Characters

[LaRascasse]

How do you prefer your characters to be?

Black and white (clearly defined protagonists and antagonists)
Shades of grey (everybody has flaws, some larger than others)

 

[CarlusMagnus]

How do you prefer your characters to be?

Black and white (clearly defined protagonists and antagonists)
Shades of grey (everybody has flaws, some larger than others)

Not larger; more visible.

 

[Handley_Page]

Shades of grey.

 

[PennLady]

Depends on the story. In a thriller type, and in a lot of nonhuman, there's usually an out-and-out bad guy, or group of them. In a romance, I prefer those shades of gray unless you need someone to be bad for a purpose. I prefer my characters mostly to be real and understandable, if not "relatable." But again it depends on the story and what the author wants to do.

 

[amofiga]

Shades of grey. People in general are not two dimensional, but have many facets to their personalities. They react differently to situations than you might expect. Their motivations are not always obvious and not always consistent with the image or "public persona" that they display in their everyday lives. I for one have been more fascinated by people's secret lives than their public lives.

Likewise, situations in life are not always black or white, good or bad. Personally, I believe that there are few absolutes in the world although many people do not have an open enough mind to deal with them. Many people like to have their lives simplified. i.e. that's always right, this is always wrong. That's why I like to do stories that deal with situations that many people might initially say are "wrong", but that have aspects that make someone re-think and re-evaluate. It's why for example, I might like to do a story about a very loving and respectful incestuous relationship rather than having to take the position that it's "always wrong" and "always taboo". I like to do something that might make someone say, "That's supposed to be wrong, but it seems so right in context." Hopefully, the one I'm currently in the process of proof reading and finalizing will do this.

 

[PayDay]

Um...

How do you prefer your characters to be?

Black and white (clearly defined protagonists and antagonists)
Shades of grey (everybody has flaws, some larger than others)

Both, and neither, at the same time.

 

[TE999]

Definitely shades of gray ... that's how life is ... black and white is the stuff of film noir.

 

[TxRad]

Natural works best with characters. With people you very seldom get what you see or see what you get, the same works well with characters.

It's all in the showing. When and where is another useful tool.

 

[sr71plt]

I'm American, so I prefer most of them to be shades of gray (I do have some of them totally black. Some might start out white, but they'd certainly be at least gray before I finished with them.)

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Depends on whether you're writing character-driven or action-driven stuff. Stories usually tend toward one or the other.

I like my sex to be about character. I like to read about how sex affects the characters, before, during, and after. All the sexiest stuff is basically internal for me, emotional and psychological. Otherwise it's just fuck dummies going at it. I'm not interested in reading about gonadoc adventures.

Revealing your characters' internal life through observable action is what the art of fiction is all about.

 

[Weird Harold]

How do you prefer your characters to be?

Black and white (clearly defined protagonists and antagonists)
Shades of grey (everybody has flaws, some larger than others)

Depends on what level of character you're asking about.

Primary Characters: Definitiely shades of grey. Infinite shades for Novel-length stories, but even short fiction charactern should be at least in "16-color" definition.

Secondary characters: Not as detailed as Primaries, but realistic images rather than silouettes.

Tertiary Characters/Extras: Since a tertiary character doesn't spend much tme "on-screen," you don't have much time/space to describe them; they are as close to black/white as any author should get. Stereotypes are useful for tertiary characters, in that they convey a wealth of grey-shades/preconceptions with just a few words.

Like most writing questions, the story will dictate the precise resolution of character definitions. You have fewer words to spare for character ndevelopment in short fiction than in novel-length or longer works. In General, I expect more character development from even action oriented stories the longer they are. I only expecty one or two elements of character development on a standalone short story; I expect a enough for a complete biography -- with footnotes -- from a long running series.

 

[LaRascasse]

A related question

What about among the following types?

Simple characters (open books, you know exactly what they are from the start)
Complex characters (multi-layered, you discover different, unexpected sides as you go along)
Enigmas (you never really feel like you know them completely)

Which do you like?

 

[lovecraft68]

As fucked up as possible

 

[LaRascasse]

As fucked up as possible

Fucked up, literally or figuratively LC?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Characters are ordinary people minus all the boring crap.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

How do you prefer your characters to be?

Black and white (clearly defined protagonists and antagonists)
Shades of grey (everybody has flaws, some larger than others)

Purple, maybe a bit of fuschia, but, then again, the contrast between sea green and flaming red is always exciting, unless it's a bit more somber in muted shades of indigo and gray; even the subtlety of a blue mood under a blue sky raises a certain dynamic in character development, and the possibilities of the infrared imprint left in bed by a departed lover shouldn't be discounted any more than the dazzle of ultraviolet that attracts female butterflies to the males...

 

[SydneyBlake]

Fucked up, literally or figuratively LC?

In his case, both.

 

[lovecraft68]

Fucked up, literally or figuratively LC?

If I was being literal they would be tied up.

 

[PayDay]

These:

It's all in the showing. When and where is another useful tool.

This.

Revealing your characters' internal life through observable action is what the art of fiction is all about.

Especially this.

Characters are ordinary people minus all the boring crap.

...and this more than anything else, even if it is a tagline.

 

[lance gt]

I write it the way the way each character needs to be portrayed. Some are just B&W and others have layers of shades. I tend to write 'shadier' characters more, as they add more interest to the character's mystique and depth, allowing a wider variety of action choices.

 

[sunandshadow]

I don't really agree with the term "flaw". I think that anything that is a good trait in some circumstances is a bad trait in other circumstances, and I try to show that for all my characters. But I do have good guys, bad guys, and neutrals. The bad guys are the ones who refuse to observe when their traits are causing problems and adapt to different circumstances. The good guys are the ones who can cooperate, delegate, or restrain themselves if they recognize they have the wrong trait or urge for a particular circumstance.

 

[Black13]

I try to make my characters as human as possible, since they're my target audience. They either start out black and white and everyone melts together into one mess of grey (Clerks), or the other way around (Goodfellas).

As far as types of stories, I go for multiple distinct layers, like a tiramisu; and, like a tiramisu, they must all be experienced simultaneously to be enjoyed... kinda like South Park.

I also like using similes to convey my ideas... each layer is an application of the concept illustrated in the layer beneath it... I'm too baked for this, I think...

 

[SweetestThing]

I don't think they're mutually exclusive the way you describe it. If I'm writing stories with a clearly defined antagonist or protagonist that won't mean that the protagonist won't have flaws or foibles or that the antagonist will be twirling their moustache as they cackle with fiendish glee(Unless, I guess, that's the idea).

 

[dr_mabeuse]

So we all like our characters complex. Easier said than done, though. How do you achieve this? How do you show a character's complexity? Just what is it?

How complex should porn characters be? When does it stop being a sex story with complex characters, and become a character study with sex?

 

[sr71plt]

When does it stop being a sex story with complex characters, and become a character study with sex?

Does it really matter which it turns out to be?

Also, I don't think ALL characters in a story need to be complex. Some can be kept simple and incidental. For instance, we don't really need to know that the waiter serving the soup has a brace on his leg unless that serves the plot line in some fashion. (Maybe rather obvious, but a lot of writings don't seem to get this and they have dangling, unnecessary threads whipping around all over their plot lines.)