First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!
– Ray Bradbury
I love the stories where the characters take the lead – they run with things and I really feel like I am just along for the ride. The last novel draft was like that (the one that is now on the shelf for a while before the next necessary rewrite), but this one is a bit more reluctant. I think part of it is that she still doesn’t quite know what she wants, so I am spending some time (and writing) getting to know her so I can figure out where to go with it!
How do you find the stories you are telling? Do they tell themselves and drag you along, or do you have to pry them out of the air?
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Eclectic Alli 
My stories tell themselves and drag me along for the ride. It’s just like watching a movie in my head. That’s what makes it so much fun.
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My characters definitely drag me along, but they tend to move at a snail’s pace: they’d rather talk than act. And every time I try to maneuver the story into, you know, *progressing*, I end up killing the momentum. It’s awkward, and although *I* usually enjoy reading what I’ve written, no one else ever does.
It also means that it’s really hard to write scenes where the characters have to do or say something they don’t want to do: they stop cooperating with me, and I’m left trying to cajole them into getting on with the plot.
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I have a destination in mind, but the characters are driving and they never take the straightforward route and are always pulling off at these roadside attractions…
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