Has this ever happened to you?

[NicoleZ]

You have this idea for a story, the characters and what is going to happen. As you begin to write, you come to one of the preliminary episodes but there your main character(-s) get so excited that she/he/they (as the case may be) refuse to move on and demand that you replay this preliminary scene over and over again in your mind until you yourself become just as excited as she/he/they are and incapable of moving on.

Has this ever happened to you and if so, what did you do to get out of it?

 

[NOIRTRASH]

No, its not in my repertoire. But PILETTE will know about it.

 

[NicoleZ]

No, its not in my repertoire. But PILETTE will know about it.

It is funny, I know, but if you yourself as a writer are not exited by what you write, why should anyone else be?

 

[SusanJillParker]

You have this idea for a story, the characters and what is going to happen. As you begin to write, you come to one of the preliminary episodes but there your main character(-s) get so excited that she/he/they (as the case may be) refuse to move on and demand that you replay this preliminary scene over and over again in your mind until you yourself become just as excited as she/he/they are and incapable of moving on.

Has this ever happened to you and if so, what did you do to get out of it?

This happens to me many times.

Why? You've immersed yourself in the story. You're there and it's happening in real time.

Moreover, you haven't completely flushed out your character yet. You're trying to skip and gloss over your character but they're not done with you. He or she has much more to say. Take your time until your character reveals everything to you.

Chances are the story isn't what you intended it to be. Chances are the story is now about that one character. Go with it.

Relinquish the keyboard and have your character write their own story. Forget about the rest of the story until you develop your character. You'll see. The story may surprise you by going where you'd never thought it would go.

Obviously, the story is a much bigger story than you thought it would be. Obviously, the story is going off in a different direction with multiple tangents.

When that happens, buckle your seat belt, hang on, and go for the ride.

Good luck with your story.

 

[Green_Knight]

It is funny, I know, but if you yourself as a writer are not exited by what you write, why should anyone else be?

LOL

I think you've just unwittingly solved your problem. If you find yourself replaying the preliminary scene over and over again in your mind, you just wait until you get exited by what you've written.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Not really, but I have had characters go off on tangents, pages and pages of tangents. When I reread them, I think, this would be a good standalone story. Rip it out and file it under newstuff.

Right now I have a character who was just supposed to solve a problem. But she did it so well, she was promoted and now has a whole new set of problems.

I'm going with it and will still get to the ending I want. It just makes the story longer is all, but a good longer.

 

[NicoleZ]

This happens to me many times.

Why? You've immersed yourself in the story. You're there and it's happening in real time.

Moreover, you haven't completely flushed out your character yet. You're trying to skip and gloss over your character but they're not done with you. He or she has much more to say. Take your time until your character reveals everything to you.

Chances are the story isn't what you intended it to be. Chances are the story is now about that one character. Go with it.

Relinquish the keyboard and have your character write their own story. Forget about the rest of the story until you develop your character. You'll see. The story may surprise you by going where you'd never thought it would go.

Obviously, the story is a much bigger story than you thought it would be. Obviously, the story is going off in a different direction with multiple tangents.

When that happens, buckle your seat belt, hang on, and go for the ride.

Good luck with your story.

Thank you!

Yes, that's exactly it. You have nailed it. The only problem is that what they demand would result in another 35-40k novella (with too much emphasis on characters and too little on sex. Dammit! Why can't they just get down to it? ) and quite frankly, the return on such an investment is not worth the effort.

 

[NicoleZ]

LOL

I think you've just unwittingly solved your problem. If you find yourself replaying the preliminary scene over and over again in your mind, you just wait until you get exited by what you've written.

What do you think I've been doing the past week? The problems is that they have managed to get me very excited! The minxy little sluts!

 

[NicoleZ]

Not really, but I have had characters go off on tangents, pages and pages of tangents. When I reread them, I think, this would be a good standalone story. Rip it out and file it under newstuff.

Right now I have a character who was just supposed to solve a problem. But she did it so well, she was promoted and now has a whole new set of problems.

I'm going with it and will still get to the ending I want. It just makes the story longer is all, but a good longer.

Yes, that's very much like real life isn't it and what you outline is very much how I myself respond. One problem with that is that even if quite a few readers love those kind of complex, realistic stories, those with the loudest mouths are hardly able to read even page one, much less understand it.

Another problem is that if you allow your character to take over, it will soon become the Never-ending Story, well, almost, and consume too much time.

 

[SusanJillParker]

Thank you!

