When Characters Grab Hold

I love my characters, otherwise I wouldn’t write about them. But sometimes, one comes along that turns all my well laid plans, skimpy as they might be, upside down.

 

For me, every story is different. Sometimes I see the characters first, other times the story. But no matter how I start, every book I’ve written has had some strange character show up out of the blue and start trying crazy things.

It’s at these times I’m glad I grew up on a ranch. I spur my horse and rope that ‘lil doggie in.

Sometimes it works. Other times... not so well.

In those cases, I end up being dragged kicking and screaming down the new path.

And most times, it ends up better than my original plan.

Sometimes, listening to the strange, if wonderful, new characters makes the story stronger.

Now, there has been a few occasions it didn’t work and I ended up scrapping a whole lotta pages.

At those times, after I’m finished beating my head against the desk, I try to see it as a learning exercise.

So, my Q4U:

Readers: How much do you enjoy reading these ‘deleted scenes’?

Writers: How do you handle the tug-o-war between your outline (whether extensive on paper or just a skimpy thought) and characters who decide to just pop in and take over?

http://www.amberkallyn.com/

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