I spent most of yesterday writing, albeit slowly, six hours yielding about 3,700 words. I have a pretty good idea of the main things that need to happen in my novel. I have a decent chapter by chapter outline. There are certain historical events that have to take place. But in the writing of this book, I really wasn’t prepared for these characters to take on lives of their own–at least not in the first few chapters!

Yesterday I wrote an entire chapter without any intention of doing so until it came out of me. I sat down and the words just flowed out of me, my characters doing things that I never anticipated until I wrote about it. One major character that wasn’t supposed to show up for three more chapters made an early, surprise appearance in a move that it seems will be a major plot driver. He’s way more of an ass than I anticipated that he would be. The entire scene took place at the whim of Apicius’ daughter, who apparently has a merchant friend at the market who gives her little toys every time she visits. THAT was not anywhere remotely in my head when I sat down to write. I also discovered a future failure for Thrasius, which again, was not anticipated, but will be extremely important.

When characters write themselves, to me it feels simultaneously exhilarating and creepy. I sit back and wonder, Where did that come from? It’s like a ghost driving my hand and my thoughts.

I’m curious about the psychology behind the phenomenon. What is happening in our heads when these characters come to life in entirely unexpected ways? What or who are we channeling when we write so unbidden?