Before I start writing my stories, I always have very specific plans for my characters. I make tons of notes, scribbled down in my notebooks, on scraps of paper and yellow post-its. But once I actually begin to write the story, my characters don’t always agree with that plan. Sometimes they couldn't give a flying hoot about "the plan". They stop up and look at me stubbornly, going:
”Seriously, dude, girl, whatever … suicide? I would never kill myself, okay?! You need to find another storyline, because I’m not jumping off that cliff, ’kay?!!”
”But the whole thing boils down to it being suicide. Yoursuicide!”
”Well, what can I say, except: It ain’t happening!”
They're bloody annoying and uncompliant sometimes. But that is also what I love about writing. Being surprised by how your very own characters will react in any given situation, seeing them come to life and not just being words on paper.