3 ms·
On "refactoring" in novels: On many occasions I've heard an author say something like "I got half-way through the book and I found out that one of the characte
by mjw1007 5y ago
On "refactoring" in novels:
On many occasions I've heard an author say something like "I got half-way through the book and I found out that one of the characters didn't want to do the thing I'd planned for them, so I had to deal with the plot changing in this unexpected way."
I've only once heard an author say "so I had to go back and rewrite the character until they were the sort of person that did want to do the thing I'd planned for them."
- chipotle_coyote 5y agoWhile this is (probably obviously!) very subjective from author to author, I think "the character didn't want to do the thing I'd planned for them" is a good thing story-wise, because it means you really understand your character. The flip side of that, though, is "the character didn't want to do the thing" isn't necessarily a sign that the character shouldn't do the thing. In general, your protagonist is going to have to be pushed out of their comfort zone during a story, and they are not going to like it. Frodo did not start out The Lord of the Rings thinking "throwing this ring into a volcano in Mordor sounds like a lovely few weeks' vacation."