Are your characters confusing you? Have you noticed your characters have a mind of their own? You want them to go right, but they want to go left. They decided they want to grow their hair long, when you had envisioned them with short curly hair. Or something even more drastic like their deepest desire morphs in a totally different direction then what you had in mind. Are you losing control or are your characters taking on a life of their own?
I think the answers to those questions are yes. And yes! But, losing control is a good thing. Once you have a baseline, a structure or plan you want creativity to kick in. Big time! You can guide creativity but you can’t control it. Like your characters, your vision needs to breathe. So, if your characters are out dancing when you think they should be fighting aliens let them. Who knows, they may be dancing with the person who could bring an end to war or they may simply fall in love complicating and providing more conflict for your story. You gave birth to them, nourished them, and loved them now let them go. See what happens, you can always reel them back in.
Lt. Worf, of “The Next Generation”otherwise known as TNG changed physically and acquired more depth from season to season. From the simple one-dimension Klingon warrior with his argh, argh growl he grew into a loving father, a good friend, a diplomat and hottie, even Deanna Troi, the ship’s counselor fell in love with him.
Another side of Worf.
Are your characters giving you a hard time or are you giving them free rein?
Till next time,
Elizabeth
3 comments:
My characters are constantly surprising me. It's when I try to push them where I think they should go that I start to have problems. I've learned to listen. BTW, I love the picture. :)
Isn't it the surprises that make writing so much of an adventure? Thanks for stopping by. Always good to hear from you.
Excellent post Elizabeth! I've found that when I give up some control over my characters and how I want them to behave, they tend to come alive. Fortunately I haven't had to deal with any divas yet, lol.
*hugs* :)
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