Character Love

[scifishipper]

Hey writers! So, last weekend or so, I discovered a blind spot in my original writing. I realized that I have a significantly easier time writing fanfic because I already (and must) love the characters/pairings I write. So, that contrasts quite a bit with original fic for me, because I don't even know my characters, yet alone love them or need them

Comments

[kdbleu]

I don't know, actually how I come to love my characters... I think I start by giving my character a few qualities that I know I will love. Which is not to be confused with positive qualities. I love the way Harlowe's mother, for instance, comes across to H as being cold and critical, and that Harlowe in turn reminds herself of things her mother does that are Corrine's way of showing love to her daughter. And I try in some way to make that part of the story. I wanted the insecurities about not fitting into the upper class social sphere of her parents and her childhood to creep into her professional life, where Harlowe's used to using those differences to her advantage

[scifishipper]

I don't know. Maybe I'm just not willing to do the work in getting to know the characters. I do find it frustrating to realize that the first ten thousand words I write are not going to be usable. I have little time and when I write, I have little tolerance for things not working. Maybe this phase of my life isn't conducive to original fic. I'll keep going, but I can't say that I'm going to actually get anywhere. This is my fifth attempt? Maybe it just isn't my thing. I have lots of ideas about the characters, but getting them to sing on the page is a whole different story.

[kdbleu]

But maybe by keeping going this time, it will click and you will get somewhere. :)

[plaid_slytherin]

I couldn't write without loving them, either. That's why I needed the thinking and the false starts. Also, I suppose I'm cheating a little because my YA fantasy sort of started life as fic - it was a past-life-on-Kobol fic that I excised all the references from before ultimately starting over. I think now that I've started over, the break is clean, and it's unrecognizable as BSG anymore, but maybe all that preparation helped with the love? I wonder if that's the reason I got this to work and not any of my other originals. I feel like I know the characters really well, even though they're not Bill and Saul anymore.

So, that's probably not helpful to anyone who doesn't have a fic like this! But it's the only thing that's really gotten me going so far, because I am far more passionate about this original than I was about the other one.

[kdbleu]

I use other characters as inspiration all the time, combining them, mixing them up. I do think it helps. It gives me a jumping off point or maybe a head start in finding my characters. And also makes me work hard to make them original.

[plaid_slytherin]

Yeah, I mean - I get inspiration everywhere! I think there's a quote I read in a writing book: Good writers borrow, great writers steal. ;)

[scifishipper]

Yeah, I think connecting them to existing characters is a good place to start. When I was profiling my heroine, I was immediately comparing her to other heroines and cognizant of which features she would have and which she wouldn't. That was pretty cool. I think, though, the willingness to write and devote time to people I don't care about is rather daunting. My fanfic is driven by INTENSE feelings about an OTP and it really make my muse sing. She doesn't perform when I don't care. It's hard to find enough love to sustain the frustration of not getting things right. I guess I am feeling impatient or unwilling right now. It's frustrating. :(

Thanks, bb! <3

[kdbleu]

I thought of something that might help you... Would visuals, or casting your characters help? It's something I really avoid doing to make my characters stand alone from possible inspirations, but more and more I wish I better at it because it seems really important to other writers.

[scifishipper]

I have a visual of Jesse that works really well and I keep it open when I write him. The visual of Nilah is right looks-wise, but not the facial expression. I have to look for the inspiration pic. Maybe I'll do that tonight as I plan to write her tomorrow evening. :)

[ninjamonkey73]

My first reaction as I started to read your post was that maybe I've just been creating characters I loved "enough" out of the gate. They've tended to be based enough on some aspect of myself or others I loved, or involved a set of character motivations I was excited to explore. I've always felt the characters weren't where my motivation was lacking in my writing, though

[scifishipper]

I think you're right about the time spent imagining the character that I would take a step further to say that maybe those thoughts (obsessive ones) are the way I fall in love. When I think about my hero, Jesse, I do feel more for him now than I did before. I do find the whole process backwards, though, and that's tough for me motivation-wise. I really need passion to write well and right now I feel pretty lukewarm/cold. Maybe I should focus on really imagining Jesse and the heroine, Nilah, so I can find the hook. I believe I have a lot of Jesse's emotional hook (his brokenness) but Nilah is not quite there yet. (I also have not written her, so that MUST be rectified.)

Thanks, bb. ((HUGS))

[embolalia]

It's funny to read this, because as I was sending my latest draft off to cold readers this week, I was thinking about how one of my main characters is so damaged and a pretty awful parent, and yet I love her so much I don't really care if other people don't like her :) But I honestly don't remember where that came from!

One thing that I did that may or may not work for others was the whole drabble business, which I liked because it made me choose my words very precisely to describe critical scenes throughout the book before I really got the writing underway. Seeing where they'd go and what choices they'd make - and writing in their voices to do it - gave me a pretty clear sense of my characters before I got too far in.

That said, some of them I don't love as much, the main investigatrix in particular is half-character, half-vehicle, but I'm fond of her.

[scifishipper]

Hee! Right? I sometimes don't know where my love comes from either. I love Zarek, but he's pretty shitty as a person. I didn't try to love him, just happened! I think I really want to feel that devotion for the character I am going to focus years writing. I am not sure exactly how it happens, either.

I think I am going to try the drabbles to investigate my heroine. She's new to me and I am not quite sure who she is. I am thinking that writing drabbles will keep me from getting invested in some aspects or storylines that I don't really want to write.

Thanks, bb!

[embolalia]

But you understand (at least in terms of head!canon) WHY he's shitty, right? I think that insight is part of it. Good luck!