Author Insight: Fictional Fights

What is the worst fight you've ever had with one of your characters?

 

"Since I am their creator, and I have total power over them, they don’t tend to put up much of a fuss." - Amy Kathleen Ryan, author of Glow.

"I have a character I love who keeps doing things I hate. It breaks my heart. We're in couples counseling." - Brodi Ashton, author of Everneath.

"Oh, lords. I remember when I got to a certain point in my novel A Long, Long Sleep and Xavier had to dispel some unpleasant illusions Rose had had about her life. That was hard to write, because Xavier didn’t want to do it. I remember him asking me in my head if I couldn’t just kill him, instead, because it would be easier on him. When I basically said no and set down to writing it, I developed an actual allergic reaction. My eyes started getting all puffy and painful and tearing up, and it gave me a headache, and I couldn’t write at all until the next night. I always thought it was Xavier punishing me for putting him through so much hell." - Anna Sheehan, author of A Long, Long Sleep.

"I've definitely had side characters that fought hard to take over a story. Generally I  let them have their way for a bit, get the tantrum out of their system, and then go back and delete the mess they left behind. Sometimes it's good to go down the wrong story road awhile. You never know what you might stumble on that's useful." - Jeff Hirsch, author of The Eleventh Plague.

"Trying to get a fourteen-year-old to stop sounding like a forty-year-old!" -Teresa Flavin, author of The Blackhope Enigma.

 

"Mostly my characters behave themselves, but like me, they're prone to talking too much." -Susan Beth Pfeffer, author of Blood Wounds.

 

"In The Beginning of After, it was a struggle to get Laurel to be as angry as she deserved and needed to be. I think she kept wanting to be tuned out, numb, unfeeling, and I knew she had to lose it on a regular basis. It’s funny when characters resist you like that, because then you wonder if you’re doing the right thing. That was a 'fight' we had throughout the process of the book but in the end I think we struck a fair balance." - Jennifer Castle, author of The Beginning of After.

 

"I got really frustrated with my character Violet in the Violet on the Runway series--she was so tempted by the fame of the fashion industry even though it led her to make bad choices!" - Melissa Walker, author of Small Town Sinners.

 

"Oh, there was that character that I killed. She didn't want to stay dead. I manipulated the plot to keep her alive, but it didn't work. She had to die. I don't think she was very happy about that!" - Julia Karr, author of XVI.

"I can’t say I’ve really had a fight with them, because I usually follow where they lead. But I can tell you there’s been a few times when I’ve gone 'you did what?!'" - Kiki Hamilton, author of The Faerie Ring.

 

"My characters don't fight me, but sometimes they do shut themselves up in their rooms, refusing to reveal themselves." - Jaclyn Dolamore, author of Between the Sea and Sky.

Come back Thursday to find out about the worst fights the rest of the authors have had with their characters.
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