Pen of the Gryphon

BLARGH!!! *venting*

Have you ever heard someone say that their characters did their own thing in the story, without any regard for outlines or their author's wishes? That they took on a life of their own? I have. And I had always viewed that sort of thing with an bit of incredulity. It just sounded like the angst of authors who didn't know how to do their jobs properly.

Daaaaaaaang, I just put myself down.

Yup, my characters up and took off on their own, and they wreaked some havoc. The chapter I am currently writing was to have my young monarch attempt to escape his confining bonds. Problem is, in the last chapter I wrote about him, he disregarded what he was to do in the next and instead got himself a fever and had to be bled. Yup... So now, while he is supposed to be sneaking his way out of the castle (Cliche, I know, but I'm working with it. Rules? What rules? I don't need no sticking rules!) he is on bed rest after loosing a few pints of blood, while battling a fever. Not to mention that, a few chapters back, his most intimate aquaitance decided to become the bad guy and attempt an assassination, while those that were originally supposed to be the assassins are instead now the unsung heroes.

Hmmm...

Yeah, my characters up and stole the show, thumbing their noses at whatever I had planned at first. One character, who was just supposed to remain odious, but not particularly bad, has turned into a murderer. One still doesn't know what he is supposed to do and is changing one way and then the next, completely ignoring all that character development that I had done. 

What is going on here?

However, it is not to say that these changes are all bad. In fact, many new story options have opened up. I like some of them. But I am frustrated because I had planned on writing an escape scene, but now I am stuck with an inmate who can barely move. What was he thinking? Is he trying to get himself killed? I'm not ready for him to die yet. There is a bit more he has to do, as he is the only one who can do it.

Blargh again...

Anyway, I took my mind off of writing for a bit to do some reading. I read "Pride and Prejudice" cover to cover today and scared my mom by actually spending some time on the deck. It was weird. I was up at six this morning without an alarm (despite having fallen asleep around one) and spent several hours out on my back porch, reading and stretching my legs in the sun for a desperately needed tan. I swear, my legs are like paper, and you can see all the blue lines of my veins. Comes of wearing jeans in the summer. My arms are okay, but my legs... *shudders* It just looks uneven. But, knowing me, I'll end up with a farmer's tan that goes up to about midway above my elbow then turns really pale once again. I had one last year and it didn't really matter because I spent all of my time in short sleeves, avoiding those that are sleeveless.

But enough on tanning. I haven't been in the sunshine early in the morning for quite a while and it was really nice. I plan to do it again tomorrow if I wake up in time. But I do not intend to use an alarm. That ruins it all. I'll wake up as early as I can, find a book, and sit on the deck. It is oddly relaxing.

Anyhoo, time to get of the comp and stop frying my brain cells. Those things don't go cheap, you know...

~SilverGryphon
P.S. If anyone is actually out there reading this and would actually want to, I would love for them to stop by my account on FictionPress, where all of my work is posted. Just drop by and leave a note if you feel so inclined. I'm not going to beg, but I've been having a long period of dissatisfaction in my work and an even longer period of not hearing from anyone about my writing. Any words, no matter how few, would certainly brighten my day...

http://www.fictionpress.com/~gryphonfledglingofsilverwings