What in the heck do we do when our characters take over the story? (Don't tell me they don't, because they do! LOL) This most often happens to me when I am in the flow, when I allow the story to tell itself. When I go back to reread and edit, sometimes it is as if I am reading it for the first time. I have no clue what I wrote, but it seems to work. This is the good side of my characters taking over the story.
The bad side comes when they stop me from writing, when they insist that their character needs to do something else, be somewhere else, interact differently with the other characters - and they are adament about getting their way! Sometimes I can do what they want, other times I have no clue how to create their version of life.
When I have no clue how to create their version of life, I generally end up going back to the beginning of the story, and editing it to fit the storyline that my characters want.
Bottom line - we need to honor our characters, who they are, how they act, what makes them tick. If our characters are real, the story will be real ... and will more than likely sell!
(c) October 2019 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.
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