Character Survey Thread

[Ditzy]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
No as i find that then it's awkward if the character starts dating someone...My characters are actually the opposite of me most times.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
Female because im a girl so i kind of know how girls think and i get more connected to the character. I just dont understand boys, haha xD

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I tend to get very attached to new characters but after a while i lose interest in them. That is why im constantly making up new characters for roleplays. However, when writing long stories, i find that i have enough time to really get to know my character and suddenly see them as a friend...Sometimes i even think about what they would do in some RL situations. I think getting too attached isnt a problem as then you will want to write more stories involving the character. However, when it gets to a point where your character is invincible then it is defiently a problem.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
If someone has a character that catches my eye then i defiently become attached, even if ill never admit it to them.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I defiently make characters to go with a story. Ill write a story starting, with no character information at all most times and slowly find out the character's personaliy throughout the twists and turns of the story. I guess the story sort of shapes my characters for me.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
Well, usually i search up images and choose a few that catch my eye. Then i choose my favourite photo. Then comes a name before i do the personality based off the photo. Then, if i feel like it, i do a background. Sonetimes i think up a personality that i want to try out and search up pictures that are based off that personality. Like if i wanted to make someone who controls fire, id search up a photo of a red haired girl.

Well, it works for me so i guess??.

[emeralddawn]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
Yes and no. Of course all of my characters have bits of me, exaggerated or downplayed. But then they have characteristics that I most certainly do NOT have. As for my two main magistream muses, Dawn (my primary magi, her name being a shortened form of my username) is very much like me, only more practical, I guess. And a bit more serious and witty. And more of a risk-taker. But generally, like me.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
Most of my characters are female, though I do have a nice, uh, dormitory? Stable? Collection? Of male characters as well. But generally I tend to write from a female perspective in my original fiction. (Fanfiction is a completely different story!)

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I get pretty attached to my characters, though that doesn't stop me from occasionally mentally, physcially, and emotionally torturing them.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
That's a hard question to answer. Other people's characters on magistream: not at all. Other people's characters, as in Tony Stark or Daniel Jackson: VERY MUCH. I am such a fangirl it can be scary.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
Most of the time I come up with the characters first. If I make a character to fit with the story, it's usually only a bit part that needs a name and an action, but no real personality.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
Usually I come up with either name or personality first. Usually personality. Naming my characters is extremely important, as I rarely change a name later. Then I take care of everything else: likes/dislikes, general history, relationships, quirks and imperfections, etc. It's worked for me so far.

[huanye]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
I don't like to make characters base off me, don't feel like it. but i may create characters that have some of my personalities.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
Male! Definitly male!fangirl

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I will call their name I gave them when talking to friends, sometimes can't be bother so call them by giving nickname or nickname I found suit them after i humanized them. Does that count?

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
Only if the storyline/settings/personality is good.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I aim to create stories that will bring my characters to life, but it seems I am better in doing this visually...

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
If is for MS or DC I will most likely to create them based on their appearance and descriptions. Since some descriptions are similar to each other I will add whatever I feel right (what?!) to make them different...

[Archangel]

1. All of my characters are based off me, and I have hundreds. But to clear up, they aren't all copies of me. Each character is based of a tiny fragment of my personality, Like, my strong will, or my soft-heartedness, Or even my naivety.

2. I prefer male characters in general, but I have plenty females as well. I think I choose males because I identify a little more with that gender than I do with females, despite being female myself. In my past, and even today, I've been pushed away by women, while I'm welcomed by men. I guess it just created a little of a bias in me. It's not that I really dislike women, it's just that we have trouble seeing eye to eye.
I can go off on an excited rant about and MMO, and guys will be able to keep right up with me. Whereas most girls my age will look at me like "Wut?"
Girls make me nervous, lol, I'm always afraid I'll hurt their feelings.

3. I get very attached to all my characters, be them an RP character, a Main character, or a simple farm boy who only makes one appearance and doesn't ever have a line. It hurts when I have to kill them off, but it just has to happen sometimes. I don't think getting attached is a problem, in fact, my characters are more important than my story to me, I've been known to rearrange the plot to suit the characters.

