Surprise, surprise

[SamScribble]

I’ve been on a bit of a roll of late. The weather in our corner has not be great. And my health has not been what I would ideally like it to be. No marathons. Not much dancing. So I have been writing. The funny thing is, despite having been a writer for many many many years, I find that I keep surprising myself.

I start a sentence and, by the time I reach the end, I have written something that had not even vaguely occurred to me when I lay down the initial capital letter. It’s the same with characters. When George tells Chloe what he was doing at the park, he gives an answer that is a complete surprise to me. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a pleasant surprise, a useful surprise; but it’s a surprise nevertheless.

Anyone else running in this mode at the moment?

 

[KeithD]

Sure. I try not to crowd my characters. Often they have something more interesting to say/do than I had in mind for them.

 

[Jada59]

Not right now, but that has happened to me.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

I’ve been on a bit of a roll of late. The weather in our corner has not be great. And my health has not been what I would ideally like it to be. No marathons. Not much dancing. So I have been writing. The funny thing is, despite having been a writer for many many many years, I find that I keep surprising myself.

I start a sentence and, by the time I reach the end, I have written something that had not even vaguely occurred to me when I lay down the initial capital letter. It’s the same with characters. When George tells Chloe what he was doing at the park, he gives an answer that is a complete surprise to me. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a pleasant surprise, a useful surprise; but it’s a surprise nevertheless.

Anyone else running in this mode at the moment?

All the fucking time. My characters are alie and have their own plans. They don't tell me until it's time.

I had one that adjusted a thermostat in winter and set it to cold. Later in the story she had a naked man tied to a bed shivering as she feed him cold soup and Iced tea as a punishment, while she told him about the steak baked potato and coffee she had for lunch.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I’ve been on a bit of a roll of late. The weather in our corner has not be great. And my health has not been what I would ideally like it to be. No marathons. Not much dancing. So I have been writing. The funny thing is, despite having been a writer for many many many years, I find that I keep surprising myself.

I start a sentence and, by the time I reach the end, I have written something that had not even vaguely occurred to me when I lay down the initial capital letter. It’s the same with characters. When George tells Chloe what he was doing at the park, he gives an answer that is a complete surprise to me. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a pleasant surprise, a useful surprise; but it’s a surprise nevertheless.

Anyone else running in this mode at the moment?

All the time. My characters tend to wander off and do their own thing, completely forgetting that I'm supposed to be in control.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I start a sentence and, by the time I reach the end, I have written something that had not even vaguely occurred to me when I lay down the initial capital letter. It’s the same with characters. When George tells Chloe what he was doing at the park, he gives an answer that is a complete surprise to me. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a pleasant surprise, a useful surprise; but it’s a surprise nevertheless.

Anyone else running in this mode at the moment?

All the time. That's how I write. I've had new characters arrive in the space of a paragraph.

 

[Omenainen]

Anyone else running in this mode at the moment?

I’m new to this game, but so far this seems to be the mode I’m in per default. I write to answer the question, “If I would write about this, what would I write?” So I start with some idea, and then literally write it out to get to see what happens. Probably wouldn’t work for long stories or plottier plots, but so far I’m happy with this approach.

 

[lovecraft68]

I start a sentence and, by the time I reach the end, I have written something that had not even vaguely occurred to me when I lay down the initial capital letter. It’s the same with characters. When George tells Chloe what he was doing at the park, he gives an answer that is a complete surprise to me. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a pleasant surprise, a useful surprise; but it’s a surprise nevertheless.

Anyone else running in this mode at the moment?

This has been me from the time I started writing. I have an idea of what I want the story to be and where it will start and the ultimate ending, but between that first word and 'the end' it's pure free styling and it goes where it goes and the characters, which are barely formed with my initial idea other than gender and name, create themselves.

 

[yowser]

The problem is when the character thinks/does/says something unexpected that ruins the story.

How dare they?

 

[jehoram]

Anyone else running in this mode at the moment?

That's largely how I write. I'm following Mark Twain's advice:

If you invent two or three people and turn them loose in your manuscript, something is bound to happen to them -- you can't help it; and then it will take you the rest of the book to get them out of the natural consequences of that occurrence, and so the first thing you know, there's your book all finished up and never cost you an idea.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I was definitely in that mode earlier this year, and next thing I knew I had over 100k words in a series and forced myself to pinch it off, edit and start posting it before I ended up with twice as much material.

Now working on the story I started before that and I keep glaring at the characters in my mind's eye and telling them to shut it, they're meant to be a short story.
We may compromise on a novella...

 

[SimonDoom]

It's not the way I do it, but if it works for you, keep at it!

 

[Voboy]

That's pretty much all I do, OP. You're all set.

 

[Brutal_One]

Well developed characters have an ‘independence’ that can often transpire in them doing things that surprise the writer. Where that ‘comes from’ is another topic altogether but I think more than a few writers who have characters that are developed over several stories wether related to each other in a series or not will experience this phenomenon.

Brutal One

 

[SimonDoom]

Whenever I see this subject raised I think of Vladimir Nabokov's supercilious dismissal of it with his statement that his "characters are galley slaves." They did whatever he wanted them to. His characters had no independence whatsoever.

I'm not exactly like that, but I'm somewhat like that, as a writer.

I don't create stories like I'm starting on a path and wondering where it will go. I see a story as more like a painting or a mosaic or a feat of engineering like the building of a bridge. All the parts have to go together and form a whole that pleases me, and they have to end up where I want them to be. The story has to stand up, rather than falling down. That's why I almost always write the last few paragraphs of the story before I get more than half-way through it. Everything in the story builds toward those last few paragraphs.