Yes, that's exactly it. You have nailed it. The only problem is that what they demand would result in another 35-40k novella (with too much emphasis on characters and too little on sex. Dammit! Why can't they just get down to it? ) and quite frankly, the return on such an investment is not worth the effort.

Not worth the effort (lol)?

Writing is a lifelong apprenticeship. What you learn now, you'll use later. I figure that by the time I'm 80-years-old, I'll be a wicked good writer.

The best stories that I write are those with little sex. I consciously must go back and add sex, especially in the beginning and at the end, otherwise few will read it.

Yet, I don't write for my audience. I mostly write for myself. I'm in every story that I write. Writing is my therapy. I can't imagine going a day without writing.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Yes, that's very much like real life isn't it and what you outline is very much how I myself respond. One problem with that is that even if quite a few readers love those kind of complex, realistic stories, those with the loudest mouths are hardly able to read even page one, much less understand it.

Another problem is that if you allow your character to take over, it will soon become the Never-ending Story, well, almost, and consume too much time.

That's why I cut tangents that really don't add to the story.

Anything that adds to the story, stays.

I see a character going off script, I stop, sit back, go watch the cars go by, then cut the off script stuff and get back on track. It might take three days of watching the cars go by, but I get there eventually. There's no rush to finish. Well, not for me.

 

[KindofHere]

................

 

[TxRad]

Characters write more stories than authors ever imagined.

 

[KindofHere]

...................

 

[Hypoxia]

Characters write more stories than authors ever imagined.

Quite so. Sometimes they do stuff I never expected till it happens. The voices in my head have their own agendae.

 

[sr71plt]

My imagination and my intentionality operate on different frequencies, so, yes, although it's really my brain formulating and motivating characters and action, I quite often am not intentionally doing anything--I'm just standing aside and letting my imagination and inspiration do their thing. What lands in the computer is almost always broader in scope and fitting together better than I was after going into writing it. That's what provides the little thrill of writing for me.

 

[TxRad]

No rad.

Imagination writes more stories than characters ever will.

It's fun to say 'this character has a life of their own' ... but they don't.

And where do characters come from if not imagination. Toss a couple of characters out on a table build a little background and scenery and see what happens. The essence of writing. Over thinking and planning take all the fun and spontaneity out of the story.

 

[KindofHere]

.............

 

[TxRad]

I think we are on the same page. too drunk to know.

Then a nap is the next order of business.

 

[KindofHere]

..............

 

[SamScribble]

Nap, how old are you?

Was driving, stopped at a train (cause you can't run into it) my partner (drinking buddy) said 'we are going to stop for a spell' ... "spell?' ...

I look at him and said, "No shit, Huck Fin?" ...

and he started to laugh. couldn't stop laughing,

Naps are wonderful. I took two today. Just short ones. Maybe you need a few more birthdays.

 

[KindofHere]

..............

 

[yukonnights]

You have this idea for a story, the characters and what is going to happen. As you begin to write, you come to one of the preliminary episodes but there your main character(-s) get so excited that she/he/they (as the case may be) refuse to move on and demand that you replay this preliminary scene over and over again in your mind until you yourself become just as excited as she/he/they are and incapable of moving on.

Has this ever happened to you and if so, what did you do to get out of it?

I think the phrase or concept of 'characters taking over the story' is just a surrogate phrase for that moment when writing turns from pure mental effort to a creative flow. It's a little harder to see in writing because of the technicalities involved. I do other types or art including music and painting and it is in those moments when I am in the "zone" that true music or artistic freedom flows unbidden. This "zone" of creative freedom seems to be what 'characters taking over' is trying to express.

Now granted, these characters are no doubt confined by the walls of my own experience and imagination...but that's a pretty big playground for them to explore

EDIT TO ADD: Not all of the "art" I do when in the "zone" is necessarily all that good...but it is always fun in the moment of creating it.

 

[SamScribble]

When I’m writing – as I have been for the past hour or so – I keep asking myself: ‘And what happens next?’ Readers might think that I know what happens next. But I don’t. At least I don’t until just before it happens. If I knew how everything was going to play out, I’d probably take up golf.

 

[CharlieB4]

I've got to have a plan.

I've got to have a framework and a general idea of where I'm going when I start. Then I start with the characters. Sometimes it can take a while to get into a characters skin, sometimes I never quite manage it so the story languishes.

However when he/she comes alive in my head then it gets exciting. I put words into their mouths and see how they react. It's then that the framework can get remodeled if what I've planned doesn't fit with the people running around in my head.

The frenzy comes when I work out the end point. Suddenly I haven't got enough fingers to hit the keyboard and my mind races ahead trying to get the right words to get me to my destination.