices in the card file a better chance at life.

~lisa