the characters made me!

[contrariwise.livejournal.com]

So I was browsing at the library and picked up Janet Evanovich's^* How I Write. Right there, on page 14, an interesting passage jumped out at me:

Q: Some people say they start writing and the character tells them what's next. In other words, the characters take over for the author. Do your characters ever surprise you like that?

Janet: NO! What does surprise me is that people say this happens. This is fiction! Your character doesn't do anything you don't want him to!

You do have to be very careful never to force a character to do something simply because you think he needs to do it for the sake of the plot or because you think it's funny or because you think it's hot or it's cute or whatever. Characters have to do what they are supposed to do according to your creation of them and your plot line. The bottom line is: Writers control the story and the characters. And don't let anyone tell you different--particularly your main character.

For some reason, I thought immediately of a certain author...


^*She writes the Stephanie Plum series, featuring a spunky (but not very good at her job) bounty hunter, her wacky family, and her two on-again/off-again hot dudes. It's a fluff series, but it knows it. *g*

Comments

[alondra-del-sol.livejournal.com]

My views seem to correlate with the majority here, but I'll add my two cents as well.

There is obviously a difference between how LKH relates to her characters, and how the rest of us relate to our characters and our entire stories to boot.

I've written and role-played for many a year. I got my start on Neopets back in Junior High (7'th grade I think) and now I'm a sophomore in college. So I've been around the block (and not in the Anita way kthx, lol).

In any case these struggles that we have with our characters/stories (those sane and not LKH in any instance) are all just parts of our creative processes. We talk about struggling with our characters or arguing with them, but in a certain non-insane sense. I mean I think we all take a step back and from time to time ask 'WW_D?', and most authors should ask that question, especially if they are stuck at a scene. Of course maybe the reasons you are struggling with your characters or perhaps characterization would be a more appropriate term since 'you the author are deciding how to characterize this being of your creation' is not even a character problem.

LKH no doubt has so many problems because she has basically butchered the writing process. Her books are going nowhere and therefore she is continually stuck. In most cases if you know where you are going the path will present itself. I've decided to do NaNoWriMo (god save my soul), and one of the first things I knew I had to do was decide how the story was going to end. Otherwise I will muddle through and not finish like when I decided to do it two years previously. I have even somewhat outlined my major points of 'how could I possibly be so cruel to my characters?'. Fantastic ideas in that completely sadistic 'it will be interesting to torture my characters' kind of way.

Will I get stuck occassionally? Most likely. Will I hit upon alternate story routes? Quite possibly. Will I accept them if they are not a means to my end? Nope.

As for immersing yourselves in the world of writing. I'm totally down with that. I have to have something to do when I'm not paying attention in class right? Lol. My subconcious is my own personal writing playground. After all ideas have to come from somewhere, and its kind of like playing the sims (except the sims shall never rock more than my daydreams). Most of the time I'm in control kind of like a choose your own adventure novel, but sometimes you sort of let the reigns go and let your subconcious spin whatever it desires. Sometimes you'll step back and go 'woah, totally not what I wanted/intended' and the idea is kind of stuck in there so you struggle with an image or idea you've accidentally created. It just takes some time and force of will to dispell, at other times it works out really great and you decide to put it in.

Somewhere along the way LKH gave up the reigns totally and completely and is either to lazy or too uncaring to take them up again. I could see either as she seems to view writing as such a chore. I mean I understand having to sit down and make yourself write, because inspiration doesn't always hit you with a divine light and you sit down and churn out X many pages of pure genius. Like any other talent it takes hard work and dedication, and like my music instructors always told me 'practice makes perfect' at least as perfect as a human being can get.

(Saxophone players FTW!)