Five Signs Your Character Hates You

I have written many characters over the years, I would go so far as to say hundreds. I can name--a lot of them. Some of them have been active participants in my world building shenanigans, some of them have been passive and some of them have out right fought me tooth and nail, kicking and screaming the whole damn way.

Most of those were, oddly enough, in YA stories. I chalk this up to teenage hormones. Over the course of my writing, I have found that there are warning signs that one of these characters is in the wings. In an effort to help my fellow writers, I'm breaking this down into five. So, without further ado:

Five Signs Your Character Hates You

1. Somehow, without you even realizing it, this character has managed to sabotage the main plot.

2. They decide midway through the epic battle to turn evil.

3. They change their name to Rainbow and join a hippie cult that makes muffins under the direction of Lord Sunbeam McCoy.

4. They develop a crippling fear of hotdogs.

5. They kill off their love interest.


Yes, some of these things have happened to me. Not all of them, but I think the signs are clear enough. Characters with relactricant  personalities do not have to be your downfall. There are solutions to every problem you might encounter with a character. So here they are, numbered for your convenience

1. When unexpected (or unwanted) plot twists get in your way, you may be forced into -- sad as it may be -- backtracking to the origin of the turn and beginning anew, with a short leash on that troublemaker while your at it.

2 So your hero just turned evil? Well, that's all right. Because your villain is now the good guy, has been all along. In other words, this is one of those times where you have to roll with the punches and come out ahead with an even cooler story. Go read the Bartimaeous books folks. There's something akin to this in those.

3. Hippie cults can be destroyed by fires. Just think about it.

4. Hotdogs? Well. Uhm. Yeah, your screwed.

5. It's time for a zombie love triangle. I'm just saying.


So as you can see, taking a firm hand with those characters is a necessary evil. If they get uppity, do not be afraid to bring down the mighty author hammer of doom. I know they say you should murder your darlings, but I far prefer putting them in traction. When they recover, their much better behaved.