When your Fictional Characters Ignore you

There are some writers who meticulously plot every page of their novels in advance. They have every detail planned out in advance, and know precisely the content of every paragraph before they begin.

That could never be me. I know the beginning, some of the major plot points and, usually, the ending. However, many of these details change as the story evolves. It’s not unusual for me to find by chapter 17, for instance, that some major event should have been referenced earlier. As I have said in previous blogs, this is the point when my trusty spreadsheet comes in handy. I leave myself a note about what ought to take place around chapter three, for instance. Then, when I’m ready to start the rewrite, I have all my comments to guide me. In my latest book, Brave Warrior, a certain piece of jewellery turns out to be an important clue. The only problem is I hadn’t actually created said piece of jewellery. Of course, with my rewrite, I was able to correct that error. Job done.

Most often, though, it’s the characters who cause the biggest headaches. Sometimes a scene seems to be progressing quite nicely, then a new character shows up, completely unexpectedly, and just does what he wants, like a diva on on movie set. Or my hero who was going to save the day at the end, goes and gets himself murdered in chapter 12.

Bloody characters. Always doing their own thing.

This used to irritate me no end. I’d ignore this pesky individual, and continue the story the way I had planned, dammit! But, you know what? I invariably found that the annoying newcomer knew better than I did. Or Mr What’s-his-name getting killed early on was actually perfect for the plot. He knew what he was doing.

Let me correct that. My subconscious knew better than my conscious mind. It had figured out many elements that the awake part of my brain hadn’t begun to think about.

When a fictional character starts behaving in a way you hadn’t expected, it just means that your brain has fully understood who this is at their core. And while it may feel irksome at the beginning, it is, in fact, a good thing. If you didn’t expect this turn in the plot, you can bet your readers didn’t either.

The character who appears to be independent of the author is one who is fully realised. The author knows in her heart who this individual is, and, if she’s smart, she’ll follow his lead.

One of the things that most annoys me about some books and TV shows is when a character acts completely, uh, out of character just for the sake of the plot. I suppose it comes down to the age old question, no, not the chicken and egg, silly, but character or plot. In my opinion, they are both important, but we read for character. Well, I do, and so do most of the avid readers I know. Think of it this way: the plot is the bicycle that moves the story along, but the characters are the ones who pedal the bicycle. At least, they should be.

But what if this has never happened to you — having a character take over and do their own thing on the page. Does this mean you’re not a good writer?

Not at all. Perhaps you have plotted your story out so well that the characters don’t need to take a different path. Besides which your subconscious may function differently from mine or any other writer. As long as the character is believable that’s all that matters.

The bottom line is this: don’t get annoyed when your characters misbehave. Pat yourself on the back for creating such thoroughly believable fictional beings. Let them take the lead and see where they take you.

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