Lillian Hellman says “Story is what the characters want to do. Plot is what the writer wants the characters to do.”
The character in my new novel, Norman in the Painting, who appeared wearing a Homberg hat, is keeping his intentions a mystery. I wanted him to be hired by the antagonist, but he refuses that connection. Hellman is right.
Let us know if you have a character who wants to tell his or her own story and not follow your plot?
