Univited Guests

Unexpected characters keep showing up, clamouring for attention. I've already got twice as many as I want, the stage is overcrowded and I've got another 20,000 words to go. But they keep showing up, trailing plot lines, backstory and a need to fit into the "weave of the narrative."
Like Steffi today, I didn't expect her, but once she showed up, I couldn't keep her off the page. Dr. Suze was in the back seat of the limo going up a dirt road in Vermont in August 1976. Turns out Steffi was sitting alongside: Looks like stork, long neck and a big nose, gawky and irritated. kinda like Ann Coulter at 22.

Naturally Steffi wants to hog the spotlight. She'll have to fight for it.