Characters

I have been writing for about ten years now and there are many things that I have learned during that time. 

I've had to practically learn how to use grammar all over again (I didn't really listen in school the first time around).

I've made up my own shorthand language for when I write longhand at work.

I've learned to take, as well as give, constructive criticism.

But most of all, I've learned that writing can be unpredictable!

 You may say, "Crystyl, if you're the author, how can your story take you by surprise?"

That's a good question, to which I only have one answer...my characters take over!

If you write fiction, you may know what I'm talking about, but right now I bet a bunch of you are thinking that I'm crazy.

Yes, my characters take over. 

Sometimes, it is all I can do to write fast enough to keep up with them!

I'm getting ahead of myself. 

How do characters take over?

Well, when you write, if you develop a great character (good guy or bad guy, doesn't matter), it is easy to "fall for them". 

If the character is believable, they become like their own living entity within your mind (like a good friend that you've known for years). You become as attached to them as the reader does, if not more.

So, I have these "entities" in my mind while I write as well as a general idea of the direction that I'm going to guide them in, but sometimes...they throw a fast one at me!

I will have a dramatic scene worked up in my mind and as I'm writing, suddenly my heroine decides to say something that changes everything. Boom! My imagined scene is shattered, as is all the after affects to go with it.

But this is not a bad thing. Most of the time, it adds to another layer of the story and works out to be a much cooler idea and conclusion than I had originally planned.

So, you can see why I like to let them take over (most of the time). 

When I write, I like to immerse myself into the world of my characters as much as I can. That way I can properly describe surroundings as well as feelings. 

Not to mention, it's fun!

It's like watching a movie (which means my hand is cramping because I'm writing so fast) and I am just as excited as any other audience member to see what happens next.

So, now my secret is out...I sound nuts.

haha

Does anyone else have anything similar happen to them or am I really just looney?