Am I supposed to like Mitch?

That’s a question that I get asked a lot. The answer is not necessarily. An even more honest answer is that there are days I don’t like Mitch and I’m the one who created this flawed character who is having trouble getting his act together.

Let’s turn it around, though. Did you like yourself in your mid-twenties? Did you know yourself well enough to always make the best choice? Or were you stumbling in the dark like the rest of us?

When I set out to write Canvas, the one thing that stuck in my mind is that this is everyone’s story. Women pick the wrong guy before they find the right one. Couples that should work fall apart before they get a chance to make it. Hearts get broken. Time heals wounds. The decisions that you second guess become the experiences that you learn from. You may never get over one person, but you do learn to love again and it can be whole, rich, and even more fulfilling than what you might have had with anyone else.

Everyone says Lindsey is perfect but she knows she's not. By embracing her bad decisions Lindsey is trying to change her life. She knows that she hasn’t given all of herself to Mitch. The reality is she is just as flawed but in a different way. With Jason’s help, she becomes the person she is meant to be. Jason's perfect.

If Mitch were that self-actualized there would be no story. He’s doing what is expected and living the life that someone else is telling him that he is supposed to want. What you might not like about Mitch, as he tries to do what he thinks is best for everyone else, is that he his failing at being selfless because he hasn’t gotten a chance to know who he is.