Hi WriteByNighters,
Yesterday during a coaching session with WriteByNighter Charity Marie, we talked about the ending of her short story, where her character takes an unpredictable action.
About the character, Charity said "She really surprised me by doing that."
A lot of writers talk as if their characters operate on their own, making decisions separately from the writer. Almost like the writer is merely an observer, typing out the actions of real people as they happen.
And for some of us, maybe that's an accurate description of our process?
Do you sometimes look at your characters as separate entities, as people who say and do surprising things you had no idea they would do or say?
Or do your characters never act or speak without strict permission from you?
Do you control your characters or do your characters control you? Or do you operate together?
