A writer’s madness: Who is leading who through the wilderness again?

I believe that all writers have a touch of madness. We tap into our inner worlds, decide upon a cast of characters and then start plotting out their fate in our heads before putting it down on paper. Surely it takes some magic and madness, as well as careful planning in order to pull that off?

As an avid reader growing up, I had always assumed that an author was the gatekeeper of THE MASTER PLAN. I once believed that everything was decided upon ahead of time by the author. Once THE PLAN was in place, the writer would then skillfully construct their masterpiece. One thing that I have learned as a writer is that the process is not that simple. Nor is the process a one size fits all- rather it seems to vary from individual (hence why so many of us identify as pantsers and planners). Under those definitions I would describe myself as two thirds pantser (somebody who writes and see where the story takes them) and one third planner (somebody who has a plan before putting pen to paper). Unless I am completely swept away in a dialogue train (more about that in a second), I like to have a scenario picked out, my characters chosen, know what the characters want or don’t want and know what the likely outcome is going to be before I started. Usually I will arrange these thoughts via dot points in my planner book. When my fingers hit the keyboard at last, it is normal for my plans to get changed around very quickly and for it to go in directions that I had never expected or imagined at the beginning. Usually I can find the way to my ending. If I am really lucky I end up somewhere much better then where I had expected to end up in the first place.

I believe that I am among one of the madder breed of writers as I hear the voices of my characters very clearly. Once I have a situation, and a character is established, they go in search of the second character. As soon as they start to chat, more often than not the dialogue takes on a life on its own and starts to fly off the page. Once the dialogue train is off it is hard for me to slam on the brakes. Quite often the characters will continue to chatter on in my head, at all hours of the day until they have had it out with each other or said what they needed to say. If I am lucky, this will give me enough momentum to get to the end of the story. A downside of working this way is that the other aspects of writing fiction such as description, action scenes and plotting don’t come to me as easily. It is only in the past year that I feel like I am becoming a well rounded writer at last. I know that this process seems a little bonkers but it works for me. I would love to hear what works for other writers? Am I the only one out there pursuing dialogue trains?

Part of a writer’s madness, at least in my case, is that my characters take upon a life of their own. You can set up their world and plan the story out to the best of your ability but if a character doesn’t want to do something, or has other ideas, they are not going to co-operate, even when you to force it to happen anyway. This can be so annoying but I have found from experiences that these roadblocks always serve a purpose. Whether it is the characters themselves telling me to stop or just my instincts, normally this is a red flag telling me that the situation requires something better then what I had planned out in my head. It is my job to follow them down this rabbit hole (at least for a while) and see if it takes me to a better outcome. So far the answer has always been a resounding yes.

I want to share two examples of when my characters have decided not to play ball (with some embellishing included for the fun of it). If any of you have had similar instances of character rebellion I would love to hear about them.

Example one: My first NANO, 2013: A take upon Sleeping Beauty where Philipe, the boy prince is compelled to rescue Princess Rori. He has unsuspectingly been recruited for the job by his tutors who are actually fairies in disguise. Everything that he knows about the Princess and her cursed kingdom is via the magically sent dreams he has been experiencing since he was a small child.

