Characters in novels don't always do what the writer wants them to do. Sometimes they cause trouble, take on lives of their own, or even work against the writer. It's not just a problem for inexperienced authors: famed children's novelist Roald Dahl said he got the main character in his bookMatildaso "wrong"that when he'd finished his first version, he threw it away and started again. Of course it's not the characters' fault. The problem lies with the author. Take Stephen King, who admitted that writing working-class characters is more difficult nowadays because his own circumstances have changed. "It is definitely harder,"King said."When I wroteCarriemany years ago, I was one step away from physical labour." This is also true for characters' ages, added King."When you have small children, it is easy to write young characters because you observe them and you have them in your life all the time. But your kids grow up, it's been harder for me to write about this little 12-year-old girl in my new book because my models are gone." For other authors, such as Karen Fowler, there's one quality that can stop a character in its tracks: boredom."I had particular problems with the main character in my historical novelSister Noon,"she says."She had attitudes about race and religion that seemed appropriate to me for her time and class, but they were not attitudes I liked. Eventually I grew quite bored with her. You can write a book about a character you dislike or a character you disagree with, but I don't think you can write a book about a character who bores you." According to Neel Mukherjee, it was Adinath, a character inThe Lives of Others, who made him work the hardest."I think I struggled because it's difficult to write a character whose most prominent personal feature is weakness, as Adinath's is, without making that feature define him,"Mukherjee says. But a troublesome character is far from an unwelcome guest, he continues, arguing that "when characters work against the author they come alive and become unpredictable". "That is a fantastic thing to happen,"Mukherjee says."I celebrate it. It is one of the great, lucky gifts given to a writer." QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What can act as a large obstacle for writers?
2. What can pose a large problem for writers?
3. What can majorly get in a writer's way?
Q2:
1. Do just inexperienced writers have problems with their characters?
2. Do a writer's characters cause trouble only when the writer is inexperienced?
3. Do just writers without much experience struggle with their characters?
Q3:
1. How many writers discuss problems with their characters?
2. How many writers talk about struggling with their characters?
3. How many authors admit to problems with writing their characters?
Q4:
1. What authors discuss problems with their own characters?
2. Who are the writers that discuss their struggles with their characters?
3. What writers appear in the article?
Q5:
1. Is it easier for an author to relate to their characters when their own fortune changes?
2. When a writer's financial situation changes, does that make it easier for them to relate to their characters?
3. Does writing a character become easier when an author's fortune changes?
Q6:
1. What novel was it easiest for Steven King to write because he related to the characters?
2. Which of his own novel's characters did Steven King relate to the most?
3. Which novel was most simple for Steven King to pen because he understood its characters?
Q7:
1. Why did Steven King relate to the characters in Carrie?
2. What made Carrie's characters personally relatable to Steven King?
3. What helped Steven King find personal points of similarity with the cast of Carrie?
Q8:
1. What besides class can make it hard for an author to relate to their characters?
2. What apart from economic class can create writing difficulties for an author?
3. Why might an author have trouble writing a character other than the issue of economic class?
Q9:
1. Who spoke about the issue of boredom with a character?
2. Who talked about being bored with their owne characters?
3. Who had difficulty writing because they were bored with a character?
Q10:
1. Who posed the biggest difficulty for Mukerjee?
2. Who was the toughest character for Mukerjee to write?
3. Which of Mukerjee's characters worked the author the hardest?
Q11:
1. What novel did Adinath appear in?
2. Where was Adinath from?
3. What book featured the character Adinath?
