Re: Character Survey Thread
Posted: November 29th, 2011, 1:30:24 am
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 rarely ever base any characters on myself or people I know. I happen to hate my own personality so I try not to have one of my characters be the same as me, as I would hate trying to describe the character in my own words. In general, I think that it's very awkward, and that creating a character with a unique personality is part of the fun in writing a story.
2.Do you prefer writing male of female characters? Why?
I love writing both. Each gender has their own unique bits and pieces that are interesting to write about. Honestly, I am not your average girl. Writing about guys are actually sometimes preferable to girls. It's nice to switch off between genders once in a while, as it gives the story more different points of view and ideas that the other gender may not notice as much as the other.
3.How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I do get attached to my characters, but not enough so that I won't have the will to kill them off. Sometimes, I even DO want to put the character through heart-breaking experiences because I enjoy the thrill of manipulating characters and feeling my own heart throb when re-reading what I wrote. Even though I did create the character myself and love putting them through different tragedies and problems, I do remember that the story would honestly be boring if there wasn't some character that changes, gets killed, or learns something. Besides, I usually look at my plot first, then mark those who I will kill later and those I plan to keep, so I try not to get too attached before the big tragedy ;)
Getting too attached, in my opinion, is a big problem. It kind of makes the writer not want to put their character through any stress or problems, and would in general, make the story have no problem. And a story with no problem would be very boring. Now that I think about it, it actually wouldn't even be considered a story in my opinion. Just a recording of someone's uninteresting life.
4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
THIS is the part that is way different than my own style of writing. I happen to get VERY attached to other people's characters. I cry if the character is heart-broken or in pain. Sometimes I throw the book across the room when the character gets back-stabbed. Back-stabbing is something I react weirdly to each time. If a character is good first, then back-stabs, I immediately hate the character for life. And then the back-stabbing character turns good, and then I immediately love them again. It's a weird love-hate relationship.
5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I love doing both. Creating a plot and creating characters are the two most important things in a story. If you were to force me to choose, though, I would probably say that I do both at the same time. It sounds confusing, but it really isn't. I start off with a plot, and some characters that I've created and don't know where they would fit in. And then as the plot progresses, I stick characters is their places, occasionally tweaking their personalities or adding in other minor characters that would improve the story.
6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
I honestly don't know. Making a character just kind of comes to me. I mix and match different traits, and try to find a perfect fit. I find creating characters more fun than developing the plot.
I rarely ever base any characters on myself or people I know. I happen to hate my own personality so I try not to have one of my characters be the same as me, as I would hate trying to describe the character in my own words. In general, I think that it's very awkward, and that creating a character with a unique personality is part of the fun in writing a story.
2.Do you prefer writing male of female characters? Why?
I love writing both. Each gender has their own unique bits and pieces that are interesting to write about. Honestly, I am not your average girl. Writing about guys are actually sometimes preferable to girls. It's nice to switch off between genders once in a while, as it gives the story more different points of view and ideas that the other gender may not notice as much as the other.
3.How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I do get attached to my characters, but not enough so that I won't have the will to kill them off. Sometimes, I even DO want to put the character through heart-breaking experiences because I enjoy the thrill of manipulating characters and feeling my own heart throb when re-reading what I wrote. Even though I did create the character myself and love putting them through different tragedies and problems, I do remember that the story would honestly be boring if there wasn't some character that changes, gets killed, or learns something. Besides, I usually look at my plot first, then mark those who I will kill later and those I plan to keep, so I try not to get too attached before the big tragedy ;)
Getting too attached, in my opinion, is a big problem. It kind of makes the writer not want to put their character through any stress or problems, and would in general, make the story have no problem. And a story with no problem would be very boring. Now that I think about it, it actually wouldn't even be considered a story in my opinion. Just a recording of someone's uninteresting life.
4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
THIS is the part that is way different than my own style of writing. I happen to get VERY attached to other people's characters. I cry if the character is heart-broken or in pain. Sometimes I throw the book across the room when the character gets back-stabbed. Back-stabbing is something I react weirdly to each time. If a character is good first, then back-stabs, I immediately hate the character for life. And then the back-stabbing character turns good, and then I immediately love them again. It's a weird love-hate relationship.
5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I love doing both. Creating a plot and creating characters are the two most important things in a story. If you were to force me to choose, though, I would probably say that I do both at the same time. It sounds confusing, but it really isn't. I start off with a plot, and some characters that I've created and don't know where they would fit in. And then as the plot progresses, I stick characters is their places, occasionally tweaking their personalities or adding in other minor characters that would improve the story.
6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
I honestly don't know. Making a character just kind of comes to me. I mix and match different traits, and try to find a perfect fit. I find creating characters more fun than developing the plot.