Me: Okay, Rori. Philipe is free of the forest’s curse and he has stopped the evil queen. He’s here now to wake you from your sleeping curse. He is here in your tower, about to set you free. 
Rori (opens one eye): Is that Philipe? Do I have to kiss him?
Me: What do you mean do you have to kiss him? He is here to break YOUR SLEEPING CURSE. He is head over heels in love with you.
Rori (snorts): That wasn’t me. That sleeper fairy Fiora made him dream about me, right? The kid fell in love with a dream. It’s not like we have ever met in real life. Are you telling me that we have to kiss and live happily ever after just because this Prince had a dream about me?
Me: Not just one dream, Rori. Multiple dreams. This has only been the entire point of the story from the beginning (sigh, of course the only person unaware of how this is supposed to go is Sleeping Beauty herself).
Rori: You look sad. Tell you what, I’ll let him kiss me just as long as he doesn’t make a habit of it. I guess I have to wake up from this spell somehow.
(Her eyes light up).
You should totally introduce him to my little sister. Viola’s isn’t the prettiest girl in the kingdom but she is very sweet. I bet the two of them would make a great match. Plus, she inherited my father’s fairy genes. I bet Philipe would get a kick out of that.
Me: (at a loss) Oh, okay Rori. Great suggestion. Thanks for your co-operation.
Rori: (beaming smile) Your welcome.
(calls after me)
By the way, I already have a boyfriend. The last I heard he was cursed and lost in the forest somewhere. If you could bring him home at some point I would be eternally grateful.
Me: (mutters under my breath) Once again, I could have used that information much earlier, Princess.

For the record Viola turned out to be so much better suited for Philipe in the end. Instead of a traditional happily ever after, my Prince ends up falling for a not so striking girl who shared his love of stories and shows him kindness, love and care when he needs it the most. He learns that outer beauty isn’t all that is cracked up to be and discovers the meaning of the true beauty that lies within our hearts.

Example Two: Last week. Starting at the beginning of Part5 of The Last Lily.

Hobi has just willed himself back to life from the Inbetween. He wakes upon the Briny Beach of the present day and is reunited with his father, Peter.

Me: Hobi ,are you awake now? Wonderful. We just need to hoist you up that cliff, talk to the nice people waiting for you at the house and then send you up to the Phoenix. Your father can say the Teddy monologue that has been looping around in my brain since the beginning of part one along the way. This is going to be the shortest instalment yet and it’s going to be great. (little did I know the detour that was going to come. My estimation of 1.5K turned into 4K words). 
Hobi:(silence)
Me: Nothing? Are you seriously giving me nothing? You’ve talked to me constantly this whole time and now at the easy part you can’t think of what to say. (Sigh). Fine, I understand that you are tired. I’ll do the talking for us both then. Let’s get you to the bottom of the cliff.
SUDDENLY THE GHOSTLY ECHO OF A LITTLE GIRL RUNS ACROSS THE BEACH!
Hobi: Who is she?
Me: (my mouth agape) I don’t know. How am I suppose to know?
Hobi:(an eager glint in his eyes) I want to follow her.
Me: (shakes my head) No you don’t. Hobi, don’t even think about it! This isn’t a part of the plan and you have just been pulled back from a different time and from the brink of death. Can you even pull this off? This is not a good idea.
A second later, a ghostly echo of Teddy follows her.
Hobi:(grins excitedly)Now we have to follow them! (tells Peter of his plan without my permission).
Me: Fine, if you are so set on going, I’ll follow you. Somebody has to keep you out of trouble.

A few moments later.
Hobi: Who was she, Dad? The girl with red hair who used to play with you on the beach?
Peter: (casually) That’s just Beth, my childhood crush.
Me: (raises eyebrows, then sighs) I am so glad somebody has an idea about what’s going on. (leans forward). Tell me more, Teddy.

Peter (scowls). Don’t call me Teddy.

During the next 2000 words the characters go down echo memory lane. None of it was planned but after coming out the other side I am so glad that it happened. Not only did it give many of my characters a curtain call that I did not realise was needed at the time, it gave me a chance to properly explore the existence of the ghostly echoes, the reason why Hobi fell through time in the first place.

You will be relieved to know that I am having a blast writing this post and my brain isn’t quite functioning at this level of kooky (though at times it comes close). Both of these are surprises that I did encounter while I was writing. In both cases I decided to go with the flow and explore this new path. I have no regrets (thanks Rori, Viola, Hobi, Peter and Beth for showing me the way).

Being receptive to the unexpected twists and turns within your writing can pay off. While you may have no idea how you are making it out of the wilderness, sometimes taking the unexpected path can lead to something more wonderful then you could have ever expected.

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