Let ‘em Drive

One of these days, I’m gonna learn.

It’s been a fitful year of stop-and-start with That Damn Book (aka Book Two of the FREAK FRAT series). Not even a year, actually; I’ve been working on this book for several.  You’d think, since I have over ten years of professional writing and publishing experience under my belt, I’d get the hint that there’s a much easier way to write than—What is it they say? Staring at the page until your forehead bleeds?

But every time, I get stubborn and bossy. Every. Single. Time.

Here’s a hint: don’t do what I do.

The thing is, I am a very Type A personality, which is a nice way of saying I’m a control freak. I like to be the one making the decisions as to what I do in my book. That’s why I (loosely) outline. I like to know where things are going, and have an idea of how they’re going to get there. Not everything. I like surprises. But I also like steering.

My characters, unfortunately, hate when I drive. We argue All The Time over it, and every time, I think I’m right, and we spend several days not speaking to one another.

But when I get over myself, something amazing happens. If I give up the wheel and throw my hands in the air like that Carrie Underwood song, my characters magically start doing the awesome thing I had been wanting them to do for days.

If you have a modicum of writing experience and know how to tell a basic story—and you’ve spent enough time developing great characters—you need to trust them. Write that down. It’s important. Trust Your Characters. If they take you on a crazy tangent, let them. Chances are, they have something to tell you that will add an interesting layer to your story. Time and again, I’ve had to give up control after a frustrating stop, and my characters say or do something that startles and delights me. My job, as I should know by now, is to sit my butt in the chair at the same time every day and start writing so they have a chance to say their piece.

TL/DR: Give yourself a structure for your story, but don’t be afraid to let your characters take that dirt road that’s not on the map. That’s where the good scenery is. And that’s how you end up not like me, with note cards tagged with Unusable Scenes.