Character driven writing

There have been a few authors that I've enjoyed reading that speak of their characters as if they were real people.  Terry Goodkind wrote his book dedication to Richard and Kahlan for being able to tell their story.  Karen Marie Moning says that Mac takes over and Barrons has a mind of his own.  I laughed at first.  I mean, these are fictional characters, not real people.  And then it happened to me.

It was a slow process.

First my main character was just a cartoon character on sketch paper.  He didn't have much of a personality and I decided who and what he was going to be.  I decided that he was going to drive a motorcycle and date Britney just because she was attractive.  I decided that he was going to college for botany.  I decided that he had a little sister Melanie who was too advanced for her own good.

And then Derek said, "wait, you have it all wrong".  Derek took control of his own life.  He started to point out how my theories of who he was just didn't work.  As more and more words formed on my computer screen, he took control, showing me things I hadn't seen before.  Soon, I made discoveries about my characters that I didn't even know.  I've come to find out that Derek isn't exactly the selfless type.  He wanted more power and pointed out that not only was he an upholder (a whole nother class of people that he pointed out that I needed), but he was also much more.  He started dishing out details that I tried to protest, but he simply refused to listen.  With each revelation, I pointed out that it would complicate things and that I'd have to rewrite sections to fit.  He flicked his hand and said "pssh!  Sorry, but that's how it is.  If you want to tell the story right, you have to put it in there."

It makes me wonder if I've lost my mind at times.

With editing, I had hoped to cut down my word count of my book to a reasonable level.  I had cut out 10 pages worth of words.  And then added 10 pages worth of new content.  At least I am in the final stages of my editing, which I feel is a major step in the right direction.  With my sister-in-law's help, I managed to figure out the naming convention used for my calendar.  I also wrote a creepy poem that my Isto hunter recites.  I had hoped to bring him in again, but it doesn't look like he's going to return until the next book.

As of this point in time, I have about 75 pages left to edit.  I've just added another unanswered twist that will return for more interesting exposure in the second book.  At least it'll help explain Peter's presence.  Let's see if I can get to the end without revamping everything again.