Friday Five: You Think You Know, But You Have NO Idea

Have you ever had one of those moments when you're tap-tap-tapping away at your keyboard, content to let the words, thoughts, and actions of your characters flow out onto the page computer screen in a haphazard feeding frenzy of plot? 

You don't care that you keep typing in your where a you're should be, or even that your flying fingers are popping in a me when you really mean my, thus making your MC sound like a leprechaun who's "lost me lucky charms".  You just know that you HAVE to get the words out.  You simply must slap this scene into existence or risk losing it forever to the evil trolls who snack on plot twists while villainous laughter echoes throughout the cavern of your mind.  MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Wait? You don't have evil trolls?  It's just me? Aw, dammit! I did NOT want to hear that, minions.

Then, buckle up for this Friday Five list, folks, as I'm going to clue you into a few things regarding my newest Shiny New Idea turned Work in Progress, HATE CRIME, which is a YA mystery that I'm so freaking in love with right now, it's not even funny.  Seriously.

Five Surprises From My Characters

1. Matt is gay.  I didn't know this little tidbit about my MC when the idea for this story first came to me.  I didn't know it when I did the character development, and it sure as hell wasn't common knowledge when I started outlining (why yes, I am one of those outlining freaks).  Matt didn't deign it necessary to clue me in on this fact until I was writing out the first chapter, and a niggling little voice in the back of my head kept telling me that there was something important that I was overlooking.  So, said to him, "Dude, is there something going on with you and Alex that I don't know about?"  To which he replied, "Yeah, we've been together for a couple years now. Everyone knows this. It's no big deal."  Well, of course not, but thanks for telling me.  Limey bastard!
2. The killer's identity.  I'm usually a good detective and can figure out who the killer is within the first few chapters.  So, imagine my surprise when earlier this week, I realized the killer is actually the last person I would've suspected.  Wow, Karla.  Well, played there.
3. Lila is really me.  Um...yeah.  I didn't realize how eerily alike Lila and I really are until my best beta buddy (who is supercool enough to let me send her chapters as I write them) pointed this fact out.  Take away the facial piercings, the blue hair, and the ability to play the drums, and this is me in high school.  Did. Not. See. That. Coming.
4. John Locke (Matt's Dad) is not so bad a guy after all.  When the idea first came to me, John was this terrible, absentee father, but now...well, he's not only growing on me, but I'm kind of rooting for him and Matt to reconcile.  The question now is: Will they?  My characters haven't given me an answer regarding this as of yet.
5. The reason Alex's eyes are so brilliantly green is because he's one jealous bitch.  Peeps, I did not know this about Matt's boyfriend until about 10K in, but it definitely falls in line with his character.  And, let's just say that jealousy he exhibits on a regular basis leads to all kinds of trouble between the two boys.  I'm just saying.

So, there you have it, friends.  Now, you tell me.  Have your characters ever done an about-face on you, leaving you scrambling to maintain control in a world rife with chaos?  Or am I the only one?  I really hope not.