Characters that insist on having their story finished

This week I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Barry "Storyheart" Eva on his radio show "A Book and A Chat".  Barry and I talked about many things during our half hour (which went rather fast!), but one of the more interesting things we talked about was the way in which a character will often assert his or herself during the writing process.  I don't think this is an unusual occurrence. Once you're deep into a character's life, what seems to work in the context of the happening - the conflict and events that your character is dealing with, might not be what you planned.  They take unexpected turns. And, as Barry so deftly put it, they often won't let you leave them alone in the half life of a short story or poem.  It isn't quite the scenerio (which we discussed) of the wonderfully acted and conceived Will Ferrell/Emma Thompson/Dustin Hoffman film Stranger Than Fiction. I've never had a character show up on my front door asking me to change my book's ending, but I have had them stick about, reminding me on a regular basis that I've left their story unfinished, and antagonising me with a reminder that I had more work to do. This is good I think. It means you've got something.  Here's the entire interview:

 

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