Today I started writing my NaNo novel. I was only supposed to be planning it, but last night a perfect opening paragraph formed in my mind. So I spent the better part of today trying to remember exactly where my head was at the time to be able to reconstruct the beginning of the novel. After a while, I realized that was an impossible task as I’m not the one who writes my stories. My characters do.

The only reason I was even thinking about my NaNo book is because Alexis has clammed up on me. She’s being rather stubborn and is as bad of a procrastinator as I am. She does not want to move forward and deal with all the difficulties that are ahead of her. Her absence has allowed my new character, Kyle (whom I found and briefly talked about in a post a couple months ago), to move forward and start whispering her story in my ear. Kyle’s pretty much at the shouting point now, whereas Alexis seems to have been rendered mute, so I gave in earlier today and wrote the first chapter and part of the second of Kyle’s story.

Yes, Alexis is frustrating me, but I’m falling in love with Kyle. She’s a cool chick and I’m loving learning about her. And hey, maybe I’ll find out that Alexis is jealous and likes to be center stage and the fact that I’m paying attention to Kyle will light a fire under Alexis to move on with her life and do what she has to do. It won’t be pretty, but it needs to be done and her story is great. So I’m hoping to get two awesome books out of this.

My point . . . yes, I’m getting there. And yes, I know I might be making myself sound insane in the process, but it’s true that “writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia,” just as E.L. Doctorow said. Sometimes I feel rather insane, but I love it!
So, yes, my point — are you, the writer, in charge of your stories? Do you plan everything out and make your characters do what you think they should? If you’re not getting anywhere, can you pull out a gun on your MC and see how s/he reacts to get the story moving ahead?
Me, I can’t do that. I just work backstage. My characters dictate everything, and if they’re not talking, no writing is getting done. Which is why it’s taking me so dang long to finish this first book. I’m almost there, but not quite. I have a fighter on my hands who just will not give in to my demands. Her demands are what matter.

So, are you in charge? Or are your characters? How do you write?
(I’m really hoping I’m not the only crazy one who believes her characters to be real and in control…. Please tell me I’m not! )
I’m interested to see how y’all go about telling your stories to the world.

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Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.

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