Do You Ever Get Obsessed Over Characters

[ElectricBlue]

Obsessed ... hmm. Does drawing up dates of birth, wedding dates, etc., for your characters count?

Probably. Buying birthday presents for them, definitely. Finding them marked "Return to Sender", disturbing.

 

[jaykaythree]

Nope, haven't got to the gift-buying stage.

Yet ...

 

[ElectricBlue]

Nope, haven't got to the gift-buying stage.

Yet ...

Act now! Choose between full blown nut-jobbery obsession where the next stage is cyber stalking, or being content with, "I like my characters possibly a little TOO much, but I think I can avoid disturbing the kiddies" .

 

[RetroFan]

I often think about my characters April and Julie from 'April Leads Julie Astray', feeling bad for them because of their difficult childhood experiences. I wonder if they continued their secret lesbian affair which was strictly taboo when the story is set in 1963, whether they found love with the right guys and had children, did they remain friends or lose contact over the years, did Julie's health improve or decline as she got older, did April's trauma from childhood continue to haunt her and what are they doing today (or are they still alive) at age 76?

Then I have to stop and remind myself that April and Julie don't exist, they never existed and are fictional characters I created in a fictional story.

 

[gunhilltrain]

That's exactly where I'm at. And it doesn't.

I had a look at the stats this morning, and it's worse than I thought. The story was started in July, finished and edited by Nov 15. I remember telling my wife about the weird reaction I was having to the characters. That had surfaced while I was writing the story.

On Dec 1, I started writing the dream session. I stopped on Jan 4. I keep opening it and reading it but clicking it off because I can't imagine how it's going to fit in. Yet, I can't shake the desire to want it to fit in.

I think I need a psychiatrist.

I didn't realize how old this thread is, or even that I replied to it once. Are you still even reading this thread? Anyway, you are taking this a bit too seriously. You only had one story published his year, in May - is that the one? It did very well. Or did you pull it already?

Anyway, first of all, you can have dream sequences if you wish. I've never done that, but I've had the fantasies of characters with events that never really happened. (I made it clear what was going on.)

Second, you can always write an alternate version and post it with a new title, either here or elsewhere. I've done that several times because I wasn't satisfied with the original.

Write some new stuff and don't overthink it. (Maybe you've already moved to another site?)

 

[MillieDynamite]

Yes, I have a character I am obsessed with. My Tomboy character, which I have only published one story about, was inspired by my SO. I have written several stories about her, for us, and never published them.

When I first published the story at Amazon, it sold well for about six months, and like all erotica died a death of a slow decent in the rankings. I reedited it and published it here recently. While it has a good vote score, decent hearting, and I imagine the downloads are comparable to other short erotic lesbian stories in the category, people don’t love the character.

The few comments on the story are about how she isn’t all that likeable. In my mind, I’m think she’s a bit aggressive for most readers. I was planning to publish more of her stories here on Lit. Now I thinking I need to rework the other stories. In the meantime, she is my character for the empowered women’s Pink-Orchid event. Where Terri will show her softer side.

So the answer is, yes, I have a character I write that I'm completely obsessed with.

 

[jaykaythree]

Act now! Choose between full blown nut-jobbery obsession where the next stage is cyber stalking, or being content with, "I like my characters possibly a little TOO much, but I think I can avoid disturbing the kiddies" .

You're one cool individual, you know that?

 

[gordo12]

I didn't realize how old this thread is, or even that I replied to it once. Are you still even reading this thread? Anyway, you are taking this a bit too seriously. You only had one story published his year, in May - is that the one? It did very well. Or did you pull it already?

Anyway, first of all, you can have dream sequences if you wish. I've never done that, but I've had the fantasies of characters with events that never really happened. (I made it clear what was going on.)

Second, you can always write an alternate version and post it with a new title, either here or elsewhere. I've done that several times because I wasn't satisfied with the original.

Write some new stuff and don't overthink it. (Maybe you've already moved to another site?)

Yes, I was surprised to see the thread pop back up but I've been following it. Thank you for the compliment on the May story. I haven't felt like posting since last Oct but I had that story half ready for the Geek event so...! I also threw out stories in Nov and Dec.

The story I was originally talking about was finished, edited and ready to post. I've since torn it apart to insert this humiliating obsession into it. Argghhh!

