Okay at first you're probably like: Rawr the title makes it sound like something in the Lounge. And then I'll be like: But know it has something to do with writing. Do you talk to yourself when you write? What I mean is like when you're writing you do this: Me: My character's name is Hawk. Hawk: I like the name Me: Oh my god Hawk is talking to me....through telepathy Hawk: Yeah I am And then later on, while you're writing. I'm going to make Hawk commit suicide. Hawk: But why the hell would I.... Me: I don't know... So yeah, do you talk to yourself? Or talk to your characters when you make them? So basically: Are you an insane writer?
Once in a while, but it takes place inside my head. But even that is fairly rare. Despite this, I can see someone doing this, especially out loud. Words read differently when read out loud and when read in your mind. I'm sure a lot of poets read their poems out loud to see how it reads that way.
I read out loud. My parents always think I'm fighting with somebody though. They have to come in my room now and then to see if I'm okay.
Mmm, sometimes. Usually it's a character with a really strong personality, or one that I really enjoy writing about. More often than that, though, I see the characters interacting with each in a sort of "behind the scenes" way. I doubt I'll put much of what I imagine into the book I'm working on, but how my characters interact in my head really helps with fleshing them out. I've stopped thinking I'm crazy, to be a writer is to have an overactive imagination.
I always run it through my head, action sequences, convosations, even miniscule movements. Sometimes before I write something, example being 'running and gunning' I have actually got up, grabbed my paintball gun and ran how I wanted the person in my novel to run. Then quickly zap back to my laptop and describe it, should things get difficult I record myself, for either talking or acting, and then write it!
I tend to mutter under my breath while I'm working, especially in the revisions. I used to let characters talk to me and have a conversation with them, but they got way too loud, so now they do their talking strictly in the story.
I talk to myself quite regularly. Sometimes to hash out a conversation I want to have with someone, and sometimes to review a conversation already had. Before anyone comments, in true high cliche, about just being careful not answer oneself during these conversations, allow me to declare that I happily take up both sides of any conversation. There might even be a third party to whom I will also give voice.
As long as you don't get into arguments with yourself - and lose. Also, if one of the voices starts telling you to do bad things, get help!
Sometimes I talk--usually sing--when there's no one around. But I have conversations with my characters in my head, one in particular who I must admit is my especial favorite.
Can't say I had a conversation with my characters outloud. But I regularly talk to myself. I will just ramble on and on about whatever pops into my head.
That's the cool thing about aruging with yourself--one of you always wins. ...how bad do the things have to be?
I do that. And of course I answer myself, too. What's the point if I don't? Besides exploring a conversation, it helps to improve your understanding of things. I question my beliefs often. I poke holes in my logic, force myself to think. Some of the most productive debates I've ever had were with myself. It usually begins with a question, which I imagine someone else to be asking. Sometimes I don't have a good answer. Those are the most productive sessions. It can also be good just to get things "straight" in your own mind. . . If you're anything like me, your mind is a tangled mess. . . and it needs a regular defrag. How does that relate to writing? I debate my stories and characters with myself. I pretend I'm talking to someone who hates my ideas, someone who would like nothing better than to demolish the entire thing. It's nothing more than self criticism. . To seriously crit your own writing, you kinda have to do some roleplaying. You obviously like your story, so if you can't channel the negative "you," how can you hope to find the flaws? I don't talk to my characters, though. . . I talk to myself about the characters, and I don't feel the least bit strange for doing it. To me, it's a vital process. What's wrong with that? Losing an argument to yourself proves that you have the ability to argue. . and that you don't know the subject as well as you should. Those are positives. It's one of the best methods of self instruction, exposing your weaknesses as only you are capable of doing. . If you can't defeat yourself, it means you don't understand the purpose or process of productive argument (which is really the only true form of argument).
I don't have conversations with my characters as such, but when I'm thinking about conversation in the story, plot, storyline etc I talk to myself all the time .
Only on Mondays and Wednesdays. I run senarios in my head. Sometimes I talk to my characters to see how they feel about things, but not outloud.
I'm with Wrey and Kas on this one. I talk to myself for all sorts of reasons. Over active imagination. That's what I blame. It's always helpful when writing to be just a bit crazy with too much imagination.
