While talking, I realized that one of my characters is a plot killer.

So what is a plot killer? A plot killer is one character that sticks out like a piece for a jigsaw puzzle that's in the wrong box. You just can't make it fit no matter what you do. A plot killer has the best of all intentions and just can't be used for anything good. It's not their fault; it's yours.

I love Cassie, my plot killer. I need her. She's instrumental to the story, but the way I created her made her a detriment to the story. I need her and can't use her.

What do you do with a plot killer? Exterminate them? No. You're the writer, the creator. You change them if you can. Even if that means you're going to rewrite until your fingers fall off and you lose the will to live outside of coffee and Jolly Ranchers. A plot killer needs to be remolded into something useful or they will have to be eliminated.

How did I 'fix' Cassie? I changed her power. Her power was entirely too vague and yet too useless at the same time. I needed her to become useful and thus stripped her power from her and gave her another one. I changed certain aspects of her history and personality to make it fit a bit better. In the process, I removed my plot killer from Awakening and Legacy. Well, one of the plot killers from Legacy anyway.

If you recognize a plot killer in your story, it's going to be okay. You just have to be prepared for a lot of work and make sure that you take detailed notes on your character's new personality. Whether that's new 'powers' or a new backstory, write it down. Also, be honest with yourself. You created this mess, only you can clean it up. Don't be too proud to admit that you have a problem on your hands. The quicker you see the issue, the less clean up you're going to have to do.

Wait a second. If I'm a writer, then writing the actual story should be easy right? Well, yes and no. But I'm not talking about writing one story in one book and leaving it at that. I'm talking about creating your own universe and remembering the rules you set into motion within that world.

The only way to make this understandable is to give away some of my own plot.

In my world, there are two different kinds of vampires. You can be a vampire if you're born that way and you can be sired into the world. I have to remember that siring a vampire is against the law. I have to remember that siring a vampire is tricky and not every vampire can do it. But the hardest part of my mythology to remember involved the werewolves.

See, in my universe, a werewolf can only be male. There may be an exception to that later on in the story, but for right now it's not possible. A werewolf can beget other werewolves if his wife has the werewolf gene in her bloodline (Ex. Her father was a werewolf or her grandfather was a werewolf or her mother carried the gene). Werewolves can change into wolves at any time and use the power of the wolf whenever they need it. But in the light of the full moon, they unwillingly turn into a half man, half wolf creature. They eat regular food and live in 'packs' together to protect their secret and their bloodlines.

It's hard to remember all those things when you go from one book to another. Then I get into the different kinds of shape shifters and it gets even more complicated. Plus the vampiric special abilities that make it possible for a vampire to walk in the daylight or turn into animals or whatever the case may be.

The only way I manage all of these things is to keep a notebook with every single rule laid out. And I have a continuity expert who keeps me on track. But I always remember one important thing when this gets difficult to do. If I mess up on my story just one time, the reader's illusion will be ruined. It's worth all the effort to make sure that the reader enjoys the story.