I hosted an event at Skylight with Janet Fitch. It was the end of her tour for her new book "Paint it Black." On her tour, she talked about people who hoped to see the same lyrical language that was in her first book, the bestselling "White Oleander."
Ms. Fitch said the character in her second novel is completely different from the protagonist of her first book. The language has to be different also. She talked about how she, in some ways, resembled her first protagonist--a lost girl. Now, she feels more like her second protagonist--a tougher girl.
Are we our protagonists? I wondered. My first protagonist was looking for home. My second protagonist is looking for resolution, redemption. Hmmmmm.
3 comments:
Man. I think we only write who we are. It makes sense. You have this here-and-now understanding of life...so you put it on paper. It solves things for yourself and others. And, the words have drive because of the current need. And many times an author even repeats. Because something needs to be repeated. My humble opinion.
I have this feeling that a lot of my characters change who I am. I spend time thinking about what's important to me through them.
The protagonist of my first novel turned me from a city dweller to a high desert dweller, taught me a lot about geology, and helped me come to terms with my separation from the place of my birth.
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