When Characters Take Over, Don't Panic
When a Character Takes Over Your NaNoNovel, Relax It's Normal
Nov 6, 2009
The first time it happens to any writer, the experience can be terrifying. One minute, you’re writing a story about a plain, normal girl with long mousy-brown hair and a passion for classical literature, who’s determined to find a real life Mr. Darcy. Your story has wit, it has description, and your character is following your plot perfectly. Then, without warning, your main character takes over! Suddenly, she is now a gun-wielding by night, hot teacher by day, sleek, skinny and hot leather-wearing, raven haired superhero.
The good news? It’s completely normal.
Freaking Out is a Normal Reaction
The first time, anyhow. Marisa Kolver, a fourth year participant of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) says her initial reaction was a mix of shock and perhaps a little malice.
“The first time, my reaction was ’Hey! What the hell?! Who's writing here?! Me or you?! You jerk, I'm going to kill you off nice and slow....’” Kolver laughs. “It was actually rather surprising, but interesting. We always talk about characters doing their own thing from time to time – which they do in normal story writing – but in NaNo they tend to do it even more so.”
For another fourth year participant who goes by the username Tyger Katt, the reaction was quite a bit less violent.
“I was like ‘This is so cool, I don't have to think’. And then I sat back and watched them tell the story,” says Katt.
Why Does It Happen?
A character taking over the story and narration can happen for a number of reasons, ranging from the fact that in the writer’s mind the character has come to life, all the way to the simple explanation that the writer is in fact, insane. Often though, it happens under the stress of ferverently writing so many words in such a short amount of time.
“In many ways, regardless of how much you plan, there's still a level of free writing going on,” explains Kolver. “It's interesting to see how convoluted one's mind really is, to have your characters take on a mind of their own and highjack your story and you find yourself following them.”
Katt’s explanation was a little more simple, explaining that often, it’s merely a part of character development.
“I think, in a way, your characters become two dimensional entities who do have their own personality to add to the story,” Katt says.
What to do When Your Character Comes Alive
The best thing to do is to sit back and enjoy the ride. When a character comes to life, and starts speaking and acting on its own, it usually means the author has managed to unlock another level of creativity.
“Don't be alarmed, play the observer and don't try and kill what's happening just because you don't understand it,” suggests Kolver. “In the end it's a pleasure when the characters actually come to life... it means you're doing something right... well, in my opinion at least.”
Signs You Might Need to Let Your Character Come Alive
A major road block in completing NaNoWriMo can be the death of a story, caused by the characters becoming too stale.
“Often people plan things to death or they decide what their character is going to be and then they feel they can't get anywhere because they've basically squeezed all life out of the character by not giving him the freedom to breathe,” Kolver adds.
Before scratching your story as a write-off, check to see that you haven’t made the error of killing your characters before they’ve had a chance to live. And if you’re not sure how to bring your character to life, the NaNoWrimo website offers plenty of help on its author forums, with an entire section dedicated to tips and strategies.
For more tips and strategies on writing a novel in a month, check out Chris Baty’s book, No Plot, No Problem!
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