I know things are unbearable but in spite of that we have to bear them.

I hope I am not too repetitive. However, coming to terms with death is part of the general human situation.

I don't want to die, really. I'm interested in what happens next, so I've got to keep on.

In a way, the characters often do take over.

For in some ways the world was like a shopping centre, and he himself was a doubtful customer, often ineffectual, being talked into buying things he didn't want, things indeed which nobody in their right mind would want to buy.

Try not to become disappointed if someone doesn't like a story you've written. Stick up for your ideas, but listen to what other people say, too. They might have good advice.

It can certainly happen that characters in more sophisticated stories can "take over" as they develop and change the author's original ideas. Well, it certainly happens to me at times.