Character Take Over

[BJ Swabb]

So I have noticed as I write my novel, my characters seem to take me into different directions away from the actual plot sometimes. Make detours, but eventually returning back on the path. Is this a good thing, or should I tighten up the leash and make the characters stay close to the hip, so to speak? Or should I see where the characters take me and enjoy the mystery of what may come?

 

[ThinkerX]

That is a good thing. It means your characters have actual personalities, desires, and priorities. They will come across as 'people' to the reader.

 

[Penpilot]

Short answer, YES.

Sorry, I'm sure that wasn't the most helpful answer, but truthfull, it can be good and it can be bad. It can be good because you can learn more about your characters. They might tell you things that you weren't expecting, and they can take you onto more interesting paths. This can shift your story into something better.

It can be bad because it's a sign that you don't quite know your character(s) yet. So, there's no mental guidelines to keep you on track. It can make you meander and make your story unfocused and aimless.

For me, I do detailed outlines, so when characters start to meander, I pause and think about how these changes are going to affect the rest of the story. Sometimes it makes the story better. Sometimes, I have to reel things in, because that particular path is not what I want.

For example, one day, for whatever reason, my main characters started swearing like sailors. I guess I was feeling a bit salty that day, and it was showing up in all the prose. I ran with it for that chapter, and seriously considered doing it for the whole book. When I came back, I thought about the story as a whole. That tone didn't match rest of the story. There was bit of salt sprinkled through out, but nothing on the level that was in that chapter. Overall, I realized it wasn't the tone I wanted, and it wasn't true to the characters.

At the end of the day, I edited the chapter to match the rest of the story. I think maybe that day was just a response to being in a G-rated head space for so long that I just needed a release. Or maybe I'd seen or read something that I really enjoyed with a high salt content and it was rubbing off on me that day. Whatever the reason, knowing when to let the horse run and when to rein it in is something we all have to deal with and is a skill we all have to develop. Because there's no cut and dry answer to it.

 

[pmmg]

Good and bad in everything, but I'd say I find this mostly a good sign. It would indicate to me that the characters are closer to fully realized than not. But...if they stray too far, the story may suffer. Everything need to happen to help tell the story.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

It's also a good way to never finish the book. It's a bit like an open-world video game or even a TTRPG, you can wander around forever and get nowhere—or at least nowhere fast—if you don't follow the quests. Wandering can find great things or lead you straight into a labyrinth you never escape, and you end up like Jack in The Shining.

 

[pmmg]

Yeah, I wanted to add, you are writing a story not an RPG. Its a different type of focus. You can let the characters be themselves, but they dont get to write themselves to just 'look at all the adventures they can get into'. They all need to serve the story.

 

[Rexenm]

I think of it like a grading system. ABCDF. (That is the grading system I am aware of, but sometimes E can mean something.) If a character makes a choice, does it reflect reality? Is there a utopia that effects negatively on a dystopia if they reflect so? Is the character’s reflection effective in this case? As far as I’m concerned, thinking within the box, is lateral thinking anyway, so literal or contemporary reflection or effecting is interpretation.

 

[Finchbearer]

It's also a good way to never finish the book.

Yep. That is true for me. My characters just keep evolving and keep doing interesting things, taking my story to unexpected places!

 

[Mad Swede]

After I'd been picked up for publication I was discussing the way I wrote with my editor, as part of preparations for editing my first book (she wanted to know more about my writing process as a way of understanding how and why I wrote and how we would work together). I admitted that sometimes my characters seemed to do things when I was wasn't looking and that I then seemed to spend some time catching up with what they'd been up to when I sat down to do some writing. I also said I wasn't sure this was a good way of writing. Her comment was that provided these "digressions" always ended back on the main plot it didn't matter, because the text could always be edited out. Or, sometimes, the "digression" would be better than what I'd originally intended to do, or added to the depth of the story, in which case the text should be kept.

What she also emphasised was that I had to set a hard deadline for completion and then stick to it, so that these "digressions" didn't get out of hand. After a few late nights and one all nighter I learnt to keep my characters and my writing in a bit of check, so that I at least got some sleep as a publishers deadline approached...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Characters coming to life in your brain can be good or bad, but either way it's perfectly normal. Some characters will be very loud, and some will not. I had one character tell me at random one day that she's a stimulant addict. Shocked the snot out of me, but it also made perfect sense. She's a trauma surgeon, and medical professionals often have the bad habit of self-medicating.

The trick is to learn to spot when these revelations are beneficial, or when they are rabbit holes. And even then, some rabbit holes can take you to Wonderland. It's a nuance that you learn as your grow your skills. So don't worry about it at this phase. Follow the rabbit holes, get to know your characters until they tell you their secrets, and then see how your story has changed. It will surprise you.

Good luck!

 

[The Dark One]

When the characters drag control of the story from you, you know you're onto something.

End the end though, you are the god of your story and must drag it back.

 

[skip.knox]

>So don't worry about it at this phase.
This is sound advice all around. Writers spend far too much time worrying when they ought instead to be exploring. Yes, some--even many--of the explorations will fail to result in actual story meat (or, for you vegans, er ... ah ... okra? Lettuce?)

Sorry, wandered off there. Explored. Don't worry.

Sorry, again.

Every character--every idea--has potential. It's up to the writer to discover if it can be realized and, equally important, be realized for the present story. An experienced writer can sometimes tell early about that, and either develop or abandon as appropriate. The truly gifted can do it on instinct; most of us, though, have to do it the hard way, through "exploration". By which I mean start writing and see where it goes. The several thousand words you have to abandon later are not wasted effort because you were writing and that's why you're here. You'll get better at it. I guarantee that because other writers here attest to it.

Me, I'm still a wanderer. Explorer.

 

[The Dark One]

Following on from Skip, I should add that even stuff you eventually decide is not useful in your current story, might well be briliiant in your next story.

Nothing is ever truly wasted.