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Collaborating with Characters
When Your Protagonist Has Opinions and Talks Back
I’m currently in the process of writing a romance novel. The two characters meet in an airport when they fail to get on a connecting flight, and they are stranded until the next morning. The plot idea is to get them to begin talking, getting to know each other, build a friendship, and when they reach their destination, realize that a romantic relationship is forbidden because of a work relationship they don’t yet know they will have.
He is playful, funny, a risk taker. She is more reserved and careful, and doesn’t make decisions quickly or impulsively. The idea was for the relationship to build slowly, but the characters had other ideas. I told Abby, my female protagonist, to take it slowly, but she slammed the door on my outline and said, “I don’t think so, not this time. He’s cute and I’m going for it.”
It happened in an early scene when they were getting off a terminal train, and Abby hurt her foot. I was writing from his point of view, and this is what happened:
She limped and walked slowly. I felt bad for her, so I stopped and handed her my soccer ball to free up my hands. “Come on. I’ll carry you.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Climb on my back.”
“I will not,” She…
