King Tykus was one of my favorite characters to write in the second book of the Fate of Legends series. But in fact, when I arrived at the first chapter with him in it, I was going to make him entirely different. A typical king, espousing the viewpoints of the kingdom that bore his name. Dominant, abrupt, and controlling.

But as I wrote, it felt…wrong. So as usual, I stopped trying to control things and let Tykus write himself. Needless to say, the result was something entirely different than I had expected…and provided a much richer experience for me.

Sometimes characters do write themselves, if you let them. And I’ve found my characters to be far better writers than I am!