March 4, 2024
How do you handle it when one of your characters starts going in a direction you hadn’t planned?
It happens to me all the time, since I am a pantser. (I don’t outline my story before I start writing it.) Characters, both major and minor, start pushing me to take the plot somewhere I didn’t expect. How do I handle it?
As is normal for most of these questions, the answer is ‘it depends.’ There are a lot of variables. Is it a minor character or a major one? Are they trying to head down a path I think holds merit, or are they wasting my time? Do I even like the character?
For example, take Evan Bluffs from the book ‘The Samurai’s Inro,’ one of the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. My original intention was for him to be a ‘throwaway’ character, a short-lived red herring. I’d written him as unlikeable, at least from the local sheriff’s point of view, but he didn’t want to stay tucked away in the corner where I’d left him. He showed up again. I foresaw two potential story lines for him. One a redemption subplot, the other making him even more unlikeable. The second option was more fun, and that’s the way I went.
The situation in Wolves’ Knight was different. I had a nice little romance plotted out for Tasha Roeper, the main character. She’d been through some rough times in a previous book, and deserved something good to happen. I even mapped out a love scene for her. It never happened.
No, Tasha got into my head and revealed I was writing her incorrectly and hooking her up with the wrong man. Then she revealed the bombshell of who the right man was. It took the story down a different path, one that strengthened it. Best part, it took only a few revisions to fix what I’d already written.
But the character that threw me for the biggest loop was Jake Hennessey.
He was originally envisioned as a throwaway character in The Marquesa’s Necklace, then showed up in Her Ladyship’s Ring and took a major role. I tried to write him out of The Baron’s Cufflinks, but he insisted on being part of the plot. I gave up in the next three books of the series, and let him have his moments.
With the series completed, I was ready to move on to a new project. That’s when Jake revealed his true goal. He wanted his own book. I ended up writing two — the Fall of Jake Hennessey and The Rise of Jake Hennessey. They provide ‘bookends’ to the mystery series, although they are more crime/suspense.
I should give tribute to the picture that gave Jake his personality. I found it on Pixabay, and it was provided by Ambroo (Zafer) . The results of a Tin Eye search show it’s been used many times. I believe my graphic artist figured out who the model is, but I can’t locate the information.
Everyone who writes stories has to develop a method for keeping their characters in line. My method is listening to what they want to say and figuring out how to incorporate it into the story. How about the other authors in this hop? Check out the links below to find out.
This question came up in the middle of the night, and I’m hoping someone cam answer it. For those of you who write non-fiction, does the narrative ever get away from you? Take you someplace that you didn’t expect?
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
March 4, 2024
How do you handle it when one of your characters starts going in a direction you hadn’t planned?
I leave them to it. If I try to suggest a path, they simply ignore me and carry on.
LOL
Yes, I am a pantser too. It’s much more fun that way.
More fun, but it can also create headaches when you don’t know what’s next!
I like it that way, although others do not.
Once I started writing the characters start to show their personality to me. That when I had to go back and change the plot to better shape where they wanted to go.
It took me a whole series to figure out a few of my characters!
She’s twelve and a half, trying to sort out a ghost, and much more too
( her family) Leaving it to her.
Esther, I think something went wrong here.