Quote:
Originally Posted by ekster
What I mean by that, is that we sometimes come to a point when we need something to happen, but our characters would never do that. e.g. Have a careless, messy, forgetful character somehow remember to bring that one card that he needed, and that he never bothered carrying before, and then chalk it up as 'sheer luck'.
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Things like that always feel "forced" to me. As a writer, it's your job to find a way to either change the character, or the moment, so it does work. Often, you can leave the character alone and find some other way to get the card to him so he has it at the right time... or, find a way for the character to achieve his goal at that moment without the card, "by hook or by crook," whatever.
Having your characters well fleshed-out when you start putting together your story helps to minimize moments like this. Since I always put together a detailed outline of my stories, any conflicts like this come up well before I start writing the story, and I can fix them ahead of time.
Writing is like sewing: You can't ignore what happens with one thread and expect to get a nice tapestry when you're done; and changing the pattern halfway through doesn't always work.