Just who is in control here?

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Tallymark

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So, in my time here at AW, I've read a lot of comments by people describing how the characters end up writing the story themselves. And I didn't really get it. People would be talking about how the characters would do and say things they didn't expect, things that totally surprised them, and I couldn't really see how that happened--sometimes I'd come up with a super-great idea and surprise myself with it, but the characters? I came up with the plot and the characters, they go together. I am their master. The story goes the way I want it to go. Yes, the characters motivations and actions should drive the plot, but I am the one who dictates those motivations.

Then, today, the female lead of my paranormal romance set a house on fire.

What? I go. Where did that come from?

And then the male lead chimes in to inform me that it's his fault, and that everything else is too, because he's just that important.

What? I go.

He is a minor deity, after all, he informs me.

WHAT?

And all the other dieties are out to get him, and--

What?! No! No! This isn't what I planned at all!

But it's what's supposed to happen, they told me.

...And, well, there you go. I don't think I can argue with that kind of logic. But damn, I hardly even know what genre I'm writing anymore! I think it's turning into a YA fantasy. I'm finding myself almost mad at the characters, because this isn't what I wanted to write, but on the other hand, I'm pleased at how clever they are. If that makes any sense. Part of me wants to snatch back the reigns and yank them all back into their places, but the story they seem to have come up with just makes so much sense that I don't think I can ignore it.

Do other people find themselves dealing with totally out-of-control characters? And how do you know when to restrain the characters and when to just throw up your hands and let them walk all over you? Do you usually try to force the plot back on track, or surrender to them?
 
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BardSkye

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I just give 'em their heads and enjoy the ride. They may write you into a corner, but they may come up with something brilliant, too.

Isn't channelling for characters fun?:D
 

Julian Black

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I write from a detailed outline, so once I'm actually writing (instead of plotting) there isn't much for going off on tangents.

That doesn't mean I don't occasionally get an idea for a different development as I'm writing, but if I change one thing it affects everything that comes afterward. With a complicated, multi-layered plot, making those changes can be very difficult. They're not always worth the effort, either.

So I steer back on course and keep following the outline, but I do write down ideas I particularly like. If they're that good, I can always expand on them later and use them in another book.
 

seun

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I tell the characters what I think should happen. They usually go along with that to a point. Then they gently remind me they're in charge. After that, it's up to them.
 

TrickyFiction

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Oh, I love when that happens! I enjoy surprises, so long as they aren't horribly unpleasant. Something similar happened to me a couple years ago with a character who was supposed to be a catalyst. She wanted to be God. It was fun to toy with, but of course, I'm gong to have to cut her off in the rewrite.

I think you have to have fun with characters sometimes, just to get to know them better, you know? Sit and have coffee with them, joke around with them, let them play God for awhile. Then, cut and trim. If it doesn't take up too much of your time, at least you'll have a firm grasp on what kind of personalities these... personalities have. :)
 

LeslieB

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I work from an outline too, but sometimes you can't argue with the characters. I once had a lovely love triangle scripted out, when one of the guys involved announced he was gay. It made it impossible to go with my original plans, because the characters were fighting me tooth and nail. Writing around it was challenging, but in the end I think the story was stronger for it.
 

Ol' Fashioned Girl

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I tried desperately once - and only once! - to make my female MC do something I wanted her to do. She curtly informed me that she would never, ever, ever, ever do what I had had her do. I ignored her and wrote happily on... she never shut up about it.

And she eventually won... to the betterment of the story.

Now I always listen to my characters. :)
 

ChaosTitan

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I've also learned to just let the characters do what they want (within reason). If one decides to do something completely unexpected, I usually mull over the potential fallout for a few minutes before proceeding. Often it works out great. I've yet to encounter a character twist that has ruined the story or not worked out.

In the no-longer-a-WIP, I originally intended for a specific character to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Then he went and did something noble and decided he was a good guy, after all. It worked out great for the story (and the character is now a favorite of my early reader), and someone else became the needed wolf.*

It's great when our own imaginations surprise us, isn't it?



*Figurative wolves, I'm not writing about were-critters. ;)
 

C.bronco

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Do other people find themselves dealing with totally out-of-control characters? And how do you know when to restrain the characters and when to just throw up your hands and let them walk all over you? Do you usually try to force the plot back on track, or surrender to them?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, yes. And it's the early stages of multiple personality disorder, but block that thought from your mind; your other personalities will take care of it.
LOL, That's one of my favorite parts about writing fiction.
You've created a world and peopled it! Now they must do what they are driven to do. Just go with it! You can be the Deux ex Machina from time to time, and let your little people run amok.
 

