As an avid plotter, I often thought authors were exaggerating for dramatic effect when they said their characters hijacked the story and they had no more control.
Consider me wiser now that two of my characters are finally teaching me that, yes, they do have all the power.
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@ellamoore oh yes, they're pesky little people derailing our plans!
@simonbillinton so I’ve found XD
@ellamoore I'm more of a casual plotter, knowing the general shape and certain main plot point I know I want to hit, but have learnt to give myself room for when characters want to do something different.
@simonbillinton I need an overall sense of my plot, some ideas about the ending, and a pretty good feel for the next few chapters. Then I tend to let go. But these two have derailed everything I more or less set out for them. I’m having lots of fun following their lead though…
@ellamoore Discovering my characters is my favourite part of writing. I rarely have any preconceptions about how they will talk, look, and behave until I write their first words of dialog, where their character emerges.
@simonbillinton that’s so recognizable! For me, it’s become a part of the discovery in my plotting process to have a few scenes play out, usually with lots of dialogue that reveals their voices. Half of the time does scenes also make it in the book, but that’s not necessarily what they’re meant for…
@ellamoore Just this week I my main characters met a long rumoured character. The scene didn't start with dialogue so I wrote their appearance and what they were doing in the scene one way until they began talking and realised, nope - will have to change that first bit.
@ellamoore I'm still in the beginning of my writing journey. As with many things I kept making all sorts of plans, plots, strategies that made perfect sense. But I could never write like that. I've been able to write my book since I let my characters tell me their story and I just explore their world as I try to figure out what's happening.
@chuls my first book was just like that. Then I found a plotting process that works for me and makes the ‘sagging middle’ less of an issue (which it tends to be when I don’t plot). But 8 books in, some characters still surprise me apparently XD
@ellamoore That's good to know :) I'm in it for the long haul and oh my god. How much there is to learn.
@chuls the learning never really stops and that makes it so beautiful. And exhausting, not gonna lie.
@ellamoore I bet :) But that's the thing with passion isn't it.
@ellamoore Haha, welcome to the dark side ... where the characters do *all* the plotting and us authors are merely at their mercy.
@Mae_McKinnon now, if they would do ALL the plotting, I’d be fine, but they turn put to be pantsers and I’m a plotter XD
@ellamoore Might have a *slight* possibility of lots of miscommunication there lol.
As a writer I've learnt to be a pantser (started out as a plotter) since while the characters might know what happens two scenes or three books later they don't bother telling me ... or they change their minds when it's time to write it down ^^;
@Mae_McKinnon oh, I fully understood. That was my attempt at 4th wall and dad-joke-like humor 
@ellamoore So was the first line in my response. *sheepish expression*
I really should read/make these posts when I'm awake 
@Mae_McKinnon we have similar senses of humor then. Good. I’m keeping you 