Confronting your Characters

I’ve heard many successful writers say that the “book wrote itself.” Of course, that doesn’t mean that the novel wasn’t difficult to write. It just means that the story flowed easily, with the characters being so strong that their decisions in the novel were natural. Really great characters will do that for ya…but be warned. Sometimes, you have to confront your characters and reign them in.

Don’t get so attached to your characters that they become “too real,” making the story contrived or, worse, boring. Sometimes your characters need a kick in the behind. Don’t we all? Sit down with your laptop or at your desktop and have a chat with you characters. Let them know that it is time you take back your book.

Image: sxc.hu

Here are some signs that you’re letting your characters control your novel:

• You’re including characters that aren’t necessary to the plot and don’t otherwise enhance the book.
• You love your character so much that you include scenes that aren’t necessary, just to write about them.
• You have a hard time editing their dialogue.
• You realize that the character would make more sense as a different gender, age, etc. part of the way through writing, but you can’t bring yourself to make the changes.
• You characters have totally changed the end of the novel you had planned.

Controlling characters aren’t always a bad thing. Sometimes, you end up with characters so strong that your novel takes a whole new turn…and that means you have two great ideas for books instead of one! Strong characters also have the stamina for an entire series in some cases.

But don’t be afraid to confront your characters and knock them down a few pegs. They don’t dictate the story. You do. Sometimes, you need to take your character’s hand, sit them down, and convince them that it’s time to change. Have a character intervention. It’s for the good of your novel.