Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related When Your Characters Run Away

Another one of those 'Explain Your Process to me' questions. And this is to all writers, no matter how many words or how few.

What do you do when your characters- who you are herding towards a plot point or goal-line or particular destination- run off and go the other way?

First of all, does this happen to everyone?

I'm thinking of you organized, linear outliners who have pretty much every chapter plotted. Does that even happen to you? Or are you able to pull them back into line?

And, you know, I'd love some really specific examples. What were you trying for and what happened instead? And did that improve the story or did you end up throwing page upon page out the window?

I've got two examples from my own stuff. First, in one of my earliest stories, Superman Undone, Superman and Lois are discussing CK's 'death' at the hands of those gangsters. She is arguing that Superman has failed to protect CK, that is was important. And he is protesting that he has always been there for her when it mattered. Ok. That was supposed to be the end of that. End scene. But then Lois said, out of nowhere and it was not in the first draft, second, or third. "My life was tied to his, when you didn't come for him, you didn't come for me." Or something like that.

The result? Once she said it, I couldn't make her unsay it. And then I had to toss the last half of the story entirely because that comment was a big, fat elephant I couldn't figure out how to write around otherwise.

Is this too long? It is. Stay with me!

In Through the Window I sent our Lois to altClark. She's trapped in his dimension without a clue as to what's happened, no Wells to explain it to her. So, initially I saw her breaking down and telling altClark- a man who would understand completely- that she was from another universe. He would hold her and tell her, "me too," and they would be two lonely souls with this common tie that would hold them together.

But...when she tells him, and he already has his arms around her and is full of sympathy, he did something I didn't expect. He got angry. Right there, to Lois's surprise and my own! Went all rigid, stomped from the room shouting things like, "Who told you?? Are you with the goverment??" And I tell you, I just followed him as mystified as Lois did until he took off from the balcony.

And I loved that! Made that scene so much more interesting, but I'd swear that was all his idea.

Ok. So here it is...Let me know I'm in good company? That I'm not the only one sometimes afraid to open my story file for the things the characters may do or say I hadn't planned on? I want to know. Indulge me?? Please??

CC (who, if no one answers this thread, will probably just start writing you all individually. Don't make me do that.)

Hey,CC...

I am more like you....I have a "grand scheme" when I start to write, but because I like to write a lot of dialogue, sometimes it seems as if someone else is typing it.

Initially when I started Jungle Love I was going to leave everyone hanging for a long time before Clark found Lois in the Congo. Then all of a sudden, they were meeting in the next section!

So I had to change the storyline quite a bit from there. Best laid plans...be damned.

It's like a Ouija board....when it starts to take over and fly all over the board and both of you swear that you're not moving it (it has happened to me,it's very spooky).

So I believe that a true writer goes with the flow...that is what makes them great....insights that occur while typing....happen for a reason!

I know what you're saying CC, I was all ready to have Clark and Lois hook up right there in the darkroom, but Clark decided to back off<much to my frustration!!!!> I think he wanted to be more romantic and gooshy about his first "time" with Lois, geeeeeesh, what a lunkhead.

Had me yelling at 2am "YA KNOW IT WORKED IN *CLOSET ENCOUNTERS*!!!"

So then he was all "Back off *Lucy*!" and I was all like "WHATEVER!!!"

Do my characters take off on me...?

Yep yep yep.

Now getting them back on track is easy. You threaten to write in a TANK moment and they get all quiet and mousy again. Works like a charm.

TEEEEEEJ

Oh, gosh yes, all the time. Started years ago, when one of my heretofore minor characters seized a plot opportunity to take over the galaxy <g> Not my idea, I swear. But it did make the defeat of the bad guy just that much more complete...

What's that? You wanted an example from a fic you might actually have *read*? Oh, okay. A few years back, I wrote Hearts Divided -- a universe where baby Kal-El grew up on New Krypton, and Lois Lane grew up reading Superman comic books. Somewhere along the way, Lois figures out that Kal is *just* *like* Superman. I figured she'd be thrilled. Nope. She was really really ticked at him, that he'd had those abilities and hadn't used them to save people. <shrug> I couldn't really blame her. Oh, and that story was really inspired by one scene/visual; I built the plot backwards and forwards from that one moment... but by the time I got to that point in the story, Lois point-blank refused to go along with my plan.

