Day Eighty-Two: Is a Story Fated or Chosen?

My brother came over to mess around with tarot cards today.

It was a weird day, okay?

The point is, this got me thinking about theory in writing. What would happen if I threw one of my characters under the tarot card bus? What if I asked a question concerning an imaginary person? If tarot cards are real, would an imaginary person be able to be read?

If you're a writer, you know that writers think weird stuff sometimes.

And like I said, I started thinking about the philosophies out there on such a topic. Michelangelo thought the statue was already in the block of material, he just had to find it. Rowling thought differently; she and her editor saw Harry Potter as a shape-able, shifting piece of work that she was completely in control of. 

So are we as writers in control of what happens in our world, or do we actually just follow along with whatever the character decides to do?

This may sound completely insane, and it probably is, but what if, by creating a fictional yet comparable world full of living, breathing fictional yet comparable people with a world that is also fleshed out, we are creating an environment that if followed with trust, can lead to realistic, independent decisions? If I make a character who hates water, it is to be assumed that this character will not go on a cruise. That is a given set of circumstances that lead to a realistic choice that we as the author must follow.

If the craft is done correctly, it is to be thought that once we create and establish the world and its perimeters, the people and their personalities, then the story has been written to its end. We just have to follow it to its inevitable conclusion.

Anyway, I got the ten of swords, so I've had a lot of time to think about my impending doom. I then ate a s'mores and wrote on the book, because impending doom takes its time and drives like an old lady. How was your day?