The Perils of Writing a Character who Refuses to Do What I Tell Her

by Vicky Oliver

Many novelists have a God complex.

I refer not to their religious views, but to their authorial ones.

These writers believe they control their characters. As they map out their characters' journey from start to finish, love lives included, they expect their characters will obey the outline. But nothing could be further from reality, particularly when it comes to putting two characters from a story in a love scene.

In Act One, a romance writer starts with plenty of options. She can create and shape the characters and have them “meet-cute” or force them into proximity, the way Charlotte Brontë

did in Jane Eyre. A writer in control of her craft can adeptly transform enemies into lovers, the way Jane Austen did in Pride and Prejudice.

Another fun trope for the romance storyteller is the “fake date” or “fake marriage.” Peter Chiarelli achieved this effortlessly in his delightful script for the romantic comedy, The Proposal, featuring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

But after the initial setup, the author will need to let go and watch her two characters interact, biting her nails the whole time like a jittery voyeur, to see if sparks actually fly. After all, there’s something elusive about romantic chemistry, in novels as in real life. It either works or it doesn’t. As an author you can play matchmaker, but if there's no spark to ignite the passion, the reader won’t buy it.

As a writer, I’ve also discovered the opposite to be true: I can set up characters to stay “just friends” all I want, but they may not listen. Sometimes, no matter how much I would prefer two characters to keep it platonic for the sake of the plot, they just won’t oblige me. Nothing dampens their flame, not even their author's intentions.

The day after I was accepted into the New School MFA program in 2020, I started writing the historical novel that became FIREBRANDS (Histria Books, distributed by Simon & Schuster, October 2026). After I’d penned the first draft of the first hundred pages or so, I started sharing my writing for feedback in the MFA classes. My professor told me that he really liked my protagonist’s personality. He and several other readers at the time said they admired her strong sense of morality. As her creator, of course, I considered that to be a phenomenal compliment. Yes, she should be moral!

But my heroine, Helena James, is also a spitfire who get herself into all sorts of trouble while trying to protect her loved ones. Helena is also a bit of man magnet and, though happily married, one of the men she attracts is an incredibly dangerous labor spy organizer.

Without my consent, she and this labor spy started to hold hands and kiss in public places and—well, I can’t go any further without spoiling the plot, except to divulge that their antics had my Victorian sensibilities tied up in knots! I kept cutting the juicy bits out of the story and scolding her for her recklessness.

Naturally, she didn’t listen.

One day, after I’d been quarreling with my protagonist for about two years, I discussed the issue with another writing teacher.

“She’s supposed to be a beacon of morality,” I said.

“Just let it happen,” he said. “It’s a good thing when your characters mis-behave. It means you’ve put some flesh and blood on them.”

All characters start as two-dimensional figments of a writer’s imagination. They might be modeled on someone we know. They might be composites of various people we’ve met or of people we’ve read or heard about.

But as their creators, we have to learn to let them grow, evolve, devolve, make mistakes, stumble, or experiment as they will. They are our fictional “children.” And while they may contain a tiny bit of our own mental DNA, we created them in part to do the things we can’t, to explore the questions we want answered, and to hopefully get into more trouble in a few hundred pages that we will in our entire lifetimes. So don't be afraid to set them free—and follow their lead.

Now that FIREBRANDS is on the cusp of publication, I’m proud that my heroine Helena ignored all my sage advice. She’s much more interesting than I intended.

That said, I’m happy to be writing another novel now. Maybe this protagonist will listen to me, but hopefully not.

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Vicky Oliver is a leading career development expert and the multi-bestselling author of seven books, including her historical novel FIREBRANDS: A Sizzling Gilded Age–Style Tale of Morals Versus Money (Histria Fiction, distributed by Simon & Schuster, October 2026), 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions (Sourcebooks), named in the top 10 list of “Best Books for HR Interview Prep,” and Power Sales Words: How to Write It, Say It and Sell It with Sizzle (Sourcebooks). She’s a popular media source, having made over 901 appearances in broadcast, print and online outlets. Vicky Oliver is the Nonfiction Editor and an Art Editor at LIT Magazine, the Journal of the New School Masters in Fine Arts Creative Writing. She co-hosts the Resilient Women series podcast for Relatable Media. For more information, visit vickyoliver.com and https://vickyoliver.com/firebrands-fiction-author/