I was working on book #2 the other day, pounding out a scene that I had finally outlined, just happy to be making any progress in my limited writing time, when something happened. Something wonderful.
The scene fell off the tracks and I lost control of it entirely.
I love it when that happens. No, really, I’m being serious. Because as much as my original idea might have worked, if I get into the scene and my characters take over…that’s when I feel the magic happen. I’ll get into a groove and instead of forcing myself to come up with the next line of dialogue or the next move they make, I just know. Because suddenly my characters’ intentions, desires and flaws will come together and it will be obvious what their next move would be. And those scenes, those wonderful scenes where my characters barge in and tell me to get out of the way, those are the ones I end up loving the most. They feel the most genuine, the most honest.
Sorry to get in the way, characters of mine. By all means, carry on.
I know exactly what you mean. The characters take on a life of their own, and now all you need to do is watch them and write down what they’re doing! It does mess up your outline, though! And when the book is done, don’t you feel kind of lost without them?