Why, secondary character, WHY?

Oh of course! It happened to me last year XD My secondary character was more important than my main and well the secondary killed my main. but the story was written at the second person of singular, in the perspective of my main... So I was screwed but I managed something XD

I understand you, see? ! Because the same thing is happening this year and I'm scared. This secondary character is a bit more violent than my main so I guess I'll have to face a lot of fights before the end of Nano *nods*

NaNoWriMo 2007: "You" (64213 words)
NaNoWriMo 2008: Cullin's Garden" and "Running for Glory and Truth" (101091 words)

There's nothing better in November than a mug of Starbucks coffee and NaNoWriMo with a busy schedule!

My current secondary character is a vapid, useless plot device. I'm thinking of throwing her off a cliff. *woes*

Now, my male secondary character, on the other hand, is tall, dark, and only slightly insane -- I think I might devote an entire chapter to him. Or two. Or six.

:|

That happened my first year. After that I realized that my Secondary Characters are always like that, and so I just continually have two main characters.
If you can't beat them, let them do what they want I guess. =\

2008: Sons of the Desert
2007: Girdiya Bratstvole - Lost
2006: Reign of Dissolution [Part 2] - Lost
2005: Reign of Dissolution [Part 1] - Won!

This is why I don't bother with one MC anymore. I have three MCs at the moment. Yay. :p

~Lomelindi~

So, I have this secondary, secondary character, who is not even mentioned in the first book of my series... And I know everything about her. I don't know if she'll EVER be mentioned. Why?! Her name is Heather... she's fifteen, pretty short, wears glasses, and is the sweetest thing until you actually meet her... But I don't know if I'll EVER use her! And apparently I'm not the only one. *Sigh.* Back to writing...

Yeah, that pretty much happens to me every year. It used to annoy me, but now I just go with the flow. I figure that during NaNo, if a secondary character wants to take over, I'll let them. Easier to give in than fight it and possibly have more trouble writing.

This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it's done. It's that easy, and that hard. - Neil Gaiman

What always happens to me is I create a plot, create a MC, create supporting characters, get lazy with the plot, my MC turns into a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, fall in love with a supporting character and spend all my time developing them, scrap the plot and MC then spend a year bouncing the supporting character around different plot lines until I'm happy. (worship my run on sentence!) All my MC's for NaNo this year are previous supporting characters (or previous fan characters, but that's a secret, shh)

I haven't come up with my main characters or even secondary characters yet, but I had this offhand idea that there might be a young kid hanging around ... and now the kid is the only character that will talk to me! She's changed her age, picked a name I don't like, and is threatening to make the story revolve around her.

As she was worming her way into my plans for the opening scene, I realized that the scene is really about her mother, and the mother is a tough lady with a really interesting past. Congrats, mom, you're my first real character! Now where are all your friends?

I had that happen in my first NaNo. My MMC was suppose to be the star and his sister started in with the prologue and took over from there. I think he only was featured in three chapters and she dominated the rest of the telling. Little brat didn't even follow the script and took things off on a tangent.

On the other hand last year I had a secondary character that refused to make an appearance. She always managed to slip out of the scene in the nick of time. Secondary characters are a pain sometimes.

Never happened in a NaNo but in another story of mine... the MCs sister suddenly took over and I had a gigantic profile made for her... all details, full storyline... while my poor MC and her little girl were left in the back. I feel so cold hearted! ^.^;

2007: The Darkest Twist (Fail)
2008: The Words Between (Win!)

This happened to me with my currect plot. I've decided I'm going to write the story in parts, and I'll switch point of views in it. (Like the most recent Twilight book.)

My 2008 NaNo (My first year participating): Broken Soul, a young adult novel diving into the topics of child abuse, religion, the friendships that last a lifetime, and the friendships that don't. Completed at 54,610 words on 11-29-08.

For my last NaNo, I had two important characters discussing something important, and I introduced a butler for humour. In the next chapter, the butler commandeers the plot and gets into the limelight with my MC's roommate. My MC's love interest joins in the fray and my poor MC becomes the literary equivalent of a statue while the rest of the cast take over the action.

