Do you write your characters, or do they write themselves?

[Rosee 1]

The goal is for my characters to write themselves! I get in my head sometimes though. But after enough time playing them, I just kind of go with their flow. Hopefully they have interacted meaningfully enough with the world that there is something more solid to go off.

[Coral 3]

They do their own thing. I try to get them in good spots buuuuut... yeah, doesn't always work. But it's fine, I love being surprised!

[Fix 5]

Sometimes a character's voice is really clear and it's so easy to know how they'd react that it's like they're writing themselves. But honestly, I like being the writer and making the choices for the best, most intriguing, most emotional, and entertaining time with my RP friends. 

[Witch 2]

It's a bit of both for me!

If it's a character that I've had for a long time, the words come easily and on their own. I instantly know how they'll react to a certain situation and what they'll say, etc. However, I also can easily find ways to steer them in a certain direction while having the actions be justified and staying in character, which I think is a nice level of control (I've never been a fan of just justifying any action by "it's what my character would do", since there's a lot of different ways people can react to a situation and in my experience being mindful of this helps creating plots that are more dynamic, interesting, and fun for everyone involved).

When the characters are newer it's harder for me to find this balance, and I spend a long time getting to know them and figuring out how they act... Probably why I mostly stick to characters I've had for a long time.