Do you have arguments with your characters?

[Weaver]

There was one incident when I was only thinking about a story I was working on, and out of nowhere, the protagonist said to me, "I am not a g!@#m metaphor!" I don't know if that counts as an argument; I had not intended to use that character as a metaphor anyway, although apparently he was worried that I might.

But yes, I have had characters go in directions other than those I'd planned. I had one character, originally meant only to be VERY minor, who ended up as a major secondary character in a novel. (It wasn't HIS intention, either, but one of his friends had other plans, which he declined to share with the authors until it was too late.) I've had a characters who was first written as a bit angsty and a loner end up happy and outgoing, the sort of person who is better able to deal with life's tragedies. (I'm pleased for him, but I wish he'd let me know sooner -- it would have made writing the story in which he's major supporting cast a lot easier.)

 

[Tom]

My comic relief flatly refused to be comical in any way. She just wouldn't. And then there was the part where the wizard was going to cast a spell...he didn't want to. I just couldn't write about it. So finally I threw up my hands and said, "whatever, dude! you win!"

If they get too annoying, I wish I could kill them, but that would crush the test readers...

 

[Weaver]

If they get too annoying, I wish I could kill them, but that would crush the test readers...

You need to learn how to threaten your characters effectively. Believe me, there are things you can do to them that are worse than killing 'em -- and are usually good for the plot, too.

I understand what you mean about not wanting to upset your test readers, though. My own Loyal Reader is a big fan of GRRM (who, as I understand it, is "really good at killing off characters that the readers care about"), but if I or my clone-sibling were to kill off one of our characters...

Sometimes a character is plot-resistant because he/she is not the right person for the role. If you've made a casting error, best to recognize it and make changes quickly. Sometimes a character is plot-resistant because the author has lost focus and forgot what story was being told. There are times when you've got to trust the characters and yourself -- they're your creations, after all, out of your imagination, and maybe you know what you shold be doing better than you realize -- and go with the flow. Maybe the story the character wants to act out is a better idea than the one you sat down to write in the first place. Plot resistance can lead to plot complications, and that's usually a good thing.

 

[Guru Coyote]

As I watch this thread go on and on, and keep reading the delightful post... I begin to wonder. Have any of you ever had arguments with someone else's characters? Have you ever found yourself reading a a story where the characters reache out to you, telling you they wanted/deserved a different plot or role?

 

[Fyri]

I had a character that I knew I would like planned to die from the get go. When my test reader said he was her favorite character in a text, I could stop laughing. She was going to cry so hard when I wrote his tragic death. However the friendship crapped out before she could read about him coming back. Oh well.
On arguing with other peoples characters, I haven't so much as argued, but rather stole. I saw the character idea but didn't care for the role, like Guru said. So, I stole the character idea and put it where I felt it should be. Steal and create.