I have found over the years of doing this... When I limit my characters and try to force them into a plan, they revolt. If I say, fine come November we will fly by the seat of our pants but I want a general idea of where we are heading before we get there... They fall in line and work with me.

YES! It's important for everyone to remember that this is the time for you to get to know your characters and what they would or would not realistically do. Most of the brainstorming authors do (coming up with backstory, etc.) is for their benefit and may not ever make it into the novel itself. The point is, you need to know every detail about your protagonist's life, motivations, etc. before you can realistically portray them on the page. Oftentimes, your protagonist will throw you a curve ball, but you'll know that's the right way to go because you trust your character at that point. So plan, but plan on throwing some of those plans out the window later.


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