I'm Being Watched: Characters Weigh In on the Progress

Have you even noticed how it feels like your characters are peering over your shoulder as you write? Making sure, no doubt, that you will properly represent them. So many authors have written on that weird sensation that characters take over one's life, that they refuse certain manipulations, that they interrupt the flow of writing at times to yell at you, or sit stubbornly inert in the corner while the author flails helplessly. (My favorite example of character interruption and insurrection is the wonderful At Swim Two Birds by Flannery O'Brien. So when I saw this lovely bit of ceiling mural created by 16th century artist Niccolo dell' Abate, I laughed aloud at my desk. While my characters have often whispered in my ears -- never had they taken such a perfect polaroid of themselves on high.