More seriously...

[owlmoose]

So this poll, about writing characters, comes from a conversation I had with cupcakemonster. Is it easier or harder to write characters with whom we identify, in terms of personality? (This is mostly geared toward fanfic writing, of course, but I bet some of this could apply to working with original characters as well.)


[Poll #762022]
Bonus essay question for comments: How do you decide which characters to write about? Is it personality? Plot? Or something else?

Comments

I

[kunstarniki.livejournal.com]

It is superfluous for me to respond to this poll or comment since there can be no possible question about why I write what I do.

I am fascinated by characters I think have something to tell me, some aspects of life to explain to me. The most recent character I am looking at was drawn to my attention by a pair of colleagues who were wondering about something out loud. I took a look and saw more than I had expected and ... I'm off! Superficial characters, either in fanfic or in original spinning are of no interest at all to me. Why should I waste the time looking at blank slates? Complexity is the magnet. Surprise is the reward.

[muggy-mountain.livejournal.com]

If I'm writing using characters created by others, ie fanfic, I feel I must know the characters very, very well in order to write them. It wasn't until my second and third play-through of FFX that I felt I could write the characters. Discomfort in writing them is usually dissolved by research, not similarity.

I am usually drawn in to a story by characters I admire, but I don't generally find them much easier or more enjoyable to write than the dullest inhabitant of the world. The difficulties I encounter are usually when writing about a fairly vague time or character. That isn't to say that I don't base/borrow the behavior of characters on real people, as I often do, but that they are generally not me. As much as my writing is me, I try to keep myself out of it...I dislike the idea of people judging me on my characters actions and values. It would be too restrictive.

I write about characters to populate the scene. I suppose it would fall under plot but it's a more focused than that, generally.

[xerne.livejournal.com]

I write the characters for whom I get plotbunnies, and sometimes for whom I get fic requests. XD

[yuna-flowering.livejournal.com]

I think when I'm writing characters that aren't anything like me it's a little easier, because I just make sure they don't act like me ;) but when I'm writing characters that are similar (but not exactly like me) I have to think "would he/she really do that?" because the temptation is to just insert my personality. I think the easiest thing to do is base character personalities off people you know, because then you have a definite source to work from and there's no temptation to make them too much like yourself.

[jurhael.livejournal.com]

For me, the character has to either be complex(Baralai or has the potential to BE complex, but wasn't given enough screentime(like Isaaru or Roget of Suikoden Tactics). It has to be someone who can "get" to me. They can have a variety of personalities, but the "stronger" personalities tend to make my fanfic, so to speak.

[mneme-forgets.livejournal.com]

I think that in a sense it is unwise to write about characters who have too similar a personality to me, the author. I get the feeling that when I do the characters are usually pretty boring. When the character is not looked at somewhat objectively, I find that they begin to become the moral center of the piece and I have never liked that in a story. I find fallible characters more interesting and there's too much of a temptation to defend one's own actions, and the actions of one's main character when the both of you are too close.

I like the challenge of trying to write about any sort of character. I usually write about a character based on plot in the sense that I get an idea from the game and then I write about it. Sometimes I enjoy attempting to flesh out characters who don't appear very much in the game, sometimes I just like to explore things that the game didn't explore.

I begin to wonder if this is the only way I could write fantasy. I am not interested enough in creating a whole universe with laws and politics and whatnot, I'd rather play in someone else's playground.

[(Anonymous)]

I find it VERY sipmle when I can relate to a character. Spunky fast characters like Reno from ff7 or Zell from ff8 I can write very well. If you know a character well enough they pratically write themselves, in a sense. But when it comes to a different personality, its not as hard as one would think. You don't have to relate to something in order to understand it, and as long as you understand it, it shouldn't be too hard of a time.

[glacial-phoenix.livejournal.com]

Okay. Here's my take on it, really - this applies to both fanfiction and original characters:

How do you decide which characters to write about?

Most often people write about characters that appeal to them; I know I do. Take Seifer, Quistis and Squall from FF8 - I typically write Seifer and Quistis and very little Squall, because I often feel that I won't do Squall justice. It's hard to accurately portray a character you don't connect with, and I connect far more with Quistis than with Squall. Obviously, however, fangirling has much to do with it - you wouldn't write about a character if you didn't like him or her. I don't like FF9's Quina, so I don't write about ...er... it.

And I find the most convincing portrayals of characters come when you do connect with them, or when they have a personality trait that is startlingly similar to your own - you can simply think "What would I do in this situation?" and there you have your answer.

It applies even more for original fics, I should think, given the number of self-insertion fics out there. After all, connecting with character doesn't always mean good writing.

And it is possible to write characters very different from you, though it's a lot harder - as long as you can empathise or sympathise with their situation, it should be enough. Usually, the ones I've seen don't come out as well.