Whatcha gonna do?

PJ

That's why I write by the seat of my pants. If something happens, it won't mess up anything I have planned out for future scenes. (Well, that, and I don't like structure anyway. I'm a painter, that's my excuse.) I have probably a one sentence idea of what's going to happen in my current WIP (which we all know is never going to get done because I'm so impatient when it comes to writing stories that are over a page long). So when Lois had to make a comment that probably just gave me and entire freakin B plot darnit (I'm an A plot kind of person, and that's about it), it didn't change anything since I have no idea where this story is going.

JD :p

Well, I pretty much never know at the outset what my characters are going to do or the journey they'll take me on - in the past I've likened writing to just letting the characters out of the trap and then dashing after them as they career down the nearest blind alley in the desperate ambition just to keep up with them.

Sometimes I have a vague, nebulous notion of a direction I'd like to go in and an overall plan, minus the details, but I don't think I've ever gotten there on a straight line on the whole. Invariably, I end up taking a sharp right turn somewhere along the way.

Quite often I end up where I was figuring on being all along, after a few unexpected detours - I was quite determined for example that Masques was going to be an in depth exploration of how much darkness and despair you can heap on one person before they have enough and beat the bejesus out of you, while also dealing with the notion that Lois and Clark are made for each other and will find their way to be together, no matter who or what attempts to come between them and that's the story I ended up with. But usually it's by default and not really by design. Sheer chance that the detours somehow managed to end me up back where I started from instead of taking me miles out of my way.

I'm always awed when I hear an author say something like "Now all I need is to write a scene where X does Y so that later B knows that M is lying". I simply can't write to plan like that. When I begin a story it's a vague idea and a whole jumble of half written scenes, snippets of dialogue and moments that have popped into my head over the span of time and been hastily jotted into a file. When I gather enough of them, I figure I might have the bones of something to work with.

Nope, hang on, I tell a lie. I've only ever been able to write scenes to plan, with something specific in mind like that, once as I recall and that was with Masques. A story which broke a lot of traditions and habits for me. There were a couple of occasions where reader comments sparked something off in me and I hastily jotted down a whole new scene or two I hadn't planned on and slotted them into place in the two days between one post and another. But that was definitely not the normal way of things.

Quite frequently too, I'll experience that moment you mention, CC, when I'm gaily typing away and suddenly find myself in the middle of a conversation I had no idea was coming. Pretty much along for the ride with no control over what these people are coming out with. More often than not such a surprise conversation or action will totally contradict what I've already got on file. Half the time I spend writing a story is spent either trying to marry two completely diverse notions into one coherent whole (because I generally love both options and can't bear to part with either) or trying to decide which one I can bear to lose to make it all work. While, of course, cursing the character who made life so difficult and wondering why the heck they couldn't have kept their big trap shut.

What was the question again?

Not sure if I stayed on topic there, but anyway, that's my experience of bolshy characters who have no consideration for the poor author trying to run their lives.

LabRat

I have more of a problem getting characters to do what I want them or need them to do. Very specific example - right now I'm working on the final lost chapter of The Butterfly Legacy. I need, somehow, for Lois to move from feeling emotion A to the opposite end of the spectrum where she feels emotion B. And without pages and pages of introspection or forced dialogue, I don't know how to get her there. Top that off with a Clark who keeps coming out a tad bit too defensive and I'm thoroughly stuck!

Mostly, though, when I write, I know where I eventually want to be. The characters often do take me on detours which result in scenes I'd never imagined or, more likely, with new characters that I'd never intended to expand upon. Adam from Rage is a prime example - he was a throwaway who ended up becoming a major player in helping Clark work through his issues. Totally unexpected.

I love it when you have a kernel of an idea and the characters just jump on the wagon with you. I also think letting the characters jump in makes for more in-character portrayals as well as adds interest to the story - turns you never expected to take are often the most interesting ones.

