When you're out of touch with your characters...

Stopping and restarting a work in progress is a challenge for me and not something I can do as easily as I once could. When I have to a WIP on hold to edit, or judge a contest or work on a time-sensitive story, when I return to it the momentum I had going on has faltered. Going back a chapter or two, or picking random chapters to read often sparks a, Oh yeah, NOW I remember where I was going with this, but not always. Then I pick up where I left off, generally at a slug's pace until I "feel" the book again.

Because retrieving this feeling or momentum isn't always a given, I've taken to answering a list of questions about my characters, just to get to know them again, reintroduce myself in a way. Doing this has become a valuable tool to reestablishing a connection with my heroes and heroines, and quite often I learn something brand new about them that I didn't know when we first met.

My vocation is........ My mother taught me....

I laugh about........ I wish I could.........

My father taught me........ My view of men came from....

My view of women came from.... My favorite memory from my childhood is....

My worst memory from childhood is.... My greatest fault is..........

Men usually............ Work is my............

The place I've always wanted to visit is....because....

When I look at myself in the mirror I see....

I sleep when I'm........ My favorite holiday is....because....

I'm afraid that someday I will....... The greatest influence in my life is....

My mother............ My father..........

Women usually........ No one knows better than I do that....

My greatest weakness is that........ My worst fear is that........

I am happiest when....

And the list could go on and on. If you don't already have one and encounter the same roadblocks I do when you have to step away from one project to work on another, maybe this list will help you easily revisit your story and cast of characters.