Anytime I want an interesting conversation But seriously, if I'm debating over an edit I'll sometimes talk it over in my head, and likewise I've sometimes planned out bits of dialogue by way of an internal conversation. Yeah, I do this too all the time, and sometimes it does happen out loud which can be somewhat embarrassing.
I always talk to myself out loud whether it's while I'm writing or planning out my day. It makes me feel more organized and like I can get all my thoughts out if i say them out loud. I've never had a convo with one of my characters though. My convos. are more like "so maybe I'll do this and then this will happen. Yeah! That's a great idea! i should probably take this out then and rewrite it so it happens like this..." and so on
I don't have conversations with my characters per se, but will often run through conversations when it comes to dialogue to see if it sounds believable.
I hear voices in my head all the time, and I've gotten used to them and enjoy and look forward to hearing them. We all do it, little bits of dialogue and converstaion float around in our heads, it's just the ego consciousness talking to the brachial sub-personalities, or the echo of the left and right hemispheres communicating via the Corpus Callosum. Usually mine repeat things I've said or heard other people have said, they imitate the TV like a parrot, or invent bits from my subconscious. It's very useful in writing The most chatter occurs right before going to sleep, when all the thoughts of the day are catching up with me, and early in the morning when waking from a dream. In both states the mind enters a different state where thoughts become lucid.
Sometimes I talk to myself, but I try not to listen. I don't know what I'm talking about half the time. I know so much better than me. Once, I recited this poem to myself: Roses are Red Violets are Blue I'm Schizophrenic And So Am I Then I reminded myself that Schizophrenia and Multiple Personality disorder are two different things. But I disagreed, and berated myself for being so pedantic. It was nice, however, to hear some poetry, so I forgave myself. But it was too late. I had already walked out, having offended myself. The saga continues... Charlie PS. Where's that girl with the "Psychiatric Help 5 cents" stand when I need her?
Then I reminded myself that Schizophrenia and Multiple Personality Disorder are two different things. But I disagreed, and berated myself for being so pedantic. It's a very common misconception that Schitzophrenia has anything to do with multiple personality disorder (or Disassociative Identity Disorder as the pros prefer to call it). Movies like "Me, Myself, and Irene" perpetuate the myth in a very good tradition of misconceptions and lampoon a very serious and disturbing mental illness in a very ignorant and exploitive manner. People diagnosed with DID have often been sexually molested as children and cope with the trauma by withdrawing mentally and allowing a constructed personality to develop and absord the shock for them. People with DID can have multiple personalities with distinct patterns and behaviors, distinctively different handwriting, and selective memory loss. As many have been abused many have flashbacks of traumatic periods, mood swings, irrational fears and phobias, and hallucinations. There is still even some academic debate as to the veracity of DID. In contrast, Schizophrenia is a form of psychosis once considered a form of dementia, characterized by a detachment from an ability to perceive reality. They often exhibit hallucinations, and it is a cliche that they "see" things, as many do, but the most common form of hallucination is auditory, hence hearing things. They also exhibit paranoia, the constant feeling of persecution, but not only from a particular person or agency. An extreme form of paranoia might be when someone thinks that a dog is talking (like maybe Sam Berkowitz, aka Son of Sam, notorious serial killer). Paranoia is very dangerous, as they feel they are being persecuted, or spied on, or put in unreal danger which can manifest itself as actual physical pain, they may attack unpredictably. In theory it's even possible to have a very intelligent conversation with someone who has mild Schizophrenia, their paranoid delusions can be so intricate that they have logical explanations (they might be able to mount an intelligent argument for them being tailed by police, but when they explain why it will sound less and less probable that anyone is actually following them). It's very sad when you realize that many homeless and violent criminals have mental disorders. If they had been properly diagnosed and treated early they could have had a better chance of conforming.
i talk both to myself and to inanimate objects all the time... but i have to say i've never had a two-way conversation with any of my characters... so, yes, i'm somewhat insane, i suppose, but it's apparently not the same brand of insanity as yours... ;-)
I apologize for my bad attempt at humor. I should know better, having family members I love very much with serious psychiatric conditions. Of course, what you've stated was absolutely correct. Charlie