Lynn

Well, I'm one of those organised people who writes outlines, so of course my characters do exactly what I tell them.

Not.

Can't remember many specific examples, but in Misery, I had Lois and Clark all set up for a nice intimate chat about ex-boy/girlfriends, when Clark went all woozy on me and left me with only Lois's half of the conversation. I swear I never planned for him to do that, and personally, I think he was faking it so he could get out of telling Lois about Lana. Can't remember if I ever managed to trick him into fessing up later in the fic or not.

In the fic I'm writing at the moment, Lois nearly walked out on me while I was writing a really important scene. So ungrateful, I thought, considering the scene was entirely for her benefit.

Then later in the same fic, I brought Lois and Clark together in a fairly dramatic scene, the culmination of which was supposed to be Clark's confession of some important facts which Lois needs to know before their relationship can move on. So what happened? Clark flew out the window.

What's a writer supposed to do, I ask you?

Yvonne

PS Just read Lynn's comment about Adam, which reminded me of my own similar experience. In Addicted, I never, ever, planned for Clark's shrink to play such a big part in the story. In fact, when I began the story, I didn't even know Clark was going to have a shrink. But along came George. When he first appeared, he was just A N Other Shrink. Then I needed to give him a name. Then, for some reason, he began to develop a personality. He grew a body. His consulting room took shape. Before I knew it, George was turning in an Oscar-winning performance as Best Supporting Character and threatening to take over the entire shebang.

The moral? Never give your incidental characters names. Once they've got a name, there's no stopping them.

CC - you and I have spoken on this issue before, so I'll be brief (I have to go workout. Really. Must workout. Those last 10 pounds MUST GO!)

But....

I don't outline, I have a vague idea of events and direction, but I write on the fly.

My characters are ALWAYS doing this to me - saying things I hadn't intended them to say.

I even wrote this chapter for LST where the 2 of them attempt intimacy and it's all hard and awkward and scary... full of misunderstanding.

But by the time they even contemplated getting closer, they had broken down so many barriers between them that the chapter wouldn't make any sense.

I loved this chapter, and I had to mostly axe it.

But it's like that with software. We call it refactoring - rewriting our code underneat (keeping the outward functionality intact) to make it better. Software writing is incremental and iterative. But writing stories... it's visceral.

I wouldn't have it any other way. I personally love how my story writes itself, how the ideas just come as I contemplate... and sometimes it takes months... but the ideas always come.

I'm one of those who has to write straight through from beginning to end. I can't jump between scenes I envision, then go back and add in the middle. So, yes, characters often do unexpected things!

Like this new story I'm working on right now... I want tension, I want angst. The characters want... ACTION!

I usually find that when I let those jokers run wild, I end up liking what they do better than what I do.

Excuse me while I hop on the bandwagon. Is there room here? Can someone scooch over a bit? Thanks.

So, yeah. L&C live in my head, too. And they're very headstrong. We knew that.

I've learned to let them have their way.

Generally, I don't work with any kind of outline. Just not my style. I've done best just writing linearly, letting things develop naturally.

Except when I don't. Because, really, just about any rule I can name, there's at least one story where I've broken it. Jumped ahead with "Cape of Good Hope" and then had to write up to the last chapter.

There's another story I have. It's entitled "SuperMEN??" and it's one of my oldest fics. Probably my oldest unfinished fic. Supposed to be a crazy silly bit of fluff based on the idea that Clark's space ship ran out of fuel a little too early and got stuck in orbit for 20-something years. So, he grew up not just watching TV, but channel-surfing at super-speed. Which resulted in a Clark with multiple personalities, all of which were derived from TV stereotypes. He's found by NASA, pops out of the spaceship, and says, "Greeting, Earthlings. I come with peas. Take me to your lederhosen." When the astronauts quite understandbly fail to laugh, he and his other selves (his body zips around at super speed so they can have their conversation) go off on this tangent about the decline of Saturday Night Live and how "We are a couple of wild and crazy aliens!" would have gotten a much better reaction, back in the day.

