Free Will vs Predestination

Often people will, over time, end up focusing on which aspect of reality is right. Do we have a free will, or are our actions predestined? Often people view this as a paradox, but I'm not sure I buy that.

Consider two examples in different fields:
In physics, there is relativity.. which for its model (a very macroscopic one) really doesn't have much place for quantum mechanics. Likewise, the microscopic world of quantum mechanics doesn't leave much room for relativity. (Hopefully I didn't massacre this with my layman's understanding). However, irony of ironies -- we know both exist and work well. Some sort of super string theory is supposed to allow for the unification of both...

I am a hobbyist author -- and as such I have a rough outline of a story that I want to create. The characters seem to have a life of their own, and won't necessarily do things as I expected (a.k.a. Free Will). I tolerate (and even delight) in the apparent life of my characters as long as my key points are accomplished. This is perhaps analogous to Predestination.

So.. my thought is: Is Predestination and Free Will really a way of God saying: X will happen, but some of the particular events I leave up to each person?