Writing Fiction is Incredibly Weird

I’m working on finishing my first novel (check out draft one of chapter one here) and I’m remembering that writing fiction is incredibly weird. I say “remembering” for two reasons: 1) because I wrote quite a bit of fiction in high school and college (though I never finished a book-sized project) and 2) I’ve read a lot about writing and every single person who talks about writing fiction says it’s incredibly weird. And today, I’m here to add my voice to the generations of writers before me. It’s incredibly weird.

“Why?” you ask.

Or, perhaps you’ve written fiction and your response is more along the lines of, “Duh.”

Regardless, I’m going to tell you, because it’s not my fault if you’ve already learned the life lessons I’m just now getting around to. We’re all on our own journey, okay? And on my journey, I’m traveling via an 18th-century schooner, exploring the edges of the map in the slowest, most dangerous way possible. So here’s my thought from my current explorations:

Writing fiction is incredibly weird because you’re in control, but you don’t feel like you’re in control.

I worked on the book for an hour yesterday but I was feeling sort of stuck. I had a vague idea of where chapter 26 needed to go, but couldn’t seem to find where to start. So I tried to create my chapter-by-chapter outline, filling in the details of the rest of the chapters so I would have something to start with for chapter 26. But it just wasn’t coming to me.

Finally, I left home, went to the gym for three hours, came back, and while I was in the shower, a character revelation hit me harder than eating an Extreme Sour Warhead (remember those?!) first thing in the morning. Now, I can’t tell you what the revelation was, exactly, because that would ruin chapter 26, but I can give you a hypothetical example instead. Here’s a “names and details changed for anonymity” version of what occurred to me:

“Oh my gosh, Charlie is a vegan! Of course, he’s a vegan! How did I not notice before?!”

And suddenly, chapter 26 made sense.

Which is so incredibly weird. I am writing this character (all these characters, actually) and creating them. The fact that they have traits, characteristics, and experiences that can pop up and surprise me makes no sense. No more sense than it makes when my chapter outline goes in the dumpster because something happens that I didn’t know was going to happen. Who’s writing this thing, anyway??

And yet, that’s the nature of fiction. I don’t know the psychology behind it, but in some ways, it’s actually incredibly fun. Writing down a story where you already know every twist and turn and line and idea wouldn’t be anywhere near as exciting as being surprised by your own brain, right?

So, next time you’re reading fiction, remember this: writers are often the victims. A beloved character dies suddenly? Trust me, the writer is more sad than you are. Someone turns out to be evil? The writer might be surprised too! We are servants to the story and the characters, so maybe say a prayer for our battered souls next time you finish reading.

And if you’re a writer and find yourself feeling emotionally abused by your characters, I echo the thoughts of all the writers before me: you are not alone. Writing fiction is incredibly weird.