They take the crazy alien to the Metropolis Neuroscience Institute for some therapy and scientific study, and it turns out there's this pretty woman there who lost her memory...

Anyway, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted from the story, and where I wanted it to go.

Or, well, I had an idea eventually. I did have to combine it with another story idea I'd had (about the effects on the world population of discovering that there actually is life on other planets). Once I did that, though, things gelled nicely, and I had a very clear idea of exactly what needed to happen, step by step, scene by scene.

Clark's personalities had other ideas. Perry wasn't too happy with me when I tried to send him off to do his job, either. And Lois? Oy.

But I sat there and I forced them to do what they were supposed to do. I showed them the outline. I showed them how it was supposed to go. I showed them how it all made sense and came neatly together. They insisted they wanted to go off in a completely different direction. I don't even remember where they wanted to go or what they had planned, and I never found out what was supposed to happen after that. Because I insisted that I was the author and I had the outline, and they were going to do it my way.

So I somehow managed to shove them into their proper roles and make them do it the way I had it planned. And the story came out looking forced and clunky and stupid, and I sighed, and they looked at me and said, "See??" And I said, "Okay, you're right. The story is broken and doesn't work. We'll do it your way." And they said, "No. We could have done it that way back when we wanted to, but now you forced us to do it this way and we have no enthusiasm to go back and try again. Sorry. That's it." And so I said, "Well, fine then. I'll just start over, and put you back there, and then let you go do whatever you want." Somehow, I'd failed to learn my lesson. So I did that. I started over, got things rolling, and said, "Now what do you want to do?" And they said, "Nothing. We don't like this story. You ruined it for us, remember?" So I said, "Aww. Come on. We're doing it your way this time. What do you want to do?" "We want to go do another story. Leave us alone."

Years later, I came back to it again. Even tried posting bits of it to the boards. Nothing. They still refused to have anything to do with it, and what I had looked even worse than I'd remembered. Probably because I'd had a few years to grow and mature. Some nice and helpful FoLCs had a couple suggestions, but they didn't really do much for me. So, the story remains as it was, unfinished, gathering virtual cobwebs in my "In Progress" folder, which always seems to have about a dozen or so stories in it waiting for something to happen.

At least I learned an important lesson. Never once since then have I said "no" to my characters when they wanted to go off in another direction. I just let them build naturally from scene to scene, and we're all much happier. Of course, some stories still don't get written, but that's not their fault.

Oh, and it's helped me finish stories I never would have managed to finish. When I get writer's block, I sit down with the characters and look at where we are, and I ask them, "Okay, what happens next?" And they look at me like "How should we know?" And I say, "Come on, guys. Next sentence. Just one more. What's the very next thing that happens?" And they reluctantly tell me. And then I do it again. And we take another little baby step forward. And again. And again. And eventually, sometimes, we build up some momentum and the story starts moving again.

So, bottom line of this confused muddle? I guess there are two, actually. First, yes, that's happened to me. Second, the best thing to do, without question, is to do it their way. Tell them to do it otherwise, and, if they go along with you, they'll be doing it because you said so, not because it's what they'd naturally do. So, you end up with the plot you want, but only because you forced them out of character. What's the point of that?

Sorry I can't be more specific with the difference of opinion on "SuperMEN??" It's just been too long.

Paul

P.S. If this post made any sense to you, seek professional help.

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

One addendum, since I'm one of those strange people who wants to have plots and outlines worked out at least a few scenes in advance... I feel kind of like a shepherd. I set the characters out pointed toward the goal of the scene. They wander off the track a little bit, exploring bits I hadn't anticipated. I go with them on that, and then gently guide them back to where I need them to be.

Now, like Paul said, if they're flat-out refusing (or demanding) to do something, you have to deal with that. But I always try to get them back on track, one way or another, and I can usually do it. Like I said, I usually have a goal in mind, so as long as I can get there from here, I'm good.

PJ
(who confesses to having goals like, "okay, in this scene W has to say something to Y so that later A will know H is lying...")

I don't mean to get all philoshophical about this, especially since I don't know jack about such things, but...

