Why do my characters hate me?

Work with them.
The characters are the ones YOU'VE written.
Technically, that character has part of YOU, even though they may act entirely different.

Play their part like it's truly your own.
You'll figure it out

Relax. Lie down on the couch for a while and pretend to ignore them...and eavesdrop

Jo, you've put those characters through hell. You've made their lives a misery. Don't be surprised if initially they rebel at the thought of a happy ending.

Take a moment, look at them, sigh theatrically, and say, "I understand, kids. I understand completely."

Then hand your muse a chain and a mace and let her beat the hell out of them. They'll come around.

*in other words, quit trying so hard.*

I hate uncooperative characters. The only solution I've ever come up with is to ignore them until they get pissed off. It doesn't always work though, sometimes they just shut up and go away.

Hmmmm.... maybe try running your characters through some very odd writing prompts. You never know what could shake some new ideas loose, and maybe you AND the 'kids' could use some fun.
Write about one of your characters on the Titanic.
Write about one of your characters in a Dukes of Hazzard scene.
Write about one of your characters meeting the President.
Write about one of your characters in Iraq.
Write about one of your characters in a royal court.

Or....just take a break. Sometimes that is the best prompt of all.
GL!

I'm sure this is all for naught, but I say listen to what they have to say. Ask them how they think things should go. Maybe they're trying to tell you something. Maybe they'll enlighten you to something you'd not quite nailed down yet. If the conversation goes well, great, get to typin'.

If it goes, well, not so much good, then smack the little bastards, tape their mouths, finish the story, and hope for an acceptance of your "I told ya so" finish.

If they don't give you that when you're done? Then it might be time to listen again and tweak things a bit.

But in all sincerity, either way, it'll work out as long as you keep writing and get to the end.

Good luck.

Lyx

JoNightshade said:

It's like a sudden cold front has moved in.

I sit at the keyboard and look at them, waiting for them to act, and they just sit there staring back at me, their half-accusatory frowns telling me that they've decided they don't want to cooperate anymore.

I'm TRYING to give you a happy ending, I say.

Well we're not happy right now, are we, they retort.

But you WILL be, I promise! In just five short days, it will be happily ever after!

Oh, really? And how do you plan to get us there from here?

I... I'm not ENTIRELY sure. I was sort of hoping you could help me out.

Right. As if we're going to do the dirty work for you. Frankly, we're tired of bickering. Nope, we're going to sit right here and WAIT until you show us the door out.

And so we sit. And stare. And sit. And stare...

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Characters can be like little children. Sometimes they need a good boot in the butt. I don't mean you stare back and yell at them because that'll only make it worse. I mean add some inciting action. It doesn't have to be a humongous plot point. If I had control of these characters, this is how our conversation would go:

"Okay, let's get moving."

Character A, "But I don't wanna."

"CA's right. I mean, geeze," Character B said with a shake of his sorry head, "You've been dragging us through hell. Really, what do you expect?"

"I expect you to get to the happy ending whether I know where it is or not," I said. Reaching into my pocket, I felt a short, slender object whose only distinguishing feature was a small button.

Character A and B shook their heads and started a staring contest with me.

I smiled and pressed the button.

That's when the fire-breathing tiger jumped out of a rip in the space-time continuum.

I said, "Let's get moving!"

And, with grumbles and curses abound, the two characters ran after me to pursue Happily Ever After because really, what do you expect two characters to do? Stand there and get eaten?

I think in some cases you're just going to have to stand back and let your characters hang out in freeze-time. If your characters are tired, your brain is tired and vice versa. Also, I notice when my characters are being unruly, I'm either driving them to a snarly plot point (which I may or may not be able to traverse,) or their personalities are starting to change from my original vision.

Case in point: I had a character named Nathan Arunuki. I designed him to be your run-of-the-mill, homeless asshole. He was mean and tough. As he progressed through the plot, he became more and more difficult to write. It got especially bad during times where he had to take definitive action.

Then, one day, he blurted out, in front of me and all the other characters: "I'm afraid." Simple as that. I'd never imagined Nathan being afraid. Afterwards, he was easy to write again. He'd had his say and could move on, take responsibility and, ultimately, die for it.

Take a look at how your characters are developing and what they're trying to say. Maybe they're trying to hint that the happy ending planted in your subconscious is not what they had in mind. Maybe one of them wants to spring a secret. Who knows? You do, of course! Or you will, just as soon as you strangle it from those suckers. (Especially when it comes to secrets. Fictional characters are as reticent about them as real life people.)

lol

Oh I am so in your shoes right now! I think mine are pissed cause I ignored them for two weeks when I got sick. Now they are totally uncooperative! Seriously, I even TRIED to FORCE myself to get them moving, but I typed maybe 20 words and gave up. They didn't budge. Little stinkers! So I've just been sitting, sleeping, or whatever, and thinking about what needs to happen in this scene to make them happy. Or what I need to do to get them to work again instead of just sitting there and staring at me.

