That’s what good writing feels like–that delicious crush calling and wanting to see you, that rush to tell your friends about what your object of desire said or did, that lovely oh-he-kissed-me moment. Silly to admit to, I suppose, but when I believe (rightly or wrongly–just like rightly or wrongly choosing the guy) that my characters live and that I love what I’ve put on the page, I walk around like I did when my first college crush called me–that incredibly stupid dance I did, shouting, “He called!” over and over. I love my characters, even the jerks and the nightmares. Or rather, I love that they make me feel something strong enough to do that stupid dance not because they called, but because they showed up on the page.

Of course, sometimes my characters break my heart and dump me..but they can be persuaded to come back and ultimately I can make them do what I want. And how I treat them is another story.