We've all had characters 'surprise' us as we are writing a story. And I think the reason for that is because these characters have a certain 'reality' to us. We've built up a profile for our main characters through our past and present experiences with them. We have a definite idea on who those characters are, and thus how'd they'd act and react to various situations.

It's like real life in some aspects. You have an idea as to want you are going to do in the coming day, or how you will deal with some future action based on something previously planned. But until you actually get to that moment in time you don't really know how it will go. As a rule, we are reactive people. We base our actions on the situation and circumstances as they are presented to us.

Similarly, our characters 'react' to the situations we provide in the storyline as they come to them, each according to the personality that we've come to expect from them. Unfortunately, those 'reactions' don't always follow the path that would be most conducive to the original plot of your fic.

Minor side characters can be manipulated to do whatever you want them to because that is their purpose. But as soon as that character becomes 'real' to you, all bets are off.

There are too many examples in my past stories to get into here, but I'll give you one example of a 'reaction' that just happened as it was being written.

In "Love Disabled" Lois confronts the sullen Clark with the challenge; 'If you can look me in the eye and say you don't love me, I'll go'. Clark looks up at her with a defiant look on his face and replies; 'I don't love you.' Then I just watched as Lois took over and walked up to Clark, pulled out her ring that he still wore on the chain around his neck and told him; 'I don't believe you'.

As a writer who generally writes stories to incorporate a bunch of scenes he's imagined, this one wasn't preplanned. It's a great scene, and one that you'd think that you'd have imagined ahead of time. The critical moment of the story 'just happened' because it was what Lois would have done.

Bottom line... let it flow. Most of the time your characters know what they are doing.

Tank (who can think of few stories longer than a vignette that have actually followed the original planned plotline in more than the broadest ways)

My characters do that all the time. Usually the story ends up pretty much the way I want it to anyway, but they do all kinds of things I hadn't planned in the meantime. That's why I leave a lot of wiggle-room in my plot outlines, to allow for things like that.

As a matter of fact, in the story I'm currently writing, "Twins", Superman just did something I hadn't planned on at all. Oh well, it will just make something I had planned on later happen in a slightly different way ...

Nan

Pam reminded me of something. She was talking about shepherding and nudging and suchlike. Letting L&C and whomever else run free while still doing your best to get the story to go where you want.

Well, there's one technique I've found to do it. Sort of a technique. More of a way of thinking, I guess. You have to let Lois, Clark, and all the others have free will. They have to be able to do things their own way. Be themselves. You can still get them to do what you want, however, by manipulating the circumstances around them. You may not control them, but you are in charge of the rest of their universe. Use a carrot, a stick, a shiny ball. Whatever you need. Just bring it into existance.

Need Lois to leave the Fudge Castle and head over to Vanilla City? She'd never do it on her own. If, however, someone suspicious and perhaps vaguely familiar was to walk by outside the window, looking like a story waiting to happen, and if that person just happened to walk into Vanilla City, well...

I mean, we've all done it with Clark at one point or another. Need him out of town? Need him to abandon Lois in a time of crisis? No problem. That flooding over in India looks like a job for Superman. Countless lives are depending on him, and it's going to take a while...

Sometimes, you can be a lot more subtle than that, but the principle is the same. Don't force them to do things your way. Change their universe so that they want to do it your way. Trick 'em into thinking it's their idea. Those of you who are also parents probably have a few other tricks. Bribery ("There's a big, fat, juicy story in it for you, Lois... Come on, you know you want to..."), reverse psychology ("Okay, sure, Clark. You just stay here and say all that to Lois and ruin any chance of the two of you ever being together. If that's really what you want, you just do it. No skin off my nose..."), punishment ("Fine, Lois. You want to be that way? Sure. But as long as you keep this up, the Fudge Castle is closed for repairs..."), parental authority (i.e. invoking the Wrath of Perry), whatever it takes.

Okay, so maybe it doesn't work exactly like that, but I think you get the idea. Right?

