Characters - are they real or am I insane?

[Jo Zebedee]

Ah, well, you're probably in the right place then.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I find my third person characters are less directly arguementative than my first person ones. Third omniescent characters are almost biddable lol (except the one that refused to be gay, he insisted I made his boyfriend Matt an Emily).

First person are the ones I have to fight every step of the way through the story with, I think the problem is as well as them being right inside my head, I am right inside theirs. Whereas with third person I'm not as entrenched in them. Writing second person has been wonderful - I am the character and I've been able to push the stories exactly the way I want lol.

I would be insane except well isn't that all very normal ? Totally understandable. Like I've said when my brother accuses me of living in cloud cuckoo land - cloud cuckoo land keeps me sane and it is a much nicer place to live sometimes Why did I have to use that phrase, I'm now trying not to write a story about it lol.

 

[Glitch]

In answer to the OP - Yes, you are insane but you're in good company

My stories come to a screeching halt if I try and push them in the wrong direction. It pays to listen to the little blighters!

 

[monsterchic]

No, you're not insane! It's gotten so bad for me that I find myself totally becoming my characters!! I have an elf that I'm working on, and every time I get into a situation, I automatically think, "What would he do?"

 

[David Evil Overlord]

No, you're not insane! It's gotten so bad for me that I find myself totally becoming my characters!! I have an elf that I'm working on, and every time I get into a situation, I automatically think, "What would he do?"

Hopefully, that doesn't mean shooting annoying co-workers full of arrows.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Jesus, do Elves have to work! Pay tax and all that?

Well that's ruined a few conceptions of mine. Unless of course they are only contracted to wander woodland glades, sing songs of fair maidens, do battle with goblins and gaze wistfully to the West.

I suppose they need the cash for all their cosmetics and liposuction to look good for so long...

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Jesus, do Elves have to work! Pay tax and all that?

Now I'm picturing Elves working for the Tax Office. Not Dark Elves, more sort of Bureaucracy-Grey Elves.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Well originally in Saxon times, weren't elves strange alien beings who would waylay travellers, speak strange and confusing tongues that were easily wrongly construed, cause mischief and harm, steal goods and live in dark mysterious places far from any human habitation in places no one should ever go to.


mmm Tax office seems to fit, actually...

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Have them robbing the poor to give to the rich, and we have the basis for a new Fat Fantasy Trilogy!

 

[Warren_Paul]

Have them robbing the poor to give to the rich, and we have the basis for a new Fat Fantasy Trilogy!

Legolas Greenleaf Prince of Elves!


(Robin Hood Prince of Thieves)

 

[Jammill Khursheed]

It's something that happened to me, the whole character revolution malarkey, but i put my foot down and they only got so far

I'm lucky though, i have an over-arching storyline that I can stick to as if its actual history, so they only get so much leeway. Its how i always write, i come up with the basic story, nail down some major events, and see what the characters do within that guideline. It adds proper depth and motivation (if they aren't motivated by the plot, they're in the wrong story), as well as suggesting new characters that are attached to them, and all the 'B-Plots' you would ever need

That said, one of the most important characters was originally only in a few episodes towards the end of the war, and now the whole build-up to the war is told as her story. I couldn't change the major events, but it changed a lot of the other characters and gave that part of the story much more of a 'heart' than it had before.

Ooh, I also have one character that kinda cheated death, meaning I had to kill another character who would have survived to the end of the storyline instead. That said, the one who survived is only on borrowed time though, she dies later in a much more useful way (to the plot, and to the other characters, but more importantly useful to me), and because of who dies in her place I can do other things with a lot of different characters that wouldn't have sat right the original way around.

Realistic, believable characters are the most important part of any form of writing, but when you're writing about unrealistic, unbelievable setting and subjects, it is even more important.


Jammill

 

[crystal haven]

It's something that happened to me, the whole character revolution malarkey, but i put my foot down and they only got so far

I'm lucky though, i have an over-arching storyline that I can stick to as if its actual history, so they only get so much leeway. Its how i always write, i come up with the basic story, nail down some major events, and see what the characters do within that guideline.

I thought you were going to say, nail down some characters!

I think nailing down some of my characters might be the only way to stop them doing what they want to do.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Well, sometimes you do have to give your characters independence, even when they DO decide to misbehave. Just remember to keep them to their appointed bed time hour and you'll all be fine.


Or else they take over completely and you're forced to take drastic action, like making their world collide with another....*mutters under his breath*

 

[Gumboot]

While I think it's natural and good that characters will suprise you, I'm inclined to think that if a writer finds their characters aren't complying at all with the plot, the writer hasn't done a very good job of developing their plot and characters. You shouldn't come up with an arbitrary plot and throw an arbitrary character into it and hope they work together. Rather the two should be closely linked (after all, you're telling a story and a story is the combination of plot and character), and whether you're a plot-first or character-first writer, whichever you develop first, the other should adhere to and comply with it.