Characters Have Minds of their Own

One of the thing a lot of writers will tell you is that their characters seem to have minds of their own, taking over the story and refusing to do what the author wants them to. I don't know if this is because we're trying to make our characters do something...out of character or if it's some fault of our own, but it is both exhilarating and frustrating at the same time.

This just happened to me the other day with my current work in progress. It's a romantic fantasy with two brothers who each have different magical abilities, inherited from their nature-spirit ancestor. Aeran, whose supposed "gift" is the ability to know and affect what others are feeling, who is normally sensitive and cautious and careful with other people's feelings, reacted to the heroine with knee-jerk hatefulness.

His behavior shocked me--and his brother. But when I went back and thought about it, his past, his occasional difficulty with his temper, and his mood and situation at the moment, I realized it made sense. I'd been trying to force him into an unnatural equanimity, an even-temperedness no one would be able to maintain.

I think things will be tense in that house for a little while, even though he's properly repentant and she's quick to forgive him. Old grudges are hard to shed. If enough people clamor for it, I'll post an excerpt next time it's my turn.

Countdown to Speechless (my forthcoming book from Cerridwen Press): 2 months and 2 days

The Quiet One

While all the other Goddesses are paryting, I'm the one in the corner watching it all happen (and taking notes, of course, for later fun and profit) or sneaking off to my magic mirror to see what's going on with my creations. But like all the quiet ones, when I have something to say, you'd better listen.

TV Reporter: Ma'am, tell me about your neighbor who turned out to be a serial killer.
Woman in house dress, her hair in curlers: Oh, she was very quiet. Kept to herself a lot. Never caused trouble.

You see what I mean.

My first book, Speechless, doesn't come out until the end of May, from Cerridwen Press, so expect me to start ki- I mean talking in a couple months. For now, here's a blurb:

Stone is lying low in a mountain cabin while authorities work to capture the corrupt government agents he helped expose. When a hiker gets caught in a small landslide and breaks her leg, he can't keep himself from helping her, despite the danger to them both.

Eva knows Stone is lying to her about who he is--"international consultant" indeed!--and why he's in that cabin, but she also knows he'd never hurt her. And though he declares that the instant attraction between them has to end as soon as she's safely home, neither one can resist the other. Because Eva is mute, and Stone can hear the voice she doesn't have.

Will their passion and connection doom them or save them?

Find an excerpt on my Web site: www.elissaabbott.com.

My current work-in-progress is a fantasy about a lost woman seeking freedom and healing, and the two men who help her find them. For updates on this book and Speechless, come join my Friends on MySpace: www.myspace.com/elissaabbott.