

I have said it before, some of my favorite stories were written by the characters themselves. I stand back and let them go. Typically, I run into issues when I try to fight them. Don't fight them.
If you are set on a particular path or idea but your character doesn't want anything to do with it, save it for the next story.
One story that I love started out as what I call a wank piece (A story just meant to be sexy for the reader to get off), but the main character had other plans and he completely stole it from me.
It's okay to give control to the characters.