How our characters affect us

I really enjoy my main character in Risk and R.A.G.E. Kris Rose is an intense, optimistic, don't-take-no-crap-from-no-one individual who is often funny and horribly flawed. However, of late I have been rather annoyed with her. Granted, she's going through a rough patch and, as the story goes, being very progressive in a rather negative direction. Even though it's a part of the story and it's something she has to go through for the sake of tension and even though I know she'll be okay in the end, I can't help feeling dragged down with her. I've been walking around the house for several weeks with the weight of her despair in my head and not a whole lot of hope on the horizon. Honestly, this segment is taking way too long to write and if it keeps going on this way, it might just send me to the loony bin.

Well last night I went on a great run. I haven't run in months because, let's face it, I've been hibernating (the cold and I don't get along so well). So I braved the first snow storm in months and ran until I was sore and cold and quite exhilarated--down right cheery. Then I sat down at my computer and wrote poor, depressed Kris Rose a turning point. Talk about breathing a sigh of relief. Now her optimism is in my head and I've been walking around the house whistling and plotting happy things for this character.

Then I started wondering, was Kris Rose affecting me or was it the other way around? How often do I have horrible writer's block because I'm cheerful and my character's depressed? How often am I feeling mellow and content and my character needs to go beat people up? How often am I snarling mad and my character has to go and smooch her boyfriend? The best times for writing, I've found, are when my characters and I are in perfect harmony. Nothing satisfies me more than, in lieu of yelling at my kids, having Rose throw a few punches, or instead of wasting three hours in front of the TV, writing a quiet conversation between friends.

Therapy manuscript? I suppose so. Just don't think to ill of me when you read it and discover there's way more shooting and punching then there is hugging.