Extraodinary Characters

It seems I'm spending lots of time reading other peoples blogs. In fact, I finally had to limit the amount of time I was spending. I have subscribed to so many great blogs, that it seemed most of my time was reading about what I should be doing, instead of actually "doing" it. Some of my favorite blogs are those of other authors who share with us how they develop characters in their novels. It's heartwarming to learn they aren't that unlike me. Most of the people I write about are a compilation of several people. I start with a simple premise, and the character begins to take on a life of his or her own. My characters are people I fall in love with. To me, they are living, breathing creatures with problems, joys and concerns just like my next door neighbor. I always makes me feel good when people tell me that they have fallen in love with my characters too. When I finish a manuscript, I miss the characters. I find myself thinking of them later. My solution? Write a sequel!