4. I don't tend to get attached to them very often, but when I do, that character dies. Whether they return to life or not, they are dead. It always entails an epic cry of "NOOOOOoooooo!" But I've gotten used to it now, so it doesn't get to me as bad as it used to.

5. I start by setting up a basic plot idea, and designing a few characters to fit the plot. Then, a bunch of the characters that I meant to be "barely mentioned" get way over developed, and I change the plot to give them attention.

6. I always start with personality. Once I have that, I get the physical description down. Once that's done, I begin the fine print in the history. Only after that do I get to the name. I like it best when the names suits the character. I see this as an effective way, or at least to me it is, a lot of my best characters are formed in this manner.

[Firestorm49]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you?
NO. WHY WOULD I?
2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
Female. I'm a girl.
3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I don't let them die. No.
4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
I get into their story
5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
Characters to fit a story.
6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
Dreams. I see them in my dreams. No.

[Wild]

1. I don't consciously ever base my characters directly after myself.

However, I do tend to have traits in my characters in which are based after people I know well, or people I would like to know well, or understand. I enjoy warping my perspective into something new, different as it helps me bring understanding, and I'm always interested in how others think. Of course, having traits that I have myself in characters can be inevitable, and I tend to believe in the idea that many of people's characters are parts of themselves, whether they're aware of it or not, too. I put a lot of effort int my characters and making them real, putting life into their emotions, beliefs and ideals. I love learning about others.

2.I'm female, and while I am, I have a tendency to write more male characters than female. I don't honestly factor gender much into the way I write someone, as I have multiple cultures in my fictional universes that treat gender roles differently than the standard Earth way. However, I do say that this is prompted by the fact that growing up, I had basically all male friends, as I stated above with how I tend to handle characters: I try to reach the perspective of others I'd like to think like. I try to balance my genders as much as I can anywhere, but I don't just make characters to improve upon imbalances.

3. I'm rather attached to all my characters, considering the effort I put into 'animating' them. This, however, does not get in my way when it comes to their development, as I am always looking into how certain events will develop a character, and of course, if something may kill one of my characters. I have killed many characters I am otherwise attached to, but there's also the fact that I can also write them in other times they were alive without changing the fact that they die in the future. With me, there's almost always a story to tell somewhere in time for my characters, or a point where I could write out their specific thoughts and emotions.

I don't find getting attached always a problem, as it is the person's character. Being attached to a character can be a quite positive thing and a negative thing at the same time, it depends upon the situation.

4. To be honest, it can take a lot and then take no effort at all. It depends on how much I will allow myself to get attached to a character, but I'm usually always somewhat attached to any character I've watched develop and change over time, less so ones whom haven't - obviously.

5. As highly character oriented as I am when it comes to writing, I write stories to fit characters and develop characters, and this will contribute to my storylines anyways, as I know them well enough to know what specific things may happen.

6. Ideas, concepts. It's a rather vague way of bringing about characters, but I tend to start writing them - more often than not, this writing is in my head, and I slowly develop them in my mind. I make details small details and large details, flesh them out. Appearance always comes last for me, this is what I can have difficultly developing. I love making characters, but it takes some time before I have a somewhat definite idea of them.

This is not often very preferable, I know it for sure. I write things down when I can, but sometimes I don't have the time to. There's many things I've might've forgotten, so I try to keep as many notes as I can.

[Saffrie]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
Nah. I'm too boring in my opinion
2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I guess male characters, although I enjoy both. I like that male characters are generally more fit for warriors, but i feel female characters show more of their emotion and they are easier to like.
3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I am probably waaaay to attached to my characters. I just love them so much, and some of them are so cute and innocent, they are hard not to love. This is a problem, especially when I have to write sad scenes.
4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
I get attached a good bit. If I hate a character no, but if I love the character and the plot, then I get too atached. Then I am like "Pairing blahxblah needs to happen!"
5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I write to fit the story. I kinda just wing it and come up with ideas as I go, so the characters need to make sense with how they fit in. I do get some ideas, then I just change the character as needed.
6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
I just make them as the need arises, and I base my characters off of traits I find appealing in a story. This probably isn't a good method. I really don't plan much as you can tell .

