Characters Who Come to Life…

Posted by Rick

April 2, 2008

Have you ever created a character and watched them come to life before your very eyes? I don’t mean due to your own masterful design and diligence. I mean on their own. A character who once unleashed on paper does whatever they want? Let me give you an example. I was working on a novel a few years back and a quarter of the way through I realized a minor character I had introduced early on was going to play a pivotal role in the outcome of the book. How had this happened? Did I unconsciously give him this power or did he muscle his way into the spotlight on his own? He had somehow forced himself to center stage and wasn’t about to accept anything less.
At the time I was overjoyed and proud of this character’s seeming self-development. After finishing the book I actually missed this character. With my next book I tried to replicate what had happened. I quickly found out that you cannot force life into a character or they will become awkward and stunted in their growth – much like Frankenstein’s monster. Despising their creator and their own artificial nature.

A few years later I re-read the book in hopes of updating it. I thought it time to shop it around to publishers. In doing so I discovered an amazing thing. The character that had pushed and shoved their way into prominence did all of the bold things I would liked to have done at the time had I more confidence and trust in myself. The character was someone I had wanted to be and did the things I had never dared to do. A small piece of my soul existed within that character.

So do you control your characters when they begin to exhibit signs of independence?