This year, I've had more time to have my main characters grow on me and I don't think the above would be happening again. =)

Oh, believe me...I am intimately acquainted with this problem. My NaNo two years ago was basically a story where I killed off the MC in chapter 2 and then had to make the story work with supporting characters (who had no idea what being an MC entails...) until I could bring the MC back from the dead.

The story stalled and I've yet to finish it.

Stupid secondary characters.

Nano 2008: Dissecting Lucy

% Prepared: 55.15
Inspiration: 92%
Sugar Intake: Normal
Caffeine: Yes, please

I was planing my nano earlier, and realized that my main character had know -anything. So I left him as the Hero and mde my main Character the creepy dude in the corner. I'm getting an overwhelming sense of relief from my characters- everyone is much happier now. Well, the Earth spirit still hates me, but that cause I barroed Mercedes Lackey's tactic for writing- "Drop a mountain on them. Recover them, make them happy again. Then drop another mountain on them." Poor ES.

I don't really have any secondary characters - just six main ones. D: None of them are really more important than the others, so it doesn't feel right to refer to any of them as "secondary". But there is a couple that's supposed to be more important that the rest...except that the rest of the characters are coming along nicely, while the couple's development has stalled - complete cookie-cutter. :( Ugh.

Haha, I started out my novel planning with a group of MCs, intending to write about them investigating paranormal phenomena. And then a random character came out of nowhere and hijacked my entire plot o_O

I was not impressed.

2007: Brevitas -- WON
2008: No One Has to Know -- [n/a]

Last year, I started out with what was supposed to be a main character and a secondary. But the more I wrote about the secondary, the more interesting she was, and she ended up taking over. The original main character never even shows up.

Now this year, I'll be writing the sequel in which the original main character is supposed to finally get to BE the main character. And she will have a prominent role. However, I'm not ever writing yet, and I have a feeling the secondary character, who became the MC of last year's, is going to have a much larger role that I intended her to have.

I think she's actually given the story a lot more depth and made it more interesting, but it sure is frustrating when you realize your characters have minds of their own.

Once upon a time I had a group of, ehh, seven or eight main protagonists who couldn't have been better, considering the situation. Now I have a small group of minor/secondary characters who decided, NO SCREW YOU MAIN CHARACTERS, they wanted to have all the time in my brain. Especially when I'm trying to do something a little important...character profiles.

Why, of course I love all my characters equally. But, sometimes those minor characters...you just want to hug them until their eyes shoot out of their skulls and kill an innocent bystander.

seeker of truth

follow no path
all paths lead where

truth is here
-E. E. Cummings

Oh yeah. I had two main characters and two secondary characters all nicely worked out. At least until they began sidling their way up the ranks, to the point where I am now forced to admit that it's actually FOUR main characters.

Not to mention that one of them has decided to give me all of his back-story and has a killer personality. Now I have to keep a tight hold on him or else he'll make this whole novel revolve around him. He wanted to be a king. I told him to sod off and he could be descended from a record-keeper instead.

2008 Working Title: Riddle and Bone
Characters: Loud and obnoxious.
Plot: Partially formulated.

Writers are like schizophrenics without the luxury of medication.

*raises hand* One of my characters--a secondary character whom we're not supposed to run into until about halfway through the novel is trying to take over. The worst part is I didn't even realize what he looked like until I walked past GameStop and saw the Fable II poster. Yup...meet Cody, the trigger-happy, shoot-first-ask-questions-later, resistance leader against the Fallen; he has captured my heart--and potentially my story. And worse, I think my FMC is going to fall for him.

*headdesk* She is NOT supposed to fall in love with him...I don't even know how old he is! The worst part is, Cody isn't the main character--he's a secondary character, but he might have his own POV. (Oh no, it's already begun! He really IS taking over my novel.) XD

Looks like I have to put down the resistance now...*sighs* He's also given me some great dialogue which I can't do anything about b/c its not November 1st. Arg! Where's that fleet of Angels to scare him back into hiding?

