*Note from your host, A. Wrighton: I’d appreciate you including the blogroll image above, but I won’t chase after you with any red pens of doom if you don’t. Yep, it’s really that simple.
Before I begin, I have a confession to make: I'm mostly a fanfiction writer. Every now and then, I'll write an original story, but those aren't very good and I don't share them with anyone except maybe trusted family members and friends. I also write poems.
But even in fanfiction, there is still characterization, and every now and then I'll make an OC (original character). So, I still have things to say about characters. (Note: if you want me to write some original fiction/poems or share some of the bad original stories/decent original poems I've written, just comment on this post and say that.)
What is your favorite part about writing characters?
Bear with me as I get philosophical here. I think every time an author creates a character, he/she puts a part of him/herself into the character. Most characters have a personality made up of mainly two things: the author's personality, and the person the author wants to be. That's what I like about writing characters: living vicariously through them. I get to imagine what it would be like to be a genius, famous, popular, evil, etc.
What's the hardest thing about creating a character?
I'd probably say either the physical description- I'm great at creating personality, but sometimes I'll forget to mention what my character looks like, and I never know what amount of detail is right- or coming up with character flaws. Nobody likes a Mary Sue, but it can be hard to take a character that you love and mess them up. Though of course, a character with no flaws is more messed-up since that character would be incredibly unrealistic.
What's the easiest thing about creating a character?
Hm... I guess that would have to be creating the character's personality (except for character flaws, as mentioned above). I'm really good at deciding what sort of person my character is, what he/she likes, dislikes, is good at, etc. It's also relatively easy for me to sort of see where the character fits in the story. For example, if I'm writing a fanfiction and I get to a point where I need another character, I'll just be like "okay, I need a character to do this", and I'll come up with an OC to do just that and easily work my OC into the story.
Who is your favorite character you've written?
As mentioned earlier, I haven't made a lot of characters, since I mostly write fanfiction. I really like this character I just thought of for a story I'm going to write, but since I don't have his appearance and personality fully fleshed out yet (and I don't even know what his name is yet!), I guess it doesn't really count.
So not counting him, my favorite character would probably have to be Melinda Raven from my Wholock fanfiction When Justice Is Treason. She's an expert hacker who earns a lot of money from hacking into computers for criminals (which makes her a criminal, too, of course). She's a really smart, sassy woman, and she is not somebody to be messed with.
Who is one character you wish you had written?
Such a hard question! I guess I'd have to say Harry Potter (today is actually his birthday. Happy birthday, Harry! It's also J.K. Rowling's birthday, so happy birthday to her, too!), but there are lots of other great characters who I wish I'd written.
Is there a character type that intimidates you?
Any character that requires extensive research, especially research about things I have no knowledge of. For example, I don't know much about medicine, so if I was to make a character that is a doctor and include a lot of details, it would be really difficult.
Is there a character type that you're really good at?
I like writing smart people, and I've noticed that most of my characters tend to have an attitude (i.e., they're sarcastic, and they won't let other people push them around). As I said earlier, my characters usually have a bit of myself in them, and that bit is naturally the bit that I find easiest to create. In one story, a Doctor Who fanfiction called Set Me Free, I actually put myself into the story, so it was easy to write that character (though there was a great temptation to make her a better, more awesome person than I actually did. I tried my best to avoid that temptation.)
Best tip/trick you've learned while writing characters?
I'm going to steal Emily Ecrivaine's answer to this question. As she says, "Observe people. Watch, listen, catalogue, then make sure you don't directly copy anyone you know... because no one wants to be sued for libel or defamation of character." I'll add that it can be a good idea to take small elements from people you know, just as long as you don't take so much that your character clearly resembles the other person (that's where you get into trouble with being sued for libel or defamation of character). A good character is often a composite of different people the author knows (including the author him/herself, with a little bit of original character elements thrown in to complete the character.
Did You Enjoy This? Any Further Questions? Leave A Comment! Meanwhile, check out these awesome blogs where the BlogRoll has been:
Emily Ecrivaine Reviews - If you like my blog, you will probably like this blog, too. The description on the blog is "Quality Reviews by Dedicated Fans. Here you will find reviews of television episodes, films, books, fanfiction, articles, and perhaps even the occasional Top 10 list - all created by myself and my team of talented and wonderful colleagues." (The blog also contains poems, which are great, too.) All the writers and articles are really good.
Where Is It Going Next?
Strokes of Ink- a blog that posts short stories.
However, I don't actually know if the author is still blogging, as there haven't been any posts for a while. So, I found another writing blog to send this blogroll to.
Macabre's Poems - "Short stories, poems. Pick your poison. My blog was designed to inspire writers of horror or sci fi (mainly) to write by allowing others to critique works and have your works critiqued."
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