AAW - The Unexpected Character

Susanna here, and this month's Ask A Wench question actually comes from me, because I'm curious.

One of the hazards of writing the way I like best, without using an outline, is that I can sometimes have characters wander right into a story without any warning, like an unexpected house guest, leaving me to wonder who they are and what they're doing. My first was Mrs. Hutherson in Mariana, an unassuming older woman who turned up with a plate of baked goods to welcome my heroine to the village and when, having decided I already had enough baked-goods-delivering villagers, I wrote her out of that scene, she promptly turned up again in another one, stubbornly refusing all my attempts to erase her from the plot until at last I gave up trying, let her stay, and watched her change the whole book for the better.

There have been several others since then, including the Spanish pirate-hunting Captain del Rio who sauntered unexpectedly up to greet my hero and heroine in A Desperate Fortune, and then charmed his way into several scenes after that, all of them unplanned and all fun to write.

And just recently, the characters in Bellwether, the book I'm writing now, had unexpected guests descend on them, and one of those guests had a half-familiar smile:

The whole of his attention had been captured by the Spanish captain, whose name he had recognized.

“You wouldn’t by chance be,” de Brassart had said when they’d been introduced, “the great pirate Captain del Rio made famous in all of those stories by Madame MacPherson?”

Del Rio had smiled and corrected him. “Great pirate-hunter. And no, he’s my father.”

“Is he? My mother devoured those tales. And you must resemble him strongly, for you look exactly how I would have pictured him from the descriptions.”

The smile had become a grin, brilliantly white against the trimmed black beard. “But my father will tell you he’s much better looking.”

And like his father, this younger del Rio is settling into the story and stealing his scenes.

So I wondered...

Have the other Wenches also had to deal with any unexpected characters, who wandered (or pushed their way) into a story without you intending them to?

 

Mary Jo: 

I don't plot a book in detail, but I do generally have a framework in mind, and I know that I'll develop more characters as needed. It's like opening a door and inviting them into the story and getting acquainted. I'm not usually surprised by them, but I do enjoy watching them develop into more three dimensional characters. And I have a bad habit of finding that eligible males with small roles really need stories of their own. <G>

The closest I had to a surprise character was in my very first book, The Diabolical Baron, when I really didn't know what I was doing. My noble ex-military hero was dubious about claiming a title he didn't expect, but he had a totally obnoxious cousin who would inherit if Richard didn't step up. 

The book ended with a sword fight when Richard realizes that he should jolly well step up to his inheritance to save it from awful cousin Reggie. Except--in that last scene, Reggie showed both humor and regret for his bad behavior. Hmm. Readers started saying they'd like to see more of Reggie. What, that obnoxious drunken lout? 

Light bulb moment! I realized that Reggie's bad behavior always came when he was drunk, which was much of time. Which made me realize that I was tired of historicals where "heroes" drank like fish and never suffered any consequences. I jolly well wanted to see the consequences of drunkenness--and hence was born what is probably my best known book, The Rake, (originally The Rake and the Reformer), which is about alcoholism, addiction, recovery, and other serious topics--but Reggie did have that sense of humor! 

Another time when a character went far beyond his original role was in Petals in the Storm (originally The Controversial Countess) when I needed to give my spy heroine a foil. In a finger snap I invented Robin, her best friend, former lover, and mentor in spying. I adored Robin (sense of humor again!) and he developed in interestingly twisty ways and eventually became the hero of Angel Rogue, (originally The Rogue and the Runaway.) 

It's always so much fun to open the door to that new character and see where he or she (but almost always "he") goes!

 

Susan: 

Just about every character can surprise their writers at one point or another, some more than others. They might be just the person you want them to be, but change in unexpected ways throughout the story; they might show up on the page briefly and end up stealing a scene or a lot more; they could step right out of the research when you didn't see it coming. Others show up to solve a story problem, while a few pop up completely whole out of nowhere when you're doing something else. 

One afternoon several years ago, I was sitting in my living room doing some research for a novel about Queen Margaret of Scotland -- and Lady Macbeth pretty much jumped off the bookshelves right there, a fierce young warrior queen. I had never thought about her that way, having her all jumbled up in my mind with the Shakespeare lady. But she caught my attention--she had been queen of Scots just before Margaret, same century, some of the same players. Lady M was intriguing and very insistent, and I just had to write a book for her before I could go on to the Margaret book I'd been planning. 