Sorry for not having much advice, though it seems you got some great advice in some of these posts! But you're not alone!! When you're done with the mace, can I borrow it?

This will only work if you've quite a few books. If you're like a friend of mine, who gets rid of her books as she reads them (she should be burned at the stake), then this will be a wash.

When my characters start staring back at me, arms folded, tapping their foot with quite a bit of arrogance, I start pulling books off my shelf that are similar in genre. I open to any random page and read from any random line. Sometimes it takes a few books, and I only read maybe 3 lines or so.....when....zap! Some word, or phrase, or descriptive scene whammies my muse and I can't get back to the keyboard fast enough.
It's almost like a shot of espresso....no copying of another's work, just using it to jump start my brain when it decides to go blank.

No commentary on the fact that I'm blonde and going blank can happen rather often.

Jo? Hope this helps a bit.

I've been in that same situation. Only my staring contest lasted for seven months! I wrote the first draft of my MS, and ALL I had to do was write that last chapter before I could type THE END!

But my characters were not ready for me to write that last chapter, and it took me SEVEN months of revision and editing on what I already had written, fleshing out my storyline and characters even more as I went, before I was able to compel my characters to GO to the happy ending!
(C'mon! Go IN TO the light! Trust me, you'll LIKE it there!)

I felt guilty the whole seven months, 'cause everyone's always telling you to FINISH the novel before you go in and edit. No matter what, just finish the thing.

But in hindsight, I'm GLAD I waited! I would NOT have the ending I have now if I hadn't gone back the way I did and spent all that time improving the story.

By the time that I finally DID sit down to write the happy ending (at a time when I least expected to be doing it, btw), I was able to write the entire final chapter all in one sitting.

It was like it was meant to be, and my Muse actually knew what she was doing the whole time! LOL!
That'll teach ME to question WTF she's thinking!

It may be you took a wrong turning a few pages back and your characters are waiting for you to realize you need to retrace your steps. That sometimes happens.

I don't have any advice...just...YAY that you're almost there!



And may you actually get there.

-Feathers

lkp said:

It may be you took a wrong turning a few pages back and your characters are waiting for you to realize you need to retrace your steps. That sometimes happens.

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Yep, this is generally my experience, too. Mine will stop and cross their arms when I've unintentionally written myself into a corner. Usually takes me a few days to figure it out, but once I do and once I fix it they just roll their eyes and continue on their way.

My characters hate me cos I screw with them too much

But the blank stare at a screen --- try doing an outline ( if you don't already)Or as others have said back up and see where the wrong turn is. Or going somewhere else to write.

I find somewhere without internet really helps....

Your characters are trying to tell you that you screwed up three chapters back.

Rip out the last three chapters and try again, going in a different direction.

Oh yeah those fictional arses can be pesky.
Ask 'em what would they like to do--maybe it's not quite as happy an ending as you first thought, maybe they want a sequel, maybe they're stalling because you forgot something.

I say make it worse for them. Then they'll have to get off their asses and fix their own damned problems.

Dale

JoNightshade said:

I'm TRYING to give you a happy ending, I say.

Well we're not happy right now, are we, they retort.

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Sometimes it helps to have another character move in and point out how much of a baby your MC is being. If the main characters are petulant, find someone in your dramatis personae who can shame them into dealing with their pain. The reader might even find that tough love refreshing.

This always works for me, whatever the situation. If you've sat for five minutes in front of a blank screen or page, start free-writing. The blank screen is a soul-killer.

In this case, free-write a conversation with the stubborn characters and keep it up until they crack and tell you what to do.

Punch them in the mouth.

My MCs don't hate me, but I'm having a devil of a time getting a minor character to leave. I'm writing through it, but it sucks.

I agree, do an outline and after each step, ask why. Then what if! Your characters will answer. Brainstorm the what if's and go from there.

Completely understand what you mean. My WIP is a mystery with lots of humor. I have a great beginning, and my characters have a tough puzzle to solve, with the promise of lots of money if they do... but I have no idea how they are going to solve it. I even know what the end is.

Now, it's like my characters are sitting at Everest Base Camp, staring at a large prize at the summit. Of course, I haven't given them climbing gear, a guide, or anything, mainly because I have no idea where to get it. And they sit and stare at the top, then at me, then the top, then back at me and say: "Um... hey, dumba$$. A little help here?"

Of course, I'm panicked because I have clue where to go. Having a beginning and an ending sucks. Because then you don't have the middle.

Yep, that makes about as much sense as my WIP does right now.