Yes, my characters often go in an unexpected direction. When I write, I have to know the beginning and the end before I start, but I don't necessarily know all of the specifics of how I'm going to get from one to another. I think the most startling thing that happened to me was when my whole story ran away. When I wrote The Circle Game it was going to be about how Lois's Aunt helped her decide to say yes to Clark's proposal by telling her about a tragic love in Viet Nam. I didn't think that would be long enough or interesting enough, so I invented a frame in which that story would be presented. By the time I finished, the frame was the story, and the original story was a device, told in a few paragraphs, for reuniting Lois and Clark after a traumatic split. Since then, I pay close attention to where my characters want to lead me.
:)Jude
