Something happened on the way to the end of my novel. I had it all planned out. The ending was in sight. I knew how I was going to wrap it up. Then it happened.
The characters decided they didn’t want to leave. They had other plans. They took a detour. Instead of winding down to a finish they decided to go another course and into a new adventure. I shouted out “what are you doing!? This is not what I wanted!” But they didn’t listen. They just kept going. Now I’ve got to figure out a new way to end this. And not only that, I also have to figure out where they’re going and what kind of obstacles they’re going to encounter.
This is not the first time I have come across uncooperative characters. I think most of the time it turns out good, but it’s a lot more work for me. Hey, I’ve got other books I want to write, other characters I want to create. I haven’t got time to deal with characters who want to go their own way.
Am I the only one with this problem? Does everyone else make a neat little outline and stick with it? That would be nice, but then again I think my stories might be a little stiff and my characters like cardboard. Maybe others don’t have that problem.
Okay, my characters do cause me problems sometimes. I try to figure out who they are in the beginning and how they are supposed to act, but sometimes they fool me. Once I started with a character that I thought was a good guy, but later he turned on me and became a bad guy in a good guy disguise.
Thinking about it now I really shouldn’t complain. If it weren’t for them I would be bored. The fact is one of the reasons I write is to see how it turns out.
The characters decided they didn’t want to leave. They had other plans. They took a detour. Instead of winding down to a finish they decided to go another course and into a new adventure. I shouted out “what are you doing!? This is not what I wanted!” But they didn’t listen. They just kept going. Now I’ve got to figure out a new way to end this. And not only that, I also have to figure out where they’re going and what kind of obstacles they’re going to encounter.
This is not the first time I have come across uncooperative characters. I think most of the time it turns out good, but it’s a lot more work for me. Hey, I’ve got other books I want to write, other characters I want to create. I haven’t got time to deal with characters who want to go their own way.
Am I the only one with this problem? Does everyone else make a neat little outline and stick with it? That would be nice, but then again I think my stories might be a little stiff and my characters like cardboard. Maybe others don’t have that problem.
Okay, my characters do cause me problems sometimes. I try to figure out who they are in the beginning and how they are supposed to act, but sometimes they fool me. Once I started with a character that I thought was a good guy, but later he turned on me and became a bad guy in a good guy disguise.
Thinking about it now I really shouldn’t complain. If it weren’t for them I would be bored. The fact is one of the reasons I write is to see how it turns out.
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