Other characters have shown up whole cloth, very unexpectedly -- the heroine of The Stone Maiden practically sprang out of the air on a breezy, sunny day as I stood on the ruins of a Scottish castle looking out at an ancient, rugged landscape scattered with stones and history. I could almost see her standing on the ruins beside me--and just as with Lady Macbeth, I felt like I knew this woman. Another heroine, Michaelmas in Lady Miracle, began as the young sister of the hero in The Angel Knight. I thought she might be around for a couple of scenes, but she totally surprised me with her healing powers and her staying power. She wanted her own book, and got it. 

Some characters show up in the nick of time to get something unstuck or to shift things in the right direction. A Saxon priest in Lady Macbeth materialized to help establish for the reader why the main character is named Gruadh (after some deep research, I realized this was more likely her actual name than the traditional Gruoch) -- and he also gave her a nickname, "Rue" -- she needed a nickname, but it had to come from an English character, not a Scottish one, to make sense (really she became Rue because I kept mistyping "Grouch"). 

Other characters start out as one thing and become another. In the first draft of my Victorian romance, Waking the Princess, a rather insufferable countess was chewing a lot of scenery and being obnoxious and slapsticky. I needed the scene in the story, but didn't like the character. Then she presented a solution -- she could be a monkey instead, be a total brat and create trouble for the hero. I loved that little monkey!

 

Anne:

I have unexpected characters wandering into my stories all the time. Usually I'm delighted, but at times I've had to prune them back hard, to prevent them from taking over. I think it's the result of being an organic writer (otherwise knows as a pantser), the kind of writer who writes with a vague idea of where the story is going, rather than the kind of writer who plots everything meticulously before they write. I could be wrong, though. All I know is that I'm forever having to deal with minor characters popping up and edging towards center stage.

Sometimes I don't prune them, and they become major characters in their own right. Daisy, in my recent Chance Sisters series was just such an unexpected character. She appeared in the first few pages of The Autumn Bride and was meant to be a messenger only, but instead she popped into life, gutsy, outspoken and blithe, and when the time came for her to bow out of the story, I just couldn't leave her there. So she became one of the "sisters" and got her own story** and her own hero in the end.

 

Pat:

Since I’m one of those writers who fly by the seat of my pants, the only characters I ever really know when I start are the protagonists and maybe some of their families. This gives all the pushy people (and kids, always kids for some reason) who have something to say lots of opportunity to jump on the page and kick sand in my face.

One of the more irritating ones lately appears in Chemistry of Magic. He just walked in front of my hero, shoved a bunch of grass in his face, and started talking gibberish through his missing front teeth. I have utterly no idea what my subconscious was telling me, but this talking garden gnome practically demanded his own plot. I eventually squeezed him into a role, but he’s still not happy. He has a lot more to say but I ran out of space to say it. Anyone need to borrow an ancient garden gnome with tales to tell?

 

Nicola:

Nothing throws my planning off course more than an unexpected character. I say planning, but like so many writers I’m really a pantser so I have a vague idea of where my main protagonists are going and then things change from there. It does mean that if a character unexpectedly pops up demanding attention I can usually accommodate them if it’s appropriate. Sometimes though they do try to take over and then I have to put them firmly aside until they can have their own story.

It was an unexpected character who was indirectly responsible for me moving from Mills & Boon historical series to longer books. I kept trying to give some of my secondary characters more of a plot line and my editor kept pruning them. When I wrote The Penniless Bride, the heroine’s brother just demanded to play a larger part in the story and that was when my editor said: “You need to write bigger books.” Even now some of those characters from early books pop up in my mind reminding me that I didn’t tell their story.

Most recently it was Hector the cat who took over in The Phantom Tree, and his story took the book in several unexpected directions. Hector is imperious and knows his own mind. It was impossible to resist him so I followed him to see where he took me and had a wonderful time. He was balanced by Monty, the black Labrador, named after my own lovely first dog, who was the most laid back character in the story!

 

Andrea/Cara:

It’s really quite upsetting. Thank goodness it doesn’t happen often, but occasionally I will bring in secondary characters, and give them strict orders on what their role is . . . only to find they have a mind of their own. Honestly, the nerve of it. Don’t they know who’s boss? Apparently not. (Which I suppose is what I deserve, as I must confess that often I have no idea what anyone is going do from chapter to chapter.

