There’s control, and then there’s control. Sarah Hoyt talks about being a very specific type of control freak, which made me wonder: am I a control freak?

I mean, there’s the usual “I have to be in charge and all shall bow before me!” type of control freak that most people picture in their mind when they hear the term “control freak”. More often than not, however, the term is misused. Everyone is a control freak when you get down to it, because nobody likes their surroundings messed with.

We’re tribal and territorial. We build our homes and then build fences. Inside our fences and homes lay our domains. We control this, it’s ours. Well, ideally. Someone’s going to point out that until your mortgage is paid off it’s not yours, or that renters don’t really own the home or apartment they live in. But all in all, we try to control our space, and change to our “domain” really gets us going.

I know I’m territorial when it comes to the immediate area around my computer. God help the person who moves my keyboard.

But how well does this translate over into writing?

Think of it this way: if someone used Tori (from Corruptor) or Gabriel (from Wraithkin), I’d blow my stack. Why? Because those are people who I created, who in turn are both part of me. They are extensions of me, and like everyone, I like to be in charge of what is part of me.

So it’s not always bad to be a control freak, though it does help to have context.