Paul

I'm a new (new to LC fanfic, anyway) writer who's been studying writing at conferences and in books and magazines for a few years, and you're describing something that apparently ALL writers experience. I wish I knew exactly what it was or how to control it. I could bottle it, sell it, and retire on the royalties from just the first-year renewals. Sheesh! I've had characters do and say things that I never intended. I've had people jump in who were supposed to be cardboard cutouts in the background and demand to be taken seriously. I've even had intended main characters just disappear from the story altogether, and that's extremely frustrating to me, since I'm one of those 'organize the organization' types.

I'm just glad that I'm not the only psycho out there who sees his/her characters take over and go boldly where no word processor has ever gone before.

Paul, I found your comment interesting, because that's the way I treat all my characters. In fact, I see that as the function of a writer. I create characters first, characters who are real enough to make decisions and choices that don't just reflect me (or in the case of L&C, use very real characters who are already provided). Then I decide where they start and where I want them to end up (for example, emotion A here, and emotion B, 180 degrees removed, there). Then I decide what external influences will impact them in such a way that they will be driven where I want them to be. That's the plot.

So, do they ever get away from me? Rarely. Once, I chose a means of reaching the ending point that made Clark do the opposite of what I wanted, so I had to change the inciting incident. In Faster Than a Speeding Bullet, I originally had him remember all the events that occurred in the future--in order to make him realize that raising a child was a possibility, even in a superhero's uncertain life. However, he was utterly miserable and in such desperate pain over wiping out his son that he refused to have any children because the pain of their loss would be too great, which was exactly the opposite effect that I wanted. So I erased his memory, and the story worked out the way I wanted.

Other than that? Sometimes characters are slower to react than I had planned, but that isn't a big deal. After all, I'm God--to my characters, anyway. I know them better than they know themselves, so I just bring in an event or conversation to hurry them up a bit or move them back on track. Or since I'm a very fallible God who doesn't have everything perfectly worked out beforehand, I go back in time (God, after all, moves freely through time ) and change an earlier event so they react the way I want or so someone can give L&C the information necessary to solve the crime.

A long time ago, I read something about how growth only occurs as a response to stress or some kind of external force, so I use that in the way I handle my characters. If I want them to change their feelings, attitudes, or behavior, I have to create a series of external events that move them out of their comfort zone and start them on the road to change. So I spend an awful lot of my writing time staring out the window, thinking of what will make my characters react in the desired way. It means I write slowly, but, boy, it's a kick to play God.

Paul, well-said. That's *exactly* what I do, I just hadn't articulated it so well Set up the situation, let L&C attack the problem, and try frantically to keep up with them

PJ

Maybe you've noticed this, but the subtext of almost all of my Writers and How They Write questions is always the same: am I crazy?

And there is nothing more comforting than finding a group of equally crazy people to keep company with.

That said, thank you for answering. So very, very interesting. And I'll just ramble here and there for a second.

I liked Tank's idea that since these characters are real to us, and Paul's that they live in our head- and do they ever- that it makes sense that they just sort of start pulling the wagon, nevermind who has the reins. And Lab's vision of letting them out and watching them dash off...man. Me too, only I'm just running along side trying to take down all their dialogue...not always understanding what they're talking about.

Here's the thing I like best about writing Clark Kent. When it gets difficult having him around, when the conversation in the room dries up or things get awkward, grind to a halt, etc...you can just send him out the window in under a second. End scene. No clumsy transition. If I told you how many, many times I've used that, you'd lose all respect for me. (Hey...did you have any respect to start with...nevermind, ignore!)

I think that's probably why original fic would be hard for me. I'd need a series of trapdoors that could just swing open and swallow the characters at whim.

I do like when they surprise me. In a good way. And I do like that, for me, (and I KNOW this isn't true of some of you) I don't always know what they're thinking. They are independent minded, and I'm just guessing at their motivations sometimes, why they say the things they say or do the things they do. When readers say (and I'm not naming names) 'I'd like to know what so and so is thinking here...' I can only agree. Me too! Sometimes they don't tell me.

Ramble rolling to a close. Thanks everyone for giving your pov.

And welcome to Terry!

Couldn't have said it better myself. And the more company in the nuthouse, the better!

CC