Every so often the characters in my stories take control of their own lives. This is a fiction writer’s dream. The story practically writes itself and all you need to do is make sure your fingers are limbered up for the long haul. Love it.
This can also be a fiction writer’s worst nightmare. You get the idea, spend a lot of time outlining the story, do your research, and boom – those stubborn characters don’t give a rip about how much work you’ve put into creating them. They just do what they want to do and you’re along for the ride. Believe me, it NEVER turns out the way you planned.
This brings up a good question: are the characters really imaginary . . . or not?
I don’t have the answer.
For the past week or so I have been mulling an idea over and over in my mind. I haven’t been able to bring myself to start writing because I know that the main character is a strong one – so strong that she is already trying to take over the story and I haven’t even got a solid concept yet. She keeps interrupting my day with little snippets of information, and she invades my dreams at night with all kinds of plot twists and turns. Very frustrating. I do, however, plan to get her under control this week and let her know who the boss really is around here. I can almost see her shaking her head and chuckling about that.
Now that you all think I am totally and completely over the edge . . .
It’s always an adventure.
Inside the Writer 
Sounds like the sign of a good writer. Karen Kingsbury says that her husband teases her that when she is old, she will complain that her friends (ie characters from her stories) never come to visit her.Wendy J