I promised to bring you along to where the action is, but I have been drowning in it and haven’t pulled you in at all. I apologize for leaving you out and am here to remedy it.
Imagine your favorite, most treasured book has been made into a movie. You have been anxiously awaiting the opening day for weeks, even avoiding commercials and reviews to make certain you get an unadulterated first glance of your favorite characters as they come to life on the big screen. You’re giddy with excitement as the theater darkens and the first scene begins. And then…the big letdown.
Those actors are not the characters in your book; they’re too tall or too short, their hair color is all wrong, and they just. aren’t. right. While your disappointment is unfortunate, it’s not surprising. Although the author wrote the story and supplied descriptions, your imagination was hard at work filling in the blanks and filling your head with your perfect Jane or Joe.
Now, put yourself in my shoes. When I wrote my story, I saw the characters in my mind; complete scenes played out in my head. Their voices woke me up well before the sun came up most mornings. There were water stains on many of my notes from my hasty exit from the shower to write down the dialogue that I heard (one of the few quiet places I had with two pre-schoolers). The characters were as familiar to me as most of my real acquaintances. I waited for weeks for the first glimpse of the cover of the book. I was nervous and excited as I clicked on the email and opened the file. Imagine my disappointment when three strangers looked back at me; three people that looked nothing like the character I had gotten to know so well over the last year.
I have been coming to terms with this over the last few days. I’ve had to ask myself if it’s worth trying to change the photos. Is it wrong to assume any model can fit my vision of my main character? Sh
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