Yzabel / October 22, 2005

Something very weird happened in the past few days, discretely at first, then more and more quickly: one of my very secondary characters said she wanted in with a more important role, and not only did she demanded that, she also gave me reasons as well as plot and background elements for me to do so.It’s really an eerie feeling. I’ve often heard that an author can consider having done a good work when her characters acquire a life of their own, so to say, but I never had this happen to me in such a way. This one wasn’t supposed to go very far in the story—in fact, she was even to die in one of the first scenes: a person out of the past, who’d be regretted, but wasn’t involved in the rest of the plot. I don’t know yet if she’d be really essential; she desperately wants in, this I’m sure of. Now that I think of it, she’s anyway not the kind of persona to remain quietly in the background.I have my idea about why she started to behave this way. As said, she wasn’t supposed to have any importance, but from the moment I put her in the first chapter, the moment I gave her a few lines of dialogue, her persona became clearer to me, and developed little by little in the back of my mind, without me noticing it at first. Then, something else hit me: she could actually be so much more than what I had reduced her to at first. There’s a real potential behind this character, and although I could very well decide to keep her for another story, I think she’d do well in the setting in which I put her first. She won’t become the main character. However, as a secondary character with a good deal of importance, she can be perfect.I don’t have to decide right now what to do about her, as I’m still in the process of noting down the outline of the whole story before starting with the “serious” writing. I often wonder if I should listen to such cues. Recently, I listened to one that developed through a dream, and I was happy with the result, which tells me that I should follow my instincts more often, instead of always rationalizing. Would this be a good thing? Does a “real” writer insert characters where they weren’t supposed to be, giving them more important roles? Is it usual for an author to go through the process of switching characters, handing out the main role to someone who was only very secondary at first? It’s hard for me to tell whether this is a good method or not, if others do it this way or if I am an exception. I’ve been trying to listen to my characters more, and I’m yet to find out if this is a good thing or not. I suppose I’ll go through trial and error a few more times before understanding what works for me. This is why I’m taking my time (alright, read “a few days”) to ponder this matter, and see if really I should listen to my heart here, or if it’s doomed to fail, if it would just hinder the main plot instead of enhancing it.In the meantime, she goes on calling to me, and she’s a pretty loud mouth, I tell you.characters, writing