Take, for example, Lord Percival Grentham, who first appears in Sweet Revenge, the first book in my Lady Arianna mystery series. Grentham is Assistant MInister for State Security, charged by Whitehall with keeping London under strict control. He’s perfectly suited for the job. He’s cold-hearted, calculating and ruthless when necessary—a man quite willing to sacrifice innocent pawns on the chessboard of intrigue and deceptions that play out in Town to achieve the Greater Good. My hero is just such a pawn. He’s brought in by Grentham to unravel a diabolical mystery, and if he ends up as a casualty of the conflict, so be it. So Grentham is the perfect foil—a unlikable martinet, a necessary Evil for keeping the country safe. Readers will hate him. As did I when I first met him in his office.

So imagine my surprise when he started to show glimmers of a sense of humor, and tantalizing hints of humanity. “Percival,” I muttered. “Stop this—don’t you understand that you are an utter arse?” He smiled that very cruel and cold smile that sends shivers down the spines of his subordinates and continued to disobey my orders.(After all he's used to being in command.) After a while, I gave up. These things happen.

 

Joanna:

I’m about half and half when it comes to planning characters. I have a general idea of who I need to bring on stage for a story. They start out as archetypes -- the Brave Young Girl, the Brooding and Cynical Hero, the Wise Old Woman, the Loyal-but-quirky Sidekick. That much is straightforward planning ahead.

I’ll fill in some backstory to fit with the plot I’m building and the kind of person I want to write. And that’s about the end of the careful planning part of the process. I know who my character is at the beginning of the book. I put them in the setting, dealing with some opening action we have to get through.

From then on I watch my folks move through the plot I’ve laid out, almost an observer. They tell me who they are. Pretty soon, I can ‘hear’ them. Little, unforeseen bits of stage business pop up.

He comes through the window and drops the knife on her coverlet. Where did that come from? It’s just the sort of thing he’d do, but I didn’t plan it.

Lots of surprises, really. Nine-tenths of the manuscript is the characters spinning their own words and their own story within the confines of the plot I’ve written while I watch and write it down.

Sometimes I get fascinated by who they’re becoming. That’s best of all.

 

So now, here's a question for all of YOU... in all the books you've read, have you encountered any characters that you suspect were unexpected? Or have you encountered any characters who, even in a bit part, stole their scenes? 

Comments

[Mary T]

The first book that came to mind for me was PRECIOUS JEWEL by Mary Balogh. I don't know if it is a fan favorite, but I love the book. The H/h are not typical. He is a beta male with possible learning difficulties who has been wounded by his childhood and she is a gentle woman who has fallen on hard times and become a prostitute. I don't mind when characters step out of the box. I usually find it quite interesting.

These two characters originally showed up in IDEAL WIFE by Ms. Balogh. He was the heroes best friend and she is only mentioned as being the best friend's mistress. At the end of the IDEAL WIFE, the best friend mentions that his mistress has gone home to her village to marry a local swain, and he follows her to make sure she is really happy. I found myself wondering what became of them.

In the Forward to the PRECIOUS JEWEL Ms. Balogh says she felt compelled to write their story even though she thought her publisher would not publish it. To her surprise they did.

[Sonya Heaney]

I'm very glad Daisy wasn't left behind in The Autumn Bride. It was so special when the other series' heroines literally grabbed her and made her stay with them when they were making their escape.

(I got excited when I saw the picture at the top of this post - I thought it was about Venice! I just spent a month there for Carnevale!)

[Sonya Heaney]

I just remembered that a few years ago I made an offhand comment to an author about a VERY secondary character and how they should have their own happy ending. A year later a book about that character was being advertised. I don't know if I can take the credit, but I'm pretty sure the idea hadn't crossed her mind before. :)

[Alison Y]

I always thought it would be lovely to write, but I have not one bit of an ability to do so and I have no clue as to how it is done. Thus,I find what you say, about writing, to be utterly fascinating. I assumed that everything was carefully planned out and to now find that characters can unexpectedly take over a story amazes me. What fun. Please, continue to tell more about your writing experiences.

[Anne Gracie]

Sonya, chances are if you were wondering about that very secondary character, other readers might have been as well. You'd be surprised. I still get two or three emails a week from readers asking about Marcus, from a previous series, who I originally envisaged as a distant, slightly villainous character and who appeared on the page maybe half a dozen times in three or four books.

