Are characters the most  important part of a fiction piece? Do they control the action? Here is Elizabeth Kirschner, author of Because the Sky is a Thousand Soft Hurts, discussing the supremacy of the characters in our stories. Please welcome Elizabeth to Choices while she's on her WOW! Women on Writing virtual book tour. The Invention and Supremacy of Character by Elizabeth Kirschner How are characters invented and why do I balk at the word “supremacy?” Yes, I put it in the title, meaning, I suppose, that the characters in our stories are the ones who dictate what may or may not happen in any given situation. There’s a myth that I’d like to debunk. Namely, the writer doesn’t have full agency over what transpires in the story. We, at best, attempt to infuse our characters, let them, how odd, be the ones who choose the scent trail of their own fates. Was it John Updike who likened the writing of stories to a game of baseball? The analogy being that we put our characters, like … [Read more...]