Re: Do your characters write you, or do you write them?

I totally agree with you about that last part. I'm no Meyer fan, but that was one thing I defended her against when people started making fun of her for saying that Edward kept doing things she didn't want him to do, like leave Bella in New Moon. If you've created a character with a strong, defined personality that character will do what he wants no matter what you sat down to make him do.

I've found it almost physically impossible to force characters to behave in a certain way. I'm having real trouble right now in ESL, because I love Janelle and Mark together, but Kyle is insisting on pursuing Janelle and Janelle isn't exactly discouraging him. After all, Mark's far away and he did abandon her for months without even trying to contact her. (That probably made no sense to anyone who hasn't read ESL. Sorry.) That's part of the reason it's been so long since I posted - the story's going in a completely different direction than the one I intended, and I'm not sure where it will end up. I know with absolute certainty that the ending I originally wrote for it is now obsolete.

Anyway...

Shem, your cast of OCs is beyond a doubt my favorite...and I'm pretty sure I've been around the world of JAFF as long as you have.