Monday, November 21, 2005
On fictional characters
From the introduction to one of my favorite children's books:
While I know her almost as well as I know myself, she is Emily's friend, not mine, and she lives in a world I write about and watch, but cannot enter. I tell myself that her world would not exist if it were not for me. After all, her poems are written down in my handwriting. They are written from her point of view but I think up the words. Yet I have this eerie feeling that Kate might have found somebody else to write her poetry down for her if I hadn't been around. I am often asked if the characters in my books are "real." My answer is, "They seem more real, to me, than you are." This is particularly true of Kate.
--Jean Little
| posted by Barbara | 9:25 PM