Comment on On Loving Characters by Lovely-Words

I'm attached to my characters, but I know the difference between a real baby and a fictional one, so to speak. I love watching my characters grow and develop, and I'm fascinated on just how real I can make them. When nothing touches a main character, it tends not to be a good book or story at all, because it's unrealistic and boring. The major difference between fictional characters and real people (besides the obvious) is that real people go through obstacles and problems on their own caused by outside forces that do indeed happen one way or another whether or not it's their fault, which makes them develop without someone predetermining it or making it happen ( of course, this is excluding religion from this argument for the sake of conversation and civility). Fictional characters, however, will not grow and develop unless you do something to them, they'll just stay annoying and the same if who controls the story only loves on them.

There's a saying called "Tough Love", and it definitely applies to a writer and his or her characters.