Dear Indie Annie,
I’ve always considered myself a planner, but my characters suddenly seem to have gone rogue! I can’t figure out why my current story isn’t working, but I’m in the middle of the series, so I can’t really pivot either. How do I get this draft back in check before things go completely off the rails?
Outliner Out of My Depth
Dear Outliner,
I feel you so hard, my sweet child. Our precious characters can be willful devils sometimes, going rogue on us mid-story! But isn’t that part of the fun? Take a zen breath—this is not a crisis but an opportunity for magic. Your word rebels are acting up because they have more to say. Time for a heart-to-heart chat with the little darlings.
I know you plotter types love your outlines, but stories are living things, not neatly plotted points! As a planner, you probably agree with Ursula K. Le Guin, who said, “The story—from prologue to epilogue—is a dangerous thing to get wrong, and cannot be allowed to drive itself.” However, I would counter with the words of E. L. Doctorow: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
Even the best-laid plans go awry. Just ask Gandalf! Like the master wizard, Tolkien had to wrestle his characters into submission on many occasions. But deviation can reveal a story’s soul. Embrace the unexpected. That makes the writing journey so magical. Surprising plot twists, unexpected character growth—this is where the story’s heart beats.
Take Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Christie knew the culprit from the start, but she let Miss Marple take the reins during the drafting. She followed her eccentric muse wherever she led!
Our characters’ whims become the story’s soul. Many authors “pants” their stories, following their characters and acting as a scribe along the way. Frightening thought, eh? How dare your little darlings know better than you! Seriously, though, I understand that with a deadline, careful plotting is advisable. As Anne Lamott says, give yourself the structure you need to guide the plot, but leave yourself some wiggle room for inspiration along the way.
Interestingly, she also writes: "Plot grows out of character. …Over and over I feel as if my characters know who they are, and what happens to them…but they need me to write it down for them because their handwriting is so bad."
Now, about changing course mid-series: sometimes a new direction is needed if the story feels stale. But take care not to alienate your readership. It’s not about reckless one-eighties. Make purposeful pivots.
Ask yourself: have you kept beloved elements like main characters that drew fans to the series? If so, you can safely introduce new settings, complications, or themes to refresh things—even to the point of dramatic character shifts if that development is logical or seems natural. When such developments stem from your characters living out their lives through you, then they should be.
If you are worried about how your audience will respond to these changes, share your creative process with your fans. Do you have ARC readers or a beta team you trust to give you honest, constructive feedback? Many writers share their works-in-progress with their readers as they write. Some even do this via a livestream on Facebook or YouTube. Personally, that would be a step too far for me and my natural modesty, but it is a great way to gauge how ideas will land with your fans, and they too can become part of the creative process. Alternatively, you could share a poll on social media or through your newsletter.
Put the outline aside for now. Listen to what your characters are trying to say. Let them lead you on an adventure. Loosen the reins a bit, and let your characters romp. Their breakout moments could take your story from good to extraordinary.
Once you complete this exploratory draft, then you can adjust things to align with your series arc if needed.
You’ve got this, sugar plum! Channel your inner Agatha and let those characters guide you, then polish the gems they reveal later. Your story is just waiting to be unearthed; now get writing and uncover its treasures!
Happy writing,
Indie Annie
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