NaNo 2008 -- Scion of Truth (0 / 50,000)
NaNo 2007 -- Misconceived Notions & Befuddled Inclinations (~102,000)
NaNo 2006 -- ???????? (53,000/50,000)

Haha, my MC Adathor is a pissed-off orphan with no morals. I always liked the concept/story of my second character Kira, but after writing a painfully large amount of the story with just Adathor, before he meets Kira, I can't wait to introduce her. I like her better, I'm bored of Adathor now! *boots*

My first NaNo - Sanctuary in the Void (2007)
This year I attempt to finish my "first-born" five year project story - Adathor and Kira.

My mc's best friend who was only in the thing to cry when his secretary/lover got killed and then assasinate someone just rebelled. He changed his name, declared himself and his secretary to be secret agents (in regency england - it's not like there's even a secret service for them to be agents of) and said the whole plot was about a blackmailing conspiracy and i could kill off lots of insignificant nobodies rather than his lover. Unfortunately him and his secretary are just so much more fun than my mc that i didn't have the heart to disagree.

My tetritary (third, no, fourth ranking in importance) character is currently a bit of a Mary Sue, but she has to be there, otherwise my secondary character can't do what they're supposed to that affects the second MC, so the first one gets mad and explodes. Almost literally.

And now, I have a secondary story brewing, with its own set of characters, secondaries, etc. What ever am I to do?

___________________
Due to unfortunate events involving an evil science-fair project that will not be named, I can't finish NaNo this year. But, I'll do my best to go out with a bang at somewhere over 10k. My school's administration board is idiotic.

Oh yes, I know this feeling all too well. It always turns out fantastic in the end, if I do say so myself.

2008: Pirates of Merth! (Hoping for 50k)
2007: Firebug (12k. Pathetic.)
2006: Of Rainbows and Skyscrapers (A pathetic excuse for anything. Please do not bring it up. Ever.)

2008: Pirates of Merth! (WINNER!)
2007: Firebug (12k. Pathetic.)
2006: Of Rainbows and Skyscrapers (A pathetic excuse for anything. Please do not bring it up. Ever.)

I have one, he isn't taking over my novel (yet) but he has dodged the proverbial bullet twice. My plans to kill him off have been thwarted with a pair of thick glasses and a nasal twang.

This has been happening to me for a looong time on a non-NaNo story. Poor Via... a few years ago, she had all my attention, but then this bitch Lena came in, and dazzled me with her colorful personality. xD

Ergh. My stupid secondary character is taking over the novel. At least I can work it in. She's kind of headstrong, to tell you the truth. Of course, it'll be hard to kill her off now. I'm already killing off... Well, you'll see in my excerpt.

I'm ruthless, normally, but I can't kill her off too, not early on anyway. And she's so awesome, she wowed me. Totally took me by surprise. It's kind of fun when your novel starts telling you want to do. The voices made me do it! xD

Oh, that happened last year to me. I made a secondary character, Rachel, who was supposed to be the MC's best friend when her old best friend started being a *****. I also made another secondary character, Travis, who was really only made because I needed some extra characters for a scene. But out of all those extras I ended up really liking Travis and started using him more and more (it worked well because he had classes with my MC). Eventually I loved Rachel and Travis more than my MC, and I had them have their own romantic subplot as kind of a gift to them. :P They remain some of my favorite characters and I'd like to play with them more.

-----
NaNo Project '06 - Untitled (Fantasy) - dismal failure
NaNo Project '07 - Crescendo in C (YA) - WINNAR!
NaNo Project '08 - Frost (Fantasy)

Oh, help. I've come up with another. Yet *another* secondary character, that makes three now. One's interesting and stubborn, one has no personality, and the newest one is very well done, but seems to want to be a combination of the FMC and MMC's personalities... And none of them are the same species... I think. He's actually pretty cool, and my FMC likes him, but he's decided he's going to die. Don't die Brocko! Oh NO! That's not his name, but it's what I typed... I see a visit to the Weird Names thread coming soon. Please, do NOT choose the name Brocko, or have it as a nickname even, secondary character. Stick with your original name. It's much better for you!

I have a feeling this isn't going to end well... Why "not Brocko", WHY?!

___________________
Due to unfortunate events involving an evil science-fair project that will not be named, I can't finish NaNo this year. But, I'll do my best to go out with a bang at somewhere over 10k. My school's administration board is idiotic.