Regardless of what you think of the content of that infamous J. K. Rowling interview, her words concerning the intended plot of the story hits home with me. I feel like it must be something every writer sometimes struggles with.

Sometimes characters take a life of their own and walk away from you.

In that interview with Emma Watson, J. K. Rowling said:

That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it…

Sounds familiar?

I am no stranger to characters walking away from me. You would think they are yours, and if one of them misbehaves, ditch that character and get another to do his job– or go back to the start and change the character itself. Easy? No.

While it can be frustrating, I love it when my characters surprise me. It keeps things interesting. I have something planned, and then they start whispering in my ear. “No, that’s not how. Don’t put words in my mouth. If you have me act this way, things will soon become illogical.” Sometimes your subconscious mind knows your characters better than your conscious mind.

Should you run with the new story or stick to the one you plotted out a long time ago? It depends, and I do not know if there is an easy answer for that. What you need to watch out though is not to destroy your story by insistently sticking to what you conceived it to be. It is easy to tell when a writer has had a certain plot in mind and has forced the characters to act according to it, regardless of what should have been the story’s natural progression.

I once read a romantic adventure story where I felt from the first pages the main character was with the wrong guy. She just had to get Prince Charming, and she did, with all of his boring personality and generic ultra-handsome looks… and just no. No chemistry. None whatsoever.

But the not-so-handsome sidekick with whom she had meaningful conversations, who understood and supported her, and loved her, where was he? Yeah, on the sidelines. I felt that was a great couple wasted. Someone had decided the heroine must get the generic good-looking Prince Charming, regardless of how bland he was.

That was one story I feel that could have benefited from letting the characters instead of the author do the talking.

I leave this here with a final word from Stephen King, which I feel addresses this topic most delightfully. According to this site, (can someone find an actual quote?), he feels that if writers can convince themselves that the worlds they are creating are actually real and not within their control, it can often lead to more intuitive and satisfying stories.

Do your characters often tell you how a story should go?