Non-fiction / Characters and the Character of God

As an English major, I find that I enjoy writing a good story as much as I enjoy reading one. It is through this mode that I have come to understand God just a little better.

     Writing a story with several different characters has given me a chance to explore myself. You see, every character I’ve written has had a bit of my own personality within him or her. Some of the characters are good and some of them are bad, but they all are related to me in some way. Some portray my wild side and the need to be a hero. Other’s portray a quiet wisdom or a deep-seated pain. Yet they are all facets of myself. I have pondered this phenomena for some time.
In “Art of Fiction,” Henry James describes the relationship between the writer and the novel (or characters):
     “They may learn from each other, they may explain and sustain each other. Their cause is the same, and the honour of one is the honour of another. Peculiarities of manner, of execution, that correspond on either side, exist in each of them and contribute to their development.”
James goes on to say that each character is given a certain personality with certain traits. That character can only act within those confines, but given a solid set of traits, the character isn’t written by the writer, it’s written by the character.
     Through the process of writing my story I have found that the job of the writer is not to write the story, but to keep up as the character lives the story. Before the second chapter is completed, the character has developed enough to tell their own story. All I had to do was breathe life into nothing.
      It is in this light that I have come to understand God and his relationship with us. It gives me a bit of hope. You see, God writes into us a little bit of Him, too. He gives us personalities which are individual and unique and then He commands us to live. And we do. God doesn’t necessarily need us, but He certainly delights in us. Whether we have lived a “good” life or a “bad” one, we are all created with a piece of God’s character in us. Whether we choose to bring that to the surface in our everyday lives or to bury it deep within us is entirely up to the individual character.

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September 20, 2007

JEBradwyn

No. of Reviews	Overall Quality	Comment Followup
120	87.5% (24 votes)	36.9%

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Age	Gender	Location	Last Login
23	M	Warner Robins, GA	August 23

JEBradwyn reviewed Version 1 - Read 100%% of the Item

This is a topic that’s fairly close to my heart (not to mention one you and I have both discussed at one point :D) and I must say that this is probably the most profound truth I’ve stumbled upon in my journey as a writer. Only you’ve put it much more eloquently than I ever could. Great job.