Expect The Unexpected

I have come to the conclusion that when writing you might as well expect unexpected things to take you by surprise. It has happened to me on several occasions. It happened again during NaNoWriMo this year and kept me from reaching my goal to finish Warrior Song. Out of left field I discovered there was a group of beings in the enemy camp that were going to have an impact on the end game. Since I had not had any idea these people even existed, I had no more to go on than the character that encountered them. Sigh. Stop everything and figure out the what and why of this society.

I could throw them out of the story, but it looks as if they are going to be important factor in resolving a main conflict. It would have been nice if I had known ahead of time about their existence. I do work with a loose outline for a story, but the way some characters seem to want to determine a different route, I have to wonder if I should be making a tighter one that will cover more details. It might work and it might not. The characters residing in my subconscious are adept at throwing curves in well laid plans, usually just about the time I think I have something all wrapped up and tied with a bow. It isn’t so much that they change the direction of the story, as effect the details on how it’s accomplished.

It’s disconcerting when characters that I invented, who should not have any wills of their own, decide to take over and do things their own way. They only live in my own imagination, right? I would question my own sanity if I didn’t know other authors have had the same experience.

I do think this is the first time I have had a whole new society pop up without warning though. That’s enough to rattle anyone.