Character Sighting!

WARNING: All you non-writers out there will probably scratch your head and think I’ve lost my mind, but I assure you, it’s simply a side-effect of a being a novelist.

I went with my husband on a business-type engagement Saturday night. It wasn’t where I wanted to go, but I went. And with good grace, I might add. But I prayed earlier that day that the Lord would give me something in the course of the evening to make it worthwhile.

In my mind, that something was a conversation about spiritual things in which I could encourage or be encouraged or some insight into my own character or that of my husband or friends. Aren’t those the kinds of things God does when we pray such a prayer?

The evening turned out much more enjoyable than I imagined, but even beyond that, the Lord gave me an incredible gift. He let me see one of my characters!

I’ve had lots of strange “writer” experiences, but this is the first time I’ve run into a live person—a stranger—who IS my character personified. It isn’t a character in my current book. No, this one has flitted around my head for a couple of years now and I think, perhaps, may be the book I write next. Especially now.

I saw her twice in the course of the evening. I didn’t speak with her. In fact, I only saw her from behind. But I knew in an instant who she was. Not only did I write down some of her physical characteristics, but I knew that even where I’d seen her was part of who she is as a person (ok, as a character.)

It was quite exciting. It did, indeed, make the whole evening worthwhile. And it confirmed to me, yet again, that God is the author of my life and my desire to write is not dismissed as unimportant by Him. Nor should it be by me.