Who Writes Your Fiction?

The title of this piece initially sounds nonsensical. Of course you write your own fiction. Who else is going to do it? I like to think that my characters and their situations write my books. I'm just along for the ride. What I mean by this is that I create the concept of the book, along with the characters and the initial situation. Usually, my initial situation is dynamic; the novel starts with something going on. Then the characters have to continue the action and/or react to it. Given the characters you select for any given chapter and their scene/situation, you can write the book from the inside. Instead of hovering over the scene and manipulating people, you can put yourself into the mind of each character and know what they would say and do to move the story forward. The characters interact in a series of actions and reactions that lead you to know what has to come next. If you have created meaningful characters, you will know what the tone of their comments will be and their approaches to getting out of the problems you have created for them. Your only requirement is to give them a continuous series of obstacles and problems to overcome. Just as in your own life, your characters will develop more as they face and overcome adversities. They will also come to learn more about each other and will become more believable and real to the reader.