Your Character is Calling the Shots

[Rullenzar]

Just thought I'd start a funny thread where we can share our comedic conflicts with our main characters.

For the longest time I wasn't able to write because I wanted my main character to be mid 20 range to early 30's. So whenever I started to write all these plaguing details kept bombarding me.
"Oh, that won't work, NO!, Sorry try again."

Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I hear my main characters voice. "You know why you can't write anything half decent you knob? Well let me tell you. It's because I'm not an old man. Get that through your head. I'm 18, now go."
I say "But..."
My main character drowns me out....
" No bu..bu..buts. You write what I tell you and you shut up when you talk to me."

And that folks is how I got my ass handed to me by my main character. On the bright side though, I'm writing now

 

[Leif Notae]

Good for the writing aspect, bad for you being a director.

Remember, these characters are, in a sense, actors. They have input on how they act, how they react, and everything in between, but they are not the ones in charge of the movie (unless they are Tom Cruise, then we are all in trouble). You are the director, so if this character isn't the one you want, take all the information down and then do a casting call (brainstorm) the actor you DO want.

Yeah, the original actor will be upset. Won't talk to you for a day, a week, a year... Its their loss. You have a story to write. You aren't a therapist for figments.

 

[Rullenzar]

This is true, but I look at it as my character setting me on the right path after so many failed attempts at starting. I believe I probably am married to a lot of my ideas and maybe that's why I had trouble getting off the ground. I just take it as a swift kick in the butt in the right direction. I think I felt the same way as inventors do when they discover something. It was like a puzzle piece that was long out of my reach grew legs and decided to place himself for me because he was angry at me for leaving him behind for so long. Everything just fell into place with that simple age change.

It was a Eureka! moment.

 

[Ireth]

I love and hate when my characters take the wheel, so to speak. One recent example involves a character, Cadell, who was imprisoned and about to be tortured. Rather than being overcome by his would-be-torturer and beaten to within an inch of his life, as my RPing partner and I had planned for the sake of plot, Cadell fought back and killed him, and all the while I cried "Cadell, what are you doing? Cadell, stop!" Of course, we promptly sent in five more guys to torture him and advance the plot how we wanted. It worked out okay, showing that Cadell wasn't resigned to being a total damsel in distress, but that he isn't invincible either.

 

[Jess A]

20s and 30s is old? You are joking, yes?

On topic, though - this does happen. I think in your case, perhaps what your mind was telling you was that your story wasn't quite working with the main character being an adult rather than a teenager. Maybe it's a writer's instinct when a plot or character point isn't working.

 

[Wanara009]

On topic, though - this does happen. I think in your case, perhaps what your mind was telling you was that your story wasn't quite working with the main character being an adult rather than a teenager. Maybe it's a writer's instinct when a plot or character point isn't working.

So true. If this happens to me, I usually try to adjust the details of the storyline. Having his kind of thing happen to you is a good thing since it shows that you actually did your homework on character building

However, there is a downside to this. Aside from the fact that my friends think that I'm insane, this is also the most common reason why I hit writerblocks. Usually because I can't find a reasonable way to adjust the storyline without changing the overall plot.