I tend to agree with you that it’s unlikely about having multiple consciousnesses living inside us but sometimes I do wonder. 
It’s one of those things kind of like aliens or deities. Unprovable at this point, but also impossible to disprove. 
I’m interested in your perspective that you have to empathize with your protagonist, because I don’t feel that way. I do have to understand them, but I understand people who are very different than me. Or at least I think I do. 
What most concerns me about myself is that above all things I am very classist.  no single thing bothers me more than people who are poor. Anyway I can help myself to relate to that population makes me a better person. 
Thanks for another fine post! Could I write a protagonist with the opposite viewpoint of me? Probably not. I wouldn't enjoy that. I've made villains like that. I think I must understand and empathize with the protagonist. To be opposite in every way, I don't that I'd want want to do that.
To answer the question posed in the title: Do your characters have a separate consciousness from the author, the answer is no. Their consciousness is ours, their thoughts are ours. We can segregate them in our imagination and make them distinct, but they are still in our consciousness.
That explains, a little, your transformation over time. Doing that exercise of writing an opposite view of your own changes your thoughts. Our behavior follows our thoughts. Our thoughts come from our inputs. Likely, you researched opposite viewpoints of yours and learned many things you didn't know.
Thanks again for a thoughtful post! Truly I had never thought of writing a protagonist with opposite views of my own. I'll probably toy with the idea for a long time.
I've never tried this, but I am excited to do it. However, many times while writing a story in the first person, I’ve unintentionally developed a supporting character in more depth than the protagonist, usually a character unlike me. Consequently, I would change the protagonist. I think because it's enjoyable to have characters act and say things that I plan never to do and speak of.
I say “plan” because it’s impossible to know what you might do in a situation you’ve never encountered.
This is a great post, Jody. Thank you. I have more to add, but I’m still processing the information.
I created an alter ego who was quite unlike me. He was rude, opinionated etc. I even created an email address that I put on the bottom of My columns. Emails to him were forwarded to me. Someone I knew responded to him once, saying why what he'd written was completely wrong. I replied, but forgot myself and used my real email address! Back came the reply: "Oh it's you. I wondered who the bloody idiot was!" 😂
LOL. That reminds me of a film with Jerry Lewis. He says "I went to see a psychotherapist, and he told me I had a split personality. Then he charged me $200. So I gave him $100 and told him to get the rest off the other guy!"
That’s funny. I’ve always wanted to create an alter ego. I don’t know what’s stopping me. Then again, I probably have created one or three, in stories that I’ve written, and just wasn’t aware of it.
I tend to agree with you that it’s unlikely about having multiple consciousnesses living inside us but sometimes I do wonder. 
It’s one of those things kind of like aliens or deities. Unprovable at this point, but also impossible to disprove. 
I’m interested in your perspective that you have to empathize with your protagonist, because I don’t feel that way. I do have to understand them, but I understand people who are very different than me. Or at least I think I do. 
What most concerns me about myself is that above all things I am very classist.  no single thing bothers me more than people who are poor. Anyway I can help myself to relate to that population makes me a better person. 
Thank you for the kind words about my posts. 
Thanks for another fine post! Could I write a protagonist with the opposite viewpoint of me? Probably not. I wouldn't enjoy that. I've made villains like that. I think I must understand and empathize with the protagonist. To be opposite in every way, I don't that I'd want want to do that.
To answer the question posed in the title: Do your characters have a separate consciousness from the author, the answer is no. Their consciousness is ours, their thoughts are ours. We can segregate them in our imagination and make them distinct, but they are still in our consciousness.
That explains, a little, your transformation over time. Doing that exercise of writing an opposite view of your own changes your thoughts. Our behavior follows our thoughts. Our thoughts come from our inputs. Likely, you researched opposite viewpoints of yours and learned many things you didn't know.
Thanks again for a thoughtful post! Truly I had never thought of writing a protagonist with opposite views of my own. I'll probably toy with the idea for a long time.
Author Andy Zach
I've never tried this, but I am excited to do it. However, many times while writing a story in the first person, I’ve unintentionally developed a supporting character in more depth than the protagonist, usually a character unlike me. Consequently, I would change the protagonist. I think because it's enjoyable to have characters act and say things that I plan never to do and speak of.
I say “plan” because it’s impossible to know what you might do in a situation you’ve never encountered.
This is a great post, Jody. Thank you. I have more to add, but I’m still processing the information.
Yes. I very much enjoy the feeling of entertaining a unique voice in my head!
I created an alter ego who was quite unlike me. He was rude, opinionated etc. I even created an email address that I put on the bottom of My columns. Emails to him were forwarded to me. Someone I knew responded to him once, saying why what he'd written was completely wrong. I replied, but forgot myself and used my real email address! Back came the reply: "Oh it's you. I wondered who the bloody idiot was!" 😂
My other personality just informed me I already have an alter ego.
LOL. That reminds me of a film with Jerry Lewis. He says "I went to see a psychotherapist, and he told me I had a split personality. Then he charged me $200. So I gave him $100 and told him to get the rest off the other guy!"
Yes! That's exactly it. I love it!
That’s funny. I’ve always wanted to create an alter ego. I don’t know what’s stopping me. Then again, I probably have created one or three, in stories that I’ve written, and just wasn’t aware of it.