Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36360
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36360
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **Taking a life of their own is exactly what your characters should be doing.** They should have enough of a "character" that a reader can predict how they would act in a given situation. That's what makes the characters "come alive" for the reader.

Consequently, a reader can easily spot when a character is acting "out of character". And it is extremely jarring. When I read such passages, I feel the author forced the character to do something they never would. From this moment on, as far as I'm concerned, the story lacks integrity, I have lost my trust in the writer, I no longer enjoy the story.

So how do you proceed? You've got two choices.

1. Scratch the scenes you've planned. See what the character would do, and where he would lead you, how the story would proceed. That's more of a "discovery writing" approach.
2. Consider what would make your character act in the way you've planned for them, end up in the situation where you want them to be. Add that to the story. That's a more "planned" approach.

Most likely you'd be using some mix of the two, that would eventually satisfy you. Most importantly, however, **Don't bludgeon your character into acting "out of character"**. Don't make them fall in love with a person they'd never fall for, don't make them say things they never would - keep the truth of who the character is.

Original score: 26