Author and social networker Patty Wysong started Take Flight as a way to encourage, inspire and connect bloggers. This week’s Flight is a progressive interview, and the questions have been a lot of fun.

Here’s my question, and my Take Flight blogging friends’ answers. Each blogger’s name is linked to her own blog. Follow the links and discover other intriguing questions… and answers.

Thanks for setting this up, Patty!

Question: In what way(s) have your characters rubbed off on you? (for the better, we hope!)

Diana Lesire Brandmeyer: I’ve learned that I really do appreciate living in 2012 not 1886 but I have learned to take things at a slower pace. I’ve come to enjoy making dinner more than before and am learning to use herbs and fresh ingredients. I take time to enjoy the small tasks like baking and planting.

Sharon Clements Srock: I think my characters have made me a stronger person, more determined to go for what I want. It’s hard to write about determined women and be a wimp.

Joanne Sher: I think my main character has taught me SO much about myself – and even given me some ideas on handling conflicts and such. She started out as, basically, me transplanted to Biblical times. She’s becoming her own woman as I “fix her up,” but writing about her has made me see myself more clearly. Weird, eh?

Yvonne Blake: I think it’s often the other way around for me. I tend to put a little bit of myself in each of my characters. (Sometimes, though, I give them traits that I wish I had the courage to show – ex. boldness to speak up and act without fear of what others may say.)

Valerie Friesen Comer: Interesting question, because I usually think of it the other way: what of myself do I put in my characters? By giving my characters traits that I see in myself, though, I can push the envelope to make them deal with it. This helps me explore the trait and hopefully find ways to deal with it in my own life as well. But don’t go looking too deeply into my characters to find my issues! The characters are always a blend of a bunch of people with other traits tossed into the mix.

Linda McQuinn Carlblom: My characters keep me young! They’re all children, none over 14 or 15, and they force me to think and speak like someone their age. I have to remember how I felt at their age and write that into the story. So I have a greater empathy for kids because of my characters.

Donna Winters: I seem to sympathize emotionally with my characters. If they’re having a bad scene, my husband says I’m irritable. I find their snappy dialog slipping into my real-life dialog. Poor Fred. He’s quite tolerant and forgiving. 🙂

Sharon Hoover: My characters have made me more reflective. To better write about an emotion … and be able to show the feelings … I’ve had to deeply examine my own heart and motives as well as be more attentive to those around me.

Patty Sargent Wysong: My characters have helped me see life and its situations differently from how I used to see things. There’s a whole new world out there when I look at things through the eyes of my characters and when I listen to their explanations of things, often it meshes with my view and gives me a clearer picture of what’s going on. Of course, that means I hear their voices in my head, too. They’re loudest when I’m doing the wrong thing. My cast of characters has made for some interesting times in my head, but they’re each leaving a mark on me, just like my living-breathing friends do.

Kristi Peifer: It’s sort of like acting … you delve into another person’s psyche and learn all about their feelings and their quirks. Some of my favorite characters have been the ones with snappy one-liners, but I’ve also learned from the tragic characters.

Christina Rich: My characters have shown me that it doesn’t matter what the world thinks as long as I’m following God.

Janet Sketchley (that’s me): Learning to understand my characters has taught me to think more about real people’s motivations and give them the benefit of the doubt. One of my characters has given me a new appreciation for Billy Joel and for peppermint tea. I was hoping her housekeeping tendencies would rub off instead, but no such luck.

What about you? Whether you’re a writer or a reader, tell us how fictional characters have rubbed off on you? 

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