March 2018: Runaway Characters
~ Afton Locke ~
CTR asked:
How do you handle characters who change personality without your say so? Or, how do you handle characters whose spontaneous actions change the plot or course of the story?
Afton Locke said:
This happened to me with my latest WIP, Jamaican Vibration. It’s a menagé, and K.C., one of the characters refused to cooperate with my plans. I pulled my hair out, begged my author friends for help, and took some time away from the story. Even when he seemed to straighten up, he balked right before the ending. Impossible man!
So, I sat down one evening, turned the lights down low, and gave him a free write in his POV. I hoped the mood and time of day would spark something since I usually do my disciplined writing in the morning. Raw emotion spilled across the page. He was very upset by me telling him what to do, especially when I forced him to do things he would probably never do as a Jamaican man. He told me what HE needed and wanted to do. I ended up with a very emotional ending to the story, but not the one I expected.
I also talked to one of my author friends who is a psychic. She pegged him right away as a King of Swords and let me know the story might be better with him as an antagonist instead of a protagonist. The problem was I was trying to force the story to fit a formula for a genre with a predictable HEA, but HEA’s can come in many forms. They’re as individual as characters. So, I’ll have a few revisions to do. She also gave me the idea for a sequel, book three in the Jamaican series, where he’ll get his own story and a heroine who won’t put up with his stubborn ways.
Although frustrating, characters with minds of their own are exciting because it means they’re real. In the future, I’ll recognize the signs and listen to my characters earlier instead of butting horns with them and getting frustrated.
– Website – http://www.aftonlocke.com
– Twitter – @aftonlocke
Mission of Pleasure
[Historical Interracial Romance]
Gavin Douglas joins a Scottish mission as a carpenter to escape painful memories of his wife’s death from a back-alley abortion she tried to keep secret from him. The last thing he expects to find in Africa is instant attraction to a native.
For the past year, Zenda has devoted her time to Claymore Missionary, secretly erasing everything taught to her tribe’s children to prevent them from becoming whitewashed. Nothing else matters except claiming her tribal identity as a woman. But before her eagerly awaited rite of passage can take place, Gavin lays his own claim on her body, igniting desires she can’t face losing.
Gavin is horrified to learn of the physical transformation—and associated risks—she insists on undergoing. When he realizes his biggest loss may be yet to come, his only mission is to teach Zenda pleasure.
Daughters of Africa ~ African women who shaped the world and the men who love them
Available in Ebook:
– Kindle – https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Pleasure-Daughters-Africa-Book-ebook/dp/B07BD58KWW/
– Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/ebook/mission-of-pleasure
– iBooks – https://geo.itunes.apple.com/book/mission-of-pleasure/id1358129444
More Authors Dish about their runaway characters.
Read them all: https://coffeethoughts.coffeetimeromance.com/welcome-authors-dish/
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