Using stage acting as an analogy, the author plays roles via the characters he creates in his novel. But there often comes a point in a novel when the characters take control of their own behavior and write the story themselves, even subverting the story line the author originally had in mind.
如果以演戲類比，小說家就是在他創作的小說裡扮演各種角色，既是六指兒貴隆，是俠客歪胡癩兒，也是孤女銀花；小說寫到最後，有時人物自會脫韁而去，自己發展故事，推翻小說家預立的大綱，「所以我也向小說中的人物學習，」司馬中原說。