Guest Post: Putting Characters in the Driver's Seat
Guest Post: Putting Characters in the Driver’s Seat
Hi everyone! I am SO excited about today’s post — I’ve got a fantastic romance author stopping by the blog to talk about writing craft, specifically about how she lets her characters take over her plots. (I know. I know. Every time an author says “my characters did it themselves” a non-writer rolls their eyes. Stick with me. She makes the case.) Without further ado, take it away!
Thanks so much for having me on the blog today! I want to talk about something that took me about three books to figure out, and that I now consider the single most important lesson I’ve learned as a writer: stop driving the plot, and let your characters do it.
I Used to Be a Plotter
When I started writing my first book, I had a beautiful outline. Color-coded index cards. A spreadsheet of beats. I knew exactly what was supposed to happen in every chapter. And the book was…fine. Functional. A little stiff. My critique partner kept circling scenes and writing “but WHY would she do this here?” in the margins.
The answer, of course, was: because my outline said so. Not because the character would actually make that choice.
The Shift
The breakthrough came in book two, when I got stuck on a scene where my heroine was supposed to confront her sister at a wedding. I’d outlined a big tearful argument. But every time I tried to write it, the heroine just…wouldn’t argue. She kept walking out of rooms. Hiding in bathrooms. Pretending she hadn’t seen her sister.
Eventually I gave up trying to force the scene and asked the character a question instead: “What do you actually want to do right now?”
The answer was: leave the wedding entirely.
So I let her. And the story got so much better.
What “Driver’s Seat” Actually Means
It doesn’t mean abandoning structure. It means using your outline as a road map, not a script. Your characters get to decide:
- The route. They might take the scenic way to your plot point.
- The pace. Some scenes need to breathe. Others need to be ripped through.
- The detours. The best scenes are often the ones that surprise you.
If a scene feels stiff, ask the character what they want. Then write that. You can always cut it later.
Thanks again for having me!