"to my characters be true"

I got a new job. Hopefully, one I will be able to enjoy, certainly one more mentally challenging and less physically so. I'm very excited to be done where I'm at, but nervous about going somewhere new. Change is always transitional, but I'm always excited to learn new things.

Still, my true love, my dream job is writing. I just recently heard the old quote, "To thine own self be true." Ahh, if it were only that simple for writers, such as myself. Not only do I have to be true to "mine-self" but also I have to be true to my characters. These other people living inside my head and my heart. They're like friends with more exciting lives than your own, and so you tell them, "Wow, you need to share that." "Others can learn from your mistakes." Except at this point, you're talking to yourself. "I need to share that."

I wonder if the non-creative soul can truly understand what it's like to be living with so many inside yourself. There are moments when I am going about my day, dealing with my life, when suddenly one of them, maybe all of them will give me that reminder that "Hey, I'm still here, when do I get to tell my story?" They're like kids in that way. How do you tell your children, "I have to work, I have bills to pay, I'll make time for you later." What parent can bear to say it, how many have had to? Despite the money that pays for all those little things you want and need, you can't neglect your children. You have to make time for them, I have to make time for my characters, no less.

When I write, I write for me, for them. When I edit, it's for you, the reader, as well as the reader inside me.

I have many characters living inside of me, some with stories still to share, others their story already told, some yet to be discovered. Sometimes I wonder... Have I breathed life into them? Or perhaps they breathe life into me.