(Photo copyright Universal Films)

I’ve mentioned before that the characters in my stories often try to take control. Sometimes I let them, and it makes a better story. Sometimes they are really irritating because, like petulant children, they want to do their own thing when I need for them to serve the purpose of the story. For example in Maisie’s List, one of the women he dated wanted to sleep with him bad, but A) that’s not the kind of book I write; and B) to serve the narrative, I needed for him to wind up with someone else. She wrote me into that corner THREE times, until I finally told her “Stop it! I’ll write you your own book.”

The book I’m working on currently, working title Suzanne’s Secrets, has become populated by ghosts that weren’t part of the plan. They started as visions of the original occupants of the house Suzanne is decorating for her ex-husband, just to give her a unique perspective to inform her designs. Then one of the visions looked at her and smiled. I said out loud to whatever writing muse is in charge, “What the heck! She’s a real ghost? How am I supposed to write that?”

In another scene, Suzanne’s sitting at a table working when a little head appears above the other side of the table like the rising sun, showing first a shock of red hair, then playful blue eyes, then a nose sprinkled with freckles. The little boy ghost rests his head on his folded arms and says, “Whatcha doin’?” I tell you truly I was as shocked as Suzanne. Who was this, and where did he come from? How did he fit into the story? Wow, he turned into a great character! Writing one of his scenes had me in tears.

Another is a mysterious old lady, who in my original version was not a ghost at all, but a family member who gave them lots of information about the people who lived in the house. I wrote pages of scenes and dialog for this character, but, no, she is actually a ghost–with an attitude–so all of those pages go into the recycle file. She’s turned into a main character and a plot-driver. Who knew?

Now I’ve got ghosts coming out of the woodwork, and I’m losing control of the story. Two or three are fine, but one in every room really bogs things down. One of my readers loves the narrative, but skims over the decorating details inspired by the ghosts, while another loves the richness the design elements give to Suzanne’s character. Balance. It’s all about balance, walking that fine line of enough detail but not too much. All these ghosts are really cool, but they are also distracting, and I’m afraid I’ll lose my readers with “Not another one!” Also, Suzanne’s designs are supposed to be remarkable and trend-setting. Inspiration from dead people makes things interesting, but letting them control the designs could make it as creepy and scary as Miss Habersham in Great Expectations.

Enough of that. I’m off to wrestle the ghosts into submission, though I know for a fact that old lady has her own plans. Wish me luck.