WildScribe

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My character was supposed to break up with her abusive boyfriend at the climax of my WIP... then halfway through he tried to rape her and she not only threw him out, she moved away to escape him. THAT sure wasn't what I intended!
 

jodiodi

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It happens to me all the time. I never consciously come up with a plot or characters--they're simply waiting for me when I come downstairs, sitting on the futon in the command center, playing the playstation, then look up at me and say, "Hey. Guess what happened to us! Write this down." Then they tell me their story, showing it to me as I type, and there are plenty of times a character will up and shock the hell out of me. I had no idea one of my characters was in love with my heroine (even though she's married to his cousin) until one day I was writing along and he suddenly said something about how much he loved her but could never tell her. It turned into a great triangle.

Just trust them.
 

veinglory

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Um, it is figurative speaking not literal. Complex ideas have emergent properties (insert vague hand-waving and allusions to chaos theory and consciousness). When you have an idea that leads to another and another you end up somewhere that you may not have foreseen when having the first idea. Because the characters the a continuous element of all of the ideas it can seem like they are the agent of this in an informal sort of way. But it all, obviously, happens inside the writer's brain and is caused by them.
 

Troo

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I've never been able to write in any other way but channelling.


But then, I am barking mad...
 

janetbellinger

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My characters sometimes get out of control too. However, I always remember that just because my character is writing the story doesn't mean she is writing a good story. Sometimes my characters do cliched things or are overly dramatic. I can't just let them go ahead and spout off on me, perhaps something that has been said many times before. That's where editing comes in, when you decide just how brilliant your character really is.
 

Pagey's_Girl

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who's ruled by her muses. My favorite female MC was originally supposed to be with someone else, but another character I was trying to come up with a love interest for ran off with her heart when I wasn't looking.

And of course they're perfect for each other - I look at the earlier stuff I wrote with her and the other guy and wonder what I was thinking.

[Shameless plug] Here they are in action: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57750 [/shameless plug]
 
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Azure Skye

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It's fun when that happens but I have to agree with Janet. Let it happen for now and see what it looks like when you edit.
 

tjwriter

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It happens. I laughed the first time it happened to me, which was the other day. My widower thief decided that some sexual tension with the bard princess would be good.

You know, whatever.

Here's a link to something funny between the author and the character. It's a tad old, but well worth the laugh even if you've read it before.

http://zette.blogspot.com/2005/10/author-versus-character.html
 

Namatu

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Because the characters the a continuous element of all of the ideas it can seem like they are the agent of this in an informal sort of way. But it all, obviously, happens inside the writer's brain and is caused by them.
The brain is such a fascinating place, and I appreciate that it gives us the illusion that "my characters made me do it."

One of my characters is a good,well-behaved, and meek woman. As I continue to revise the manuscript, however, she's developed quite the interesting history and is actually much more powerful and suprising than I ever would have consciously planned for her. She's become, for me right now, the most interesting character in my story. And she's not even the MC. The best developments in my stories are those that develop as I write, which is why I generally refuse to do more than the most cursory of outlines. With a detailed outline, I write from point A to point B and no surprises crop up. The characters don't do unexpected things. It lacks a certain something. When I go into a story with only vague ideas, everyone seems to have a lot more fun.
 

maestrowork

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There are plot-driven stories, and there are character-driven stories. With the latter, you have more of a chance of letting your well-developed characters drive the plot. With the former, it's not unusual that you're just putting the "right" characters to move things along -- in the case, you create everything, and the characters are just chess pieces.

Or you can have something in between: a character-driven story that is guided by a plot structure.
 

Claudia Gray

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I work from outlines, so usually the characters have "announced" themselves before I begin the writing process in earnest. During that outlining process, though, there have definitely been some surprises.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Control

I believe the writer is always in control, but if you want characters to behave as real people, you can't make them behave as you would have them behave. They must be allowed to do whatever it is their unique personalities would have them do.

I detest most outlined fiction because I can always see the writer's hand guiding everything that happens, and it usually bores me to death, especially since I almost always see the ending by the end of chapter one. I believe the main reason for this is that the writer sits down and says "This character will do this, then this character will do that."

The writer is in control, but this should not mean the writer treats characters like puppets. Good characters cannot be ordered around by the writer. Nor can a good plot.
 

L M Ashton

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What Julian and Claudia said for me.

I write from a very detailed outline. With my lack of memory issues, it's the only way I can write and trust that it'll be the least bit logical or coherent. But in the process of doing the detailed outline, I've spent a LOT of time on character development, world building, and the like, so they've had plenty of time to pipe in with their opinions on things.
 

maestrowork

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To me, the writer is in control only in things he can control: tone, voice, details, and what he or she should report and observe. But the writer shouldn't control the characters -- they do what they do as if they were real people. All you can do is control the environment in which they live -- throw them in a situation you create, and see how they swim or sink.
 
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