And in The Autumn Bride, Blake Ashton appeared on one scene and was mentioned a couple of other times, and readers keep writing to me asking about his story.

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that an unattached male character in a book must be in want of a wife.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Sonya — it's a bit how I felt when they grabbed her, too.
I'm envious of your Carnevale experience. I've been to Venice a few times, but never for the festival.

[Anne Gracie]

It's a wonderful book, isn't it, Mary? And I think that's how it often happens — a character arises and the write realizes there's much more to them than they first imagined. And then a story starts spinning in their mind . . .

[Sue McCormick]

I wrote Mary Balogh( email to her page) about what was Gwen's story just after she had
completed the Bedwyn stories. It took a while, but Gwen's story was the first story in the
Survivors' series. And a very satisfactory one also.

I made a similar request to Mary Jo about the remaining characters in Circle of Friends, but
she hasn't satisfied me yet! (Don't worry, Mary Jo, you gave me a perfectly valid reason at
the time. I still respect that reason.) I only mentioned this because it points up the fact that
readers' desires and the hold the character may have upon the writer are two different things.
We readers need to remember that an author writes best when they write what is in
their minds at the time. Editors and readers are wrong when they are too "market driven."

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, Carnevale! Lucky you!

[Andrea Penrose]

Ha, ha, ha!

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks, Alison. Part of the the magic for me is having the characters grow on their own—if that makes any sense. There are times when I finish writing for the day and sit back and say,"hmmm, I didn't know they were going to do THAT!"

[Andrea Penrose]

But if a character is grabbing you, Sue, he/she is likely grabbing other readers. So we authors do like to know. It may be that a story is in the back of our heads. We just need a little coaxing to think more about it.

That said, characters and series often disappear because of publishers not wanting to continue. Then we authors have to come up with a new concept, or perhaps consider going the self publishing route. There are a lot of stresses and complexities involved in that sort of thing these days.

[Patricia Rice]

Thank you, Sue, for recognizing what so many publishers do not! We may be gifted enough to find new and interesting twists to please our editors, but the best books are those written by a driving need to tell that particular story.

[Michelle H]

I see where you went there, cute! :D

[Michelle H]

Just when I think these posts can't get any better....

Well, this was so neat. I can't tell Mary Jo enough how glad I was she gave Robin a happy ending (and more of a back story) in Petals In The Storm.
This was neat too, because I think every author above described themselves as a 'seat-of-the-pants' author. And the description of how surprise characters popped up, quite reassuring. And what do you do when a secondary character does something so surprising that you have to agonize over how THAT works out because of course, the surprising thing they did makes complete sense to the story and even becomes a necessary plot point.

I sympathize with those comments about wanting a particular character they are fascinated with have their own story. I just found out a fave author is finally, FINALLY coming out with side character's story later this year.....after showing up in 6 or 7 books in a series...always a thorn in the side of the other continuing characters, after the author killing fave characters off (incredibly shocking,) this guy, this anti-hero, this not-all-that-bad Rake, gets his own story. And if he doesn't get the woman he has wanted all through the series, I'll scream. My hopes are so high!!

[Michelle H]

SLAP HEAD!!! Angel Rogue.... :/

[kathy smith]

Hello my name is Kathy Smith and i want to testify about the powerful magical mirror that helped my life in positive ways and that blessed me. I have been hearing about this magical mirror for long and i have been searching for a way to get it but to no avail all my efforts seemed to be in vain but my cousin's friend told me how she ordered for the magical mirror from Dada Magical a powerful man from Africa and how she used it and how she became blessed. At first i thought it was a joke but i decided to order for it by contacting [email protected] and i got it. To my greatest surprise, the mirror was even better than what i expected. The magical mirror is really a good one and it worked and it is still with me and it is still working. The magical mirror is HARMLESS and it is not scaring. it tells me what to do and what not to do, it reveals deep secret to me, it protect me and it tells me who is against me and who is my true friend. It suggest good ideas for me and it has made me rich too and in fact the magical mirror is a solution because is provide and can tell you solution to your problems. Am so excited and am so endowed and blessed to have the magical mirror with me. This magical mirror helps protect against evil. This is real and you can get it and see for your self so if you need the magical mirror don't hesitate to get it and you can get it by contacting [email protected]

[kathy smith]