[ShadowOfThePhoenix]

It's been interesting reading everyone's answers.~

I've posted on this once before, but since my methods have changed in some areas, I just can't resist posting again. c:

Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
As most people do, I add a few of my personality traits into my main character. I don't model them after me by any means, but as I've said, I do give my character some traits I have. One particular character of mine is rather interesting, in my opinion. She's blunt and honest to a fault, tough, sarcastic, stubborn, and refuses to step down unless she knows it'll hurt someone she cares about. She isn't afraid to admit certain things if she feels there's no point in keeping it hidden, and she also has no problem pointing something out about someone else that irritates her. She is shy in absolutely no sense of the word, being completely vocal when she feels like it. Her sense of humor can be dry, sarcastic, and exaggerating, and she tends to bite back at people she doesn't like. The only things that resemble me in that character are the fact that I can be sarcastic and very stubborn in my opinions. Other than that, she's a much more exaggerated and assertive person than I am.

Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I went through a short phase in my life where I felt like I had to improve with male characters, so I wrote about them a lot. For over four or five months, in fact, I wrote about only male characters and hardly any females. If I did write about a female, she'd be a side character that vanished soon. I don't feel half as uncomfortable writing about males as I used to, but I'm still probably better with females sometimes. I do have to admit, though-- for me, writing about a decent female character is difficult. I hate weak girl characters who mope and cry all the time and have no form of strength in any way,so I try to make them have some kind of good, strong point. I usually overdo this and make my character a Mary-Sue-- and, when I realize this, I try to tone down the next female character I make. She ends up being that exact same wimpy girl with a lack of strength that I dislike so strongly. Therefore, in my time writing about girl characters, I've had a very hard time trying to find a balance between the two. I'm happy with my latest character, since she's both emotionally and physically strong, but she has her moments of breakdown, and certain things terrify her to the point she doesn't even want to try. I'm still fleshing her out, but so far, she seems decently balanced.

How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
A few characters I get attached to. Most, I don't. Some, I will literally sit and laugh while I write about them, and smile at the reactions they have to certain other characters. I'll be quite happy with a chapter when I'm done with it. Others, I'll write about them with a frown, trying to decide how to edit what I've just typed up, and how to change that character. Some characters, I get very attached to, yes. Do I think this is a problem? For me, not really. I am positively obsessed with character development-- and a certain type, too. I'm rather fond of a character who is confused and has had a hard past, then falls into a depression or frustrating time in their life because of it, and finally breaks free from that and becomes a stronger person. The more attached I am to a character, the more thrashing and development I will give them-- because eventually, I do want them to be that strong character. One certain character of mine was a thief-- he stole to provide for his poor family. Eventually, he stole just because he could, and then realized he was doing wrong and became frustrated and depressed because of it. He did break out of it eventually, deciding he wouldn't steal anymore and grew to be a better person. I quite like him as a character.

How attached do you get to other people's characters?
That would have to depend. In Lord of the Rings, I must admit I'm attached to Aragorn as a character. He always does his best, and tries to be better-- to me, it seems. He has a few points where he's confused (for example, he does not want to be Isildur's heir and is afraid of taking his rightful place on the throne of Gondor), but he does rise above that. I think he's an interesting character. I'm also a bit attached to Evanlyn (or Princess Cassandra) from the Ranger's Apprentice series, since she's very emotionally strong and will do anything for those she cares about. I thought she was a great female character, and I wish they would have kept her in the series a bit more. Maybe that's just me, though. In fanfiction stories and things alike, I never usually get attached to anyone at all, which most of the time, turns me off eventually.

Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I am not entirely sure how to answer this question.Since I'm obsessed with character development, I suppose you could say that I fit the story to my characters. I've actually found that most of the stories where I fit the character to the plot turn out horribly in the end. I'm not sure why, but maybe I'm better at writing about my character going from point C to point Z and rising to point A.

