Do I control my characters or do they control me?
By Rebecca Cantrell
I control most of my characters as much as I control my housecat. The cat and the characters usually come when I call. I can pick them up and move them around, but they don’t stay where I put them unless they really wanted to go there. I have things that I want them to do, and if I’m very clever, they do those things.
I also have memories of cats and characters gone by. They’ve done what they’ve done and I have to make peace with it. My dead characters are based on people who actually existed. They did what they did, said what they said, and all I can do is accommodate that if I want to use them. They have all the control, and I have all the poetic license. If I want to make them deviate from their actual lives, I can sneak that into my author’s note.
But I also have a feral cat. I have limited control over her. She does what she wants and leaves for days at a time. She never comes when I call unless she’s hungry, and then probably only half of the time. I work hard to please her, and she doesn’t appreciate it one bit. Yet, I never stop trying.
I have feral characters. They go where they’re not supposed to go and do things I’d rather they wouldn’t. I currently have one whom I think is mentally ill. In spite of all my therapy on her, she’s not getting better either. But I’m not giving up on her.
Ferals are hard work, but the moments when they jump in your lap and purr are the most rewarding of all.
So, which do you prefer? Housecats? Memories of cats gone by? Or feral cats?
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