That Time My Best Friend Stopped Talking To Me Because of My Book
Would you stop talking to me if you had a problem with my book?
As readers, we become highly invested in our favourite fictional characters. When these heroes succeed in their endeavours, we rejoice. If they fall apart at the seams, our hearts break with them. And if they make what we think is the wrong choice, we can feel deflated, disappointed.
Sometimes, when an author takes their character(s) in the direction that we don’t want them to or if it’s a little bit controversial, it can affect our enjoyment of the book — to varying degrees. We might rant about it in our reviews, shake our heads whenever we remember it, or even ask ourselves if we want to read another novel by this author ever again. Depending on how much we cared about the characters and the story, of course.
Have you ever wondered how the friends and family of your favourite authors react to plot lines and character arcs that they disapprove of? Most of these people will likely read earlier drafts of these novels — do they try to change the author’s decisions if they don’t agree with them? I guess most authors feel extremely flattered if the people close to them care so much about their creations, but in the end, they will want their loved ones to understand and support their choices.
