I had a wonderful week at the Swanwick Writers' Summer School and now it is back down to earth once more. I share a little of what it is like at Swanwick on my Chandler's Ford Today post this week. I do think you need at least a week to get over a holiday, wonderful writing school or what have you.
How do your characters react when they have to come back to reality after their adventures? Most of the time we don't find out of course because the story stops when the adventure does. One thing I love about The Lord of the Rings is it does show that things are never the same again, particularly for Frodo, when he finally returns to Middle Earth. I won't say more than that but I thought this part of the story is realistically done. Frodo would be affected by all that he has gone through.
All stories should show that your characters (especially your main one) have changed in some way, otherwise there is no story. Changes can be positive or negative. Now I must admit I generally prefer positive changes but there is a place for the opposite. What would work best for your character and story?
Image Credit: All images taken by Allison Symes, except the one of me reading at the Swanwick Prose Open Mic Night. A huge thank you to Penny Blackburn for those. Captions on the CFT post.