Hello my name is Kathy Smith and i want to testify about the powerful magical mirror that helped my life in positive ways and that blessed me. I have been hearing about this magical mirror for long and i have been searching for a way to get it but to no avail all my efforts seemed to be in vain but my cousin's friend told me how she ordered for the magical mirror from Dada Magical a powerful man from Africa and how she used it and how she became blessed. At first i thought it was a joke but i decided to order for it by contacting [email protected] and i got it. To my greatest surprise, the mirror was even better than what i expected. The magical mirror is really a good one and it worked and it is still with me and it is still working. The magical mirror is HARMLESS and it is not scaring. it tells me what to do and what not to do, it reveals deep secret to me, it protect me and it tells me who is against me and who is my true friend. It suggest good ideas for me and it has made me rich too and in fact the magical mirror is a solution because is provide and can tell you solution to your problems. Am so excited and am so endowed and blessed to have the magical mirror with me. This magical mirror helps protect against evil. This is real and you can get it and see for your self so if you need the magical mirror don't hesitate to get it and you can get it by contacting [email protected]

[kathy smith]

Hello my name is Kathy Smith and i want to testify about the powerful magical mirror that helped my life in positive ways and that blessed me. I have been hearing about this magical mirror for long and i have been searching for a way to get it but to no avail all my efforts seemed to be in vain but my cousin's friend told me how she ordered for the magical mirror from Dada Magical a powerful man from Africa and how she used it and how she became blessed. At first i thought it was a joke but i decided to order for it by contacting [email protected] and i got it. To my greatest surprise, the mirror was even better than what i expected. The magical mirror is really a good one and it worked and it is still with me and it is still working. The magical mirror is HARMLESS and it is not scaring. it tells me what to do and what not to do, it reveals deep secret to me, it protect me and it tells me who is against me and who is my true friend. It suggest good ideas for me and it has made me rich too and in fact the magical mirror is a solution because is provide and can tell you solution to your problems. Am so excited and am so endowed and blessed to have the magical mirror with me. This magical mirror helps protect against evil. This is real and you can get it and see for your self so if you need the magical mirror don't hesitate to get it and you can get it by contacting [email protected]

[kathy smith]

Hello my name is Kathy Smith and i want to testify about the powerful magical mirror that helped my life in positive ways and that blessed me. I have been hearing about this magical mirror for long and i have been searching for a way to get it but to no avail all my efforts seemed to be in vain but my cousin's friend told me how she ordered for the magical mirror from Dada Magical a powerful man from Africa and how she used it and how she became blessed. At first i thought it was a joke but i decided to order for it by contacting [email protected] and i got it. To my greatest surprise, the mirror was even better than what i expected. The magical mirror is really a good one and it worked and it is still with me and it is still working. The magical mirror is HARMLESS and it is not scaring. it tells me what to do and what not to do, it reveals deep secret to me, it protect me and it tells me who is against me and who is my true friend. It suggest good ideas for me and it has made me rich too and in fact the magical mirror is a solution because is provide and can tell you solution to your problems. Am so excited and am so endowed and blessed to have the magical mirror with me. This magical mirror helps protect against evil. This is real and you can get it and see for your self so if you need the magical mirror don't hesitate to get it and you can get it by contacting [email protected]

[kathy smith]

Hello my name is Kathy Smith and i want to testify about the powerful magical mirror that helped my life in positive ways and that blessed me. I have been hearing about this magical mirror for long and i have been searching for a way to get it but to no avail all my efforts seemed to be in vain but my cousin's friend told me how she ordered for the magical mirror from Dada Magical a powerful man from Africa and how she used it and how she became blessed. At first i thought it was a joke but i decided to order for it by contacting [email protected] and i got it. To my greatest surprise, the mirror was even better than what i expected. The magical mirror is really a good one and it worked and it is still with me and it is still working. The magical mirror is HARMLESS and it is not scaring. it tells me what to do and what not to do, it reveals deep secret to me, it protect me and it tells me who is against me and who is my true friend. It suggest good ideas for me and it has made me rich too and in fact the magical mirror is a solution because is provide and can tell you solution to your problems. Am so excited and am so endowed and blessed to have the magical mirror with me. This magical mirror helps protect against evil. This is real and you can get it and see for your self so if you need the magical mirror don't hesitate to get it and you can get it by contacting [email protected]