fantastic_jackie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fantastic_jackie) wrote2011-11-02 08:31 pm
fantastic_jackie) wrote2011-11-02 08:31 pm
Entry tags:
Question: Original Characters vs Fandom Characters
The following entry contains several questions phrased as strangely as the title: you have been warned!
Most of my attention lately has been devoted to icons and Halloween decorations, but writing-wise, I’ve been working on original fiction. As I’ve pondered plots and hesitantly outlined, I’ve wondered whether my characters are likeable enough. More specifically, I’ve wondered how much I like my characters as opposed to the characters of books, movies, and tv shows. – A fine enough thing to wonder, but of course, it made me a little curious, too. So, I have a few questions for you, buddies o’ mine.
Particularly if you write original fiction, how much do you love your original characters? Compared to your favorite characters -those of other authors- would you say you hold at least an equal place in your heart for your own fictional personas? Taking the concept further, if you weren't yourself and you read your work, do you think you would be a part of the fandom for it?
The ultimate question is this: whether you write or not, do you think the truthful ability to answer yes to all of these above questions is important for a writer to be successful with their original work? To be more concise, if one cannot answer yes to them all, does it underscore a writer's lacking enthusiasm and passion for their story?
I ask because honestly, I don't think I can answer yes to all of those questions for any one of my original works, and I wonder what that really means, if anything at all. Maybe it only means they’re not finished products yet.
During a trip to Borders a couple years back, I picked up a book specifically because the main two characters were similar to two of my own. In reading that book, I found out I actually hated them and was quite grateful to the author, because it led me to make some changes, painful though they were, to correct irritating qualities I’d never noticed before. In a way, I’m nervous about making similar mistakes with my other characters. I worry that they won’t be original or essential or memorable or solid enough to pull of what I need them to. I worry that if I don’t care enough for them, I’ll skimp on important details or aspects of their stories which will hurt my overall novels.
Out of all the original characters I have across a few different stories, I’d say I genuinely love three of them – and two of them are in the same story. I have spinoff ideas for them that will probably never be written, I dream about them, and I have the clearest sense of who they are. As for the rest, well… I like them, some of them a lot, but I don’t get super excited about them like I do reading a quick mention of, say Remus from Harry Potter. I also don’t have any real desire to see them outside of their assigned plots. Is that bad?
True, maybe choosing an absolute favorite character like Remus is an unfair comparison, because I know that every writer has favorite characters, even among their own. But for some of my characters, I feel more love towards Dobby the House Elf. I cried for Dobby, and he was just a little side dude!
It’s not that I don’t like my characters; they all add something important and imperative to their respective stories. I just tend to like other peoples’ characters more, and I guess I’m wondering if I’m alone in that. I mean… when you write a story, you’re writing to share something new and awesome with other people, but if you like what other people produce better, well… what’s the point, honestly?
Maybe I’m over thinking this, but it just worries me. To me, characters are what stories are about; I know some people prefer plots over characters, and I can see the value in that, but I prefer awesome people above all. I want my stories to be about how people deal with my plots rather than the inverse. So when I stop to think of how much I love Sirius Black or Daniel Jackson or JARVIS or Minion by comparison, I fear I may be building upon a buckling foundation before I even lift my pen. Each of them are side characters who aren’t favorites of mine, but I love them nonetheless. Granted, I’m leaving out plot and setting in these musings, but for those are for a different post someday. Characters are extremely important, and they are not so easy to adjust.
What do y’all think? Am I right to be concerned?
Most of my attention lately has been devoted to icons and Halloween decorations, but writing-wise, I’ve been working on original fiction. As I’ve pondered plots and hesitantly outlined, I’ve wondered whether my characters are likeable enough. More specifically, I’ve wondered how much I like my characters as opposed to the characters of books, movies, and tv shows. – A fine enough thing to wonder, but of course, it made me a little curious, too. So, I have a few questions for you, buddies o’ mine.
Particularly if you write original fiction, how much do you love your original characters? Compared to your favorite characters -those of other authors- would you say you hold at least an equal place in your heart for your own fictional personas? Taking the concept further, if you weren't yourself and you read your work, do you think you would be a part of the fandom for it?
The ultimate question is this: whether you write or not, do you think the truthful ability to answer yes to all of these above questions is important for a writer to be successful with their original work? To be more concise, if one cannot answer yes to them all, does it underscore a writer's lacking enthusiasm and passion for their story?
I ask because honestly, I don't think I can answer yes to all of those questions for any one of my original works, and I wonder what that really means, if anything at all. Maybe it only means they’re not finished products yet.
During a trip to Borders a couple years back, I picked up a book specifically because the main two characters were similar to two of my own. In reading that book, I found out I actually hated them and was quite grateful to the author, because it led me to make some changes, painful though they were, to correct irritating qualities I’d never noticed before. In a way, I’m nervous about making similar mistakes with my other characters. I worry that they won’t be original or essential or memorable or solid enough to pull of what I need them to. I worry that if I don’t care enough for them, I’ll skimp on important details or aspects of their stories which will hurt my overall novels.
Out of all the original characters I have across a few different stories, I’d say I genuinely love three of them – and two of them are in the same story. I have spinoff ideas for them that will probably never be written, I dream about them, and I have the clearest sense of who they are. As for the rest, well… I like them, some of them a lot, but I don’t get super excited about them like I do reading a quick mention of, say Remus from Harry Potter. I also don’t have any real desire to see them outside of their assigned plots. Is that bad?
True, maybe choosing an absolute favorite character like Remus is an unfair comparison, because I know that every writer has favorite characters, even among their own. But for some of my characters, I feel more love towards Dobby the House Elf. I cried for Dobby, and he was just a little side dude!
It’s not that I don’t like my characters; they all add something important and imperative to their respective stories. I just tend to like other peoples’ characters more, and I guess I’m wondering if I’m alone in that. I mean… when you write a story, you’re writing to share something new and awesome with other people, but if you like what other people produce better, well… what’s the point, honestly?
Maybe I’m over thinking this, but it just worries me. To me, characters are what stories are about; I know some people prefer plots over characters, and I can see the value in that, but I prefer awesome people above all. I want my stories to be about how people deal with my plots rather than the inverse. So when I stop to think of how much I love Sirius Black or Daniel Jackson or JARVIS or Minion by comparison, I fear I may be building upon a buckling foundation before I even lift my pen. Each of them are side characters who aren’t favorites of mine, but I love them nonetheless. Granted, I’m leaving out plot and setting in these musings, but for those are for a different post someday. Characters are extremely important, and they are not so easy to adjust.
What do y’all think? Am I right to be concerned?