Goddammit, MC, stop cockblocking my ideas!

[The Lobster Queen]

So, shortly after I drafted the first outline for my story, I realized that I had a problem on my hands-

There was no way that I had 50k words worth of material, unless I got wordy to the point of absurdity.

I decided to start the story anyway and see what happened - maybe I'd think of a way to prolong the plot once I got going.

Well, you all know how this song goes. I had my outline in one hand, all nice and neat, and in the other, an MC who was having none of that bullshit. Thus, the plot was prolonged by my MC's tendency to take divergent routes wherever possible, to the point where my description of them changed from "vengeance-seeking-missile" to "bullheaded, brash lunatic".

Now I'm nearing the end of the story (and the end of my wordcount) and trying to wrap things up up in preparation to start editing. I get it built up all to the climactic final battle...

...and my little s**t of an MC refuses to stab the big bad. Just. Outright. gonk

Sad part is, I'm loving it. Even if it means I need to scramble to figure out "where we go from here" now. Guess I'm in it for another few chapters, at least!

So, have any of you guys had the (mis)fortune of a character turning your plot on its head, to your enjoyment? If so, do share!

[Kaida Katze]

I totally understand your plight. My characters are always running off and doing things that mess up my plot, and sometimes not even my plot they just wander off and do their own things when I'm trying to advance the plot and continue the story.
I think it's a sign of real, fleshed out characters when they defy you. It means they've developed a mind of their own.

[Margem]

My character was supposed to be this wimpy college student who was brainwashed with society. She was supposed to imagine things coming to life and coming out of nowhere [like a "I wonder what would happen" kind of thing with the stuff not actually happening].

Now, she actually sees these things coming to life and out of nowhere and believes that it's real. On top of that, she blames the phenomenon on the "antagonist" (who just so happens to be her roommate) who is called the Ninja [per my MC], because only a Ninja can make amazonians hunt with spears and arrows, pirates hunt your every step, and aliens rape you, of course.


It's interesting and I love it!

[meerodi]

That sounds like what's happening with my characters to a tee xD

Originally my narrator was supposed to be a super flat, under developed character (to the point where I didn't assign it a gender) because it wasn't meant to be the focus of the story.

However, it may be the most opinionated and rounded character I have ever written at this point. It's also a disobedient little thing. It refuses to like the people I tell it to like, to hate the people I tell it to hate, it's making friends with characters who weren't even supposed to have names, and making enemies out of characters who weren't supposed to have personalities.

I must say, I like this story much more than the one I had originally planned, even if my character may have destroyed my very painstakingly planned out plot C:

[The Lobster Queen]

meerodi

That sounds like what's happening with my characters to a tee xD

Originally my narrator was supposed to be a super flat, under developed character (to the point where I didn't assign it a gender) because it wasn't meant to be the focus of the story.

However, it may be the most opinionated and rounded character I have ever written at this point. It's also a disobedient little thing. It refuses to like the people I tell it to like, to hate the people I tell it to hate, it's making friends with characters who weren't even supposed to have names, and making enemies out of characters who weren't supposed to have personalities.

I must say, I like this story much more than the one I had originally planned, even if my character may have destroyed my very painstakingly planned out plot C:

Oh god, that's awesome and creepily similar to what happened with me. xd

I had a concept for doing a story where the main character was a literal blank for the reader to project whatever they wanted onto. Barely any description was given, no name, no gender.

Sixty pages later, they're a wrecking ball with a personality that will not be ignored, and a backstory that explains damn clearly who they were, and how they became what they are. gonk

I guess main characters/narrators don't appreciate being intentionally kept out of the spotlight. lol

[GuruLazer]

I know this problem too well. xd The book I'm working on is written in the first person from my protagonist's point of view and occassionally a second narrator is given the odd chapter. Before starting I had a very strict plan for each chapter up to about half way (where I figured the 50k would reach) and most of the time I've been able to stick to it, but every now and again my MC feels the need to share his amounted wisdom on a particular subject. This tends to happen during chapters I've designed to be fast-paced or when his state of mind is compromised, but instead he stays very cool and collected. He also has a nasty habit of cracking jokes during serious situations. xp

[Infinity Fire]

Yeah, I wrote out this entire story, planning out a tragic death for the MC--because it is supposed to be a sad story where he doesn't get the girl in the end. AND HE WOULDN'T LET ME. D: The nerve, am I right? sad

[Infinity Fire]

meerodi

That sounds like what's happening with my characters to a tee xD

Originally my narrator was supposed to be a super flat, under developed character (to the point where I didn't assign it a gender) because it wasn't meant to be the focus of the story.

However, it may be the most opinionated and rounded character I have ever written at this point. It's also a disobedient little thing. It refuses to like the people I tell it to like, to hate the people I tell it to hate, it's making friends with characters who weren't even supposed to have names, and making enemies out of characters who weren't supposed to have personalities.

I must say, I like this story much more than the one I had originally planned, even if my character may have destroyed my very painstakingly planned out plot C:

I love this. Seriously. This is one of my main characters. right here. wow. I would tip you if I wasn't so close to reaching my gold goal.

[Zero_Kiryu14]

waaaaaa

[Nyebe]

meerodi

I'd love to read that, it sounds really interesting 3nodding

[Elfus Arianteus]

My MC is relatively cooperative. But she's supposed to be pretty downtrodden and used to people bossing her around. She was supposed to mope for a while, but she opted out of being an emo kid and decided to just forget about her problems and do her job. So what I do is have her problems spring up on her and she's then forced to confront them.


The little buggers often have minds of their own. Sometimes when I can't make decisions I roll the dice. It seems like they control those dice too at times. Sometimes I forgot what I asked and roll again and end up with a similar result as before.

[TT Snim]

I have never had this problem, to be quite honest. I guess because I plot around the strong emotional moments my OCs have, I don't tend to wander away from that. My OCs run towards the dramatic moments like children run towards a gift loaded Christmas tree.

That and this round my OCs are all brain dead. Sacrificed to the rough draft/plot. I hope that won't make the final product boring. emotion_donotwant

[Elfus Arianteus]

This is amusing me and I had to share it. I tried to give the MC a physical drawback. Her foot went bad and she was given a bronze cane to walk on. This was supposed to hold her back.


But ever since I gave it to her she's not once lamented it. In fact, she uses it to cause as much trouble as possible. Anywhere from hitting the antagonist in the stomach with it, to steering a skateboard with it, to making loud noises to get the neighborhood kids in line. She really seems to like it a lot more now that she has it. She gets creative with it.

[Lifecolor]

Your guys' stories so fantastically bizarre! biggrin

Write/right on! biggrin

[TT Snim]

Elfus Arianteus

This is amusing me and I had to share it. I tried to give the MC a physical drawback. Her foot went bad and she was given a bronze cane to walk on. This was supposed to hold her back.


But ever since I gave it to her she's not once lamented it. In fact, she uses it to cause as much trouble as possible. Anywhere from hitting the antagonist in the stomach with it, to steering a skateboard with it, to making loud noises to get the neighborhood kids in line. She really seems to like it a lot more now that she has it. She gets creative with it.

Is she related to House? emotion_facepalm

Does she have a bitchin' cane?