I don't pretend it's the right way, and I admire people who do things completely differently. But this is my way.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't pretend it's the right way, and I admire people who do things completely differently. But this is my way.

Suzie looked up at the stage, expectantly.

This was a new turn, and now she knew what to get Simon for his birthday. She could get him the mixer desk for Christmas .

 

[SamScribble]

I probably should have made it clear that I have always written using a 'this sentence follows the previous sentence' technique. So every next sentence is something of a surprise. But, lately, the surprises have often occurred during the course of the sentence. 'We're going this way,' I think, as we set forth. But the gods of the story have other ideas. Oh, well.

 

[Carnevil9]

I must be doing something wrong. When I write a story, first I envision the story arc (aka, the plot). Then I populate it with characters who will make that plot occur. Then I have the characters do what they have to do to achieve the necessary results. I'm never surprised. Do I need help?

 

[davet_1_1]

I must be doing something wrong. When I write a story, first I envision the story arc (aka, the plot). Then I populate it with characters who will make that plot occur. Then I have the characters do what they have to do to achieve the necessary results. I'm never surprised. Do I need help?

That sounds great! In the past my characters have done what they want, which hasn't necessarily ended well since the main thing they have inherited from me is they have a tendency to go off on crazy tangents.

Current writing is following a framework with a definitive end point, and yet the characters are still doing their own thing, which is sometimes fun and sometimes maddening.

 

[holliday1960]

But, lately, the surprises have often occurred during the course of the sentence. 'We're going this way,' I think, as we set forth. But the gods of the story have other ideas. Oh, well.

I have a couple of stories that went down like yours; ironically, they received the most views and highest scores on my cheap list. But I've always said, I don't have anywhere near the imagination and talent that most of you guys do. I had one story that was typed in under two hours, start to finish, including editing. You have to wonder where that comes from when it happens. Whatever causes it, enjoy it while it lasts Sam and keep writing! (Your adoring fans await the next tale...)

 

[MelissaBaby]

Whenever I see this subject raised I think of Vladimir Nabokov's supercilious dismissal of it with his statement that his "characters are galley slaves." They did whatever he wanted them to. His characters had no independence whatsoever.

I'm not exactly like that, but I'm somewhat like that, as a writer.

I don't create stories like I'm starting on a path and wondering where it will go. I see a story as more like a painting or a mosaic or a feat of engineering like the building of a bridge. All the parts have to go together and form a whole that pleases me, and they have to end up where I want them to be. The story has to stand up, rather than falling down. That's why I almost always write the last few paragraphs of the story before I get more than half-way through it. Everything in the story builds toward those last few paragraphs.

I don't pretend it's the right way, and I admire people who do things completely differently. But this is my way.

I think my process is similar to yours. I have described it as starting on a journey with a set destination, but no determined route to get there.

Interestingly, my Summer Loving entry was the first time I ever started writing without knowing just where it would go, and at least in the early voting, I’m getting the lowest ratings I’ve received for anything I’ve written.

 

[Fervid]

I'm so glad to hear someone say this! I was even thinking of starting my first thread on it. My background is in a "no surprises," "look before you leap" profession, but I find that in my new creative hobby, I can't wait to start a story once I have the set up, and then the characters hijack everything. I hardly recognize myself. It's so odd, but so interesting too. A recent example:
____

". . . . Eva intercepted me first. "Dave," she said quietly, placing a hand lightly on my forearm, "I was so glad you were sitting with us. You were nice to spend so much time listening to me talk about my studies. You're great company. I hope this doesn't seem too forward, but are you free for the rest of the evening?" She rested her light blue eyes on mine.

Did she want to get a drink? There was a pause where I was meant to say something.

"I was hoping you would like to join Klaus and me tonight? In my room?"
_____

That 'Klaus' part occurred to me the second I wrote it. Where did it come from? It's interesting that I'm not alone in this.

 

[davet_1_1]

Interestingly, my Summer Loving entry was the first time I ever started writing without knowing just where it would go, and at least in the early voting, I’m getting the lowest ratings I’ve received for anything I’ve written.

The drive-in story? Can't imagine why, it's wonderful.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Whenever I see this subject raised I think of Vladimir Nabokov's supercilious dismissal of it with his statement that his "characters are galley slaves." They did whatever he wanted them to. His characters had no independence whatsoever.

I'm not exactly like that, but I'm somewhat like that, as a writer.

I don't create stories like I'm starting on a path and wondering where it will go. I see a story as more like a painting or a mosaic or a feat of engineering like the building of a bridge. All the parts have to go together and form a whole that pleases me, and they have to end up where I want them to be. The story has to stand up, rather than falling down. That's why I almost always write the last few paragraphs of the story before I get more than half-way through it. Everything in the story builds toward those last few paragraphs.

I don't pretend it's the right way, and I admire people who do things completely differently. But this is my way.

I think Nabokov was mostly wrong, and the Mark Twain quote above is a better way to think of it. But there is no absolute right or wrong way to handle it. Sometimes I know exactly where I'm going with it, sometimes I improvise along the way.

 

[emperor0379]

I tend to exploit my characters for the sexual scenarios I run them through. As such, my characters don't acquire a lot of depth. Even so, I never know just exactly what they will say or do, so I hope they acquire a little bit of life in my creative process. Also: I only know about a quarter of the time just how a sentence is going to play out. There are usually demands of grammar, style and emotion such that I can't see the sentence in its final form until I write it.