Post by AnaisBelle on Jun 18, 2014 13:01:14 GMT -5
Characters are the easiest and most difficult things to create, in my opinion. Then again, I'm a character driven writer. My plotlines are built around my characters, and have a tendency to start off as a OC for a fanfic until a possible outline comes to life, and its focused on how the characters react to situations presented to them.
So building a well rounded original character is key.
We need to allow a collection of super awesome traits to make them stand out as the main character's they are, but we mustn't hold off on their flaws. It's the flaws that ground them, bring them down to earth and make them relatable to our readers.
For instance, Kali.
She has the strength of any man, has a taste for the kill, especially for those who harm woman and children, and a tolerance for pain so high that she laughs even as she's being cut in half.
But she doesn't like it, not truly. She grew to love it because its necessary to survive. Because she knows that if she doesn't bleed others, or even herself, her mind would turn on itself, smothered in bloodlust and would soon lead to the harm of those trusted with her care, and undeserved of the pain she could cause them.
So then the next thing is, how do you build such a character? Start off with the general. Gender, age, race. What genre would they thrive in? Does that effect any extrodinary traits, (magic use, technology, animal instincts/traits)?
And once we have the basics we move on to personalities.
My favorite way is interviews and memes. Asking ourselves, or simply asking the characters, a random series of questions to learn about who they are and who they ought to be.
So how about you? How do you create your characters? Any favorite memes to use?
So building a well rounded original character is key.
We need to allow a collection of super awesome traits to make them stand out as the main character's they are, but we mustn't hold off on their flaws. It's the flaws that ground them, bring them down to earth and make them relatable to our readers.
For instance, Kali.
She has the strength of any man, has a taste for the kill, especially for those who harm woman and children, and a tolerance for pain so high that she laughs even as she's being cut in half.
But she doesn't like it, not truly. She grew to love it because its necessary to survive. Because she knows that if she doesn't bleed others, or even herself, her mind would turn on itself, smothered in bloodlust and would soon lead to the harm of those trusted with her care, and undeserved of the pain she could cause them.
So then the next thing is, how do you build such a character? Start off with the general. Gender, age, race. What genre would they thrive in? Does that effect any extrodinary traits, (magic use, technology, animal instincts/traits)?
And once we have the basics we move on to personalities.
My favorite way is interviews and memes. Asking ourselves, or simply asking the characters, a random series of questions to learn about who they are and who they ought to be.
So how about you? How do you create your characters? Any favorite memes to use?