How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
Actually... I have no idea. My method varies. Since I'm terrible at keeping track of personality, likes, and dislikes (I'll often scroll back through a story, trying to remember if my character likes cherry pastries or not, etc.) then most of the time I'll write a form for them. For the most part, this form will be utterly basic, keeping track of the name, age, gender, appearance, and basic personality. Usually, I'll develop them through the story and keep track of this development by constantly updating their form. For example, sometimes I'll start out with the "personality" section looking like this-- "She is kind and caring but stubborn with her opinions", and later in the story, it'll be much more fleshed-out, keeping track of every little trait and thing she does and how she feels; how she'll react to a situation. For side characters, I usually just introduce them and let them reveal their personalities. I'm awful with side characters since I never write up forms for them, and often I forget how they'll react to a certain situation. I suppose it works sometimes, since it has when I've used it in the past, but I wonder if there's a better way to do it.

[DarkphantomsClaw]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
Since I haven't been on Magistream a whole lot (I joined, left for a few months, and now I'm back ) I haven't really written any Keep Stories yet. I do, however, have my own original character not related to Magistream, and although she is not fully based off of me, she does like some things that I like. For instance, she loves tea and all sorts of candy/sugary things, she reads a lot, and she is a total night owl. A lot of my early characters were based almost completely off of me, though...and they were total Mary Sues.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I don't really prefer either one. I have several characters, of both genders. Although, I think I may find it a little easier writing female characters, because I am a girl.

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
Yes, getting attached to much could be a real problem if the story later requires that character dying. All the same, if you don't get attached at all, the story won't have as much depth to it...but that's just my own opinion.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
Honestly, it depends on the character. If I've been following a character's story for a longer time, of course I'm going to get more attached. But again, it all depends on the character for me.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I suspect I write characters to fit the story, but I'm not totally sure.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
I go about creating a new character in a variety of ways. Sometimes I sketch out new characters and then come up with a name and details. One character I created by that method ended up being merged with the character I mentioned under the first question (Spook), because I kept getting confused between the two. Other times, I come up with a name and then create a character for it. My method tends to vary quite widely, actually.

[Corvidae]

• 1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
  Not particularly. I generally design characters to fit a setting or situation that I have in mind, although I have an unfortunate tendency to project when I'm developing them. So I suppose you could say none of mine are intentionally based off of myself.
  
  2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
  I tend to prefer writing female or genderqueer/nongender/third-gender/non-human-gender characters. Literary world, with the exception of the romance genre, is so saturated with male characters that there's much more room for innovation with non-cismale characters. Usually, in stories with humans, this amounts to writing ciswomen (which I actually need to work on. Gender diversity is fun!) I'm always up for a thought experiment, so I also have my conspecies the chisikeh, who have physical sex but completely lack external sexual dimorphism and a concept of gender, and an unnamed species with five physical sexes, and two characters in one universe who alter their sex and gender more or less at random, as easily as one might change clothes, and... well. Fun times!
  
  3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
  Getting too attached is definitely a problem, especially when attachment is unevenly spread. It's never a pleasant story to read when the character is clearly the Author's Favorite.
  Not being attached enough is a problem, too, though... ahahaha... yeah...
  
  4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
  More than to my own, usually, which (as I mentioned) is a problem.
  
  5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
  Usually the latter, although sometimes the former: sometimes both at once. I start with a setting, then build characters around that setting, then build a plot around those characters.
  
  6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
  I usually start with a few details, sometimes physical, sometimes not. Sometimes a situation; for example, one of my characters began with "Anali is a lizard-girl, and this is not normal for her universe" and grew from there. Or I might start with "someone finds a baby phoenix buried under rubble in a destroyed village", and then build characters for "someone" and "baby phoenix", while at the same time determining why the village was destroyed, how "someone" and "baby phoenix" survived, why "someone" and "baby phoenix" were there in the first place, and so on. Or I might start with "a naga and a gryphon are friends, but they can't speak each other's language".
  
  It can take me a long time to decide on a character's gender, and they're apt to change back and forth several times during the process of story creation.
  
  It's fairly effective, I think. As I said, though, it tends not to leave me too attached to the characters, which is a problem in terms of getting the impetus to actually write for the story.