The NaNo Diaries – Day Five: Control Issues

Word Count: 14,826/50,000

Insanity Level (1-10): 6. “I could be a trip but I choose not to…” — Pebbles

What I Like: My characters are developing personalities.

What I Hate: MY CHARACTERS ARE DEVELOPING PERSONALITIES.

I’ll explain…

So, I’m about eight and a half chapters deep into my first draft and I think I have a pretty good grasp on my main three characters:

I understand that Zoe, my MC, is abrasive, says ‘fuck’ a lot, and has some intense issues with men (specifically her freshly-married ex).
I understand that Ben, her BFF, loves women almost as much as he loves making money and has doubts about Zoe’s emotional stability.
I understand that Nick, the Ken Doll object of Zoe’s affections, doesn’t show his hand and has a ball engaging in the timeless Battle of the Sexes.

And because I understand all of these aspects of these three distinct characters, they’ve taken advantage of me and are running free on the page. WHOA!

Without going into any inappropriate detail (NOTE: My idea of ‘inappropriate’ will likely differ from yours.), I have control issues in many sectors of my life. My schedule at my day job is color-coded in order of importance. Unlike my husband, I need to delete shows I’ve watched off of the DVR. I am a devout planner and could never imagine going into a first draft without a six-part outline. I put a lot of thought into my plot sequence during NaNo Prep but one thing I always forget when I’m in The Zone is that no matter what you have planned for a character…they do whatever the hell they want.

I know I’m not the only writer who loves/hates when their characters go rogue. If you wish to be brave, tell me how you herd the cats back into your plot so that your story can pop!