Originally Posted by
Saraibre Ryu
Fictional characters are like kids: they go to live on a life of their own.
When I make characters I put a tiny bit of myself in them, even if their majority would be completely off kilter. I run them through stories and they just develop within whatever story or scenario they are in at the time. For a basis I often use a single idea or a source of inspiration, and slowly build off of it from there. Using different ideas or concepts that I want to use and sorting them out to make a balanced and believable character. Figuring out flaws is often the most fun part for me, as part of me likes to figure out how to abuse them later on. Personalities can be the hardest, but that's where the scenario runs help the most. They help form the mentality of the character and it helps me figure out what works and what doesn't. Visual design is a rather hard part as looks also play into the character itself.
/end summary
What Sabi said. xD I looooove writing about characters. I'm great at writing emotionally character-driven stories. For me, plot comes second. Like Sabi mentioned, I always put a bit of myself into my characters. Sure, all of them are vastly different, but that little bit of 'me' I put into them really makes me feel as though sometimes they are my kids. And then I get so super-attached to them when it comes time for me to kill one of them off I cry SO MUCH. ;n; It's awful.
Often times, when I'm writing a chapter, I'll have an idea in which direction I want it to go. About 90% of the time this scenario ends up changing because my characters go and do something I wouldn't have originally written for them, but it suits their personalities. So even as stories develop, so do characters. And a bunch of things end up changing because of them. For myself, I usually come up with a basic idea for a story, and then delve straight into character designs and concepts. I find that once my characters are developed, the plot becomes a lot clearer to me because I can see how they'd act in a certain idea or situation. And so my main idea might change.
You have to remember also, the people aren't perfect. And so neither are characters. You can't write about some god-modding character, because that would just be super boring. I love to write out deep profiles for each of my characters, including appearance, personality, back-story (history), nicknames, like, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses etc. This helps to get a better view of a character and the potential to develop them even further. In my case, I also love to draw them out, making different expressions and such. It's quite hilarious at times. xD
Have your characters run through different situations, like Sabi said, and make them act in accordance to their personality, not your own. I understand that the author is the person writing the story, but the characters can't be all like the author. Everyone has a way they react to things. So do they. :D
/essayandahalf
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