When the characters take over and tell the story, and I become a mere slave to their whims and feelings, my duty as a writer has been fulfilled. I will do my best to transcribe everything, the way they see it, and live it, so that when I read the words I just wrote, I hear their voice, not mine.
I will feel their sadness, their joy, their anger and their fear. I will overcome obstacles, conquer new worlds, fall in love a million times and experience heartbreaks. Life will play like a movie on the screen, and I will be a spectator. They will travel, take me to foreign lands, meet monsters and superheroes. They will grow and learn, cry and laugh, live and die. When the book is done, and their story has been told, I won’t forget them. They will remain with me at all times.
I will write relentlessly until they tell me to stop. And once I know they’re satisfied with the end result, I will put my pen down, and smile. Because writing is my life, and their words the only truth I know. I will pull my hair but I won’t quit. They will comfort me, reassure me I’m on the right path even when I doubt myself. It is their journey I undertake, their goals I reach, and through their eyes, I escape to a better world.
The Manicheans 