Another obsessing moment occurred to me too. Back in 2018 when I wrote Demon Blood I woke up one morning wondering what Mallory was doing today. It took about 30 seconds for my mind to wrestle me back to reality

 

[ElectricBlue]

You're one cool individual, you know that?

I've been called worse things .

 

[TadOverdon]

I get attached to some of the characters lately. They would all be considered sociopathic nut jobs of one kind or another, if they were real, but Melissa Jacobs and Sharon Thomas are somehow alive in my thoughts even when, as is the case right now with Lauren Chase, I'm finding them nearly impossible to write about. They talk, in my head. They talk too much. They need an editor.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yes, I was surprised to see the thread pop back up but I've been following it. Thank you for the compliment on the May story. I haven't felt like posting since last Oct but I had that story half ready for the Geek event so...! I also threw out stories in Nov and Dec.

The story I was originally talking about was finished, edited and ready to post. I've since torn it apart to insert this humiliating obsession into it. Argghhh!

Another obsessing moment occurred to me too. Back in 2018 when I wrote Demon Blood I woke up one morning wondering what Mallory was doing today. It took about 30 seconds for my mind to wrestle me back to reality

You don't have to be humiliated by it. I'm not sure I'd even call it an obsession, but you are the one perceiving it. I wouldn't call it humiliating, but unnerving, to be obsessed with real people, which has happened to me more than once.

If you still have a copy of the first version, go ahead and post that. Then work on the new version and post that somewhere. If you post it here, give it a new title. No one will notice or care. I've had stories that had 80% of the previous text still in it. I've left both versions up as a reminder to myself of where I've been.

 

[gordo12]

You don't have to be humiliated by it. I'm not sure I'd even call it an obsession, but you are the one perceiving it. I wouldn't call it humiliating, but unnerving, to be obsessed with real people, which has happened to me more than once.

If you still have a copy of the first version, go ahead and post that. Then work on the new version and post that somewhere. If you post it here, give it a new title. No one will notice or care. I've had stories that had 80% of the previous text still in it. I've left both versions up as a remineder to myself of where I've been.

I managed to find a spot where I could insert an extra day. Disposed of hubby for the night and she's spending the night with her new lover. Hubby won't know. The story then continues as before. Hubby & wife separate at the end but it allows me to fully introduce my obsession in a ch2. Which a few people on this thread suggested. Now it makes sense. Although there was never a ch2 planned in the original story.

Ch2 will continue with hubby wanting her back but she likes her own new obsession too much. TENSION!

I'm thinking now my obsession was my internal alarm trying to tell me there was more to this story than what I had done so far. We'll see.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[gunhilltrain]

I managed to find a spot where I could insert an extra day. Disposed of hubby for the night and she's spending the night with her new lover. Hubby won't know. The story then continues as before. Hubby & wife separate at the end but it allows me to fully introduce my obsession in a ch2. Which a few people on this thread suggested. Now it makes sense. Although there was never a ch2 planned in the original story.

Ch2 will continue with hubby wanting her back but she likes her own new obsession too much. TENSION!

I'm thinking now my obsession was my internal alarm trying to tell me there was more to this story than what I had done so far. We'll see.

Thanks for the suggestions!

This is not exactly relevant to your present situation, but you can have the same characters on different timelines. That usually works best with separate stories or series for each timeline. You can even have some overlap by repeating plot points or even duplicating some text for the new text. I've done things like that a few times, although I left the previous versions in place.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This is not exactly relevant to your present situation, but you can have the same characters on different timelines. That usually works best with separate stories or series for each timeline. You can even have some overlap by repeating plot points or even duplicating some text for the new text. I've done things like that a few times, although I left the previous versions in place.

Welcome to my world. I do that all the time.

 

[jaykaythree]

Probably. Buying birthday presents for them, definitely. Finding them marked "Return to Sender", disturbing.

One of my lead couples has a mailing address, as do both his parents and hers. (Don't try sending to it, because it'll get you nowhere, but still)

 

[nice90sguy]

My current story is about a guy who becomes obsessed with a perfect woman. You can guess who I based the guy on.

 

[Comshaw]

That's exactly where I'm at. And it doesn't.

I had a look at the stats this morning, and it's worse than I thought. The story was started in July, finished and edited by Nov 15. I remember telling my wife about the weird reaction I was having to the characters. That had surfaced while I was writing the story.

On Dec 1, I started writing the dream session. I stopped on Jan 4. I keep opening it and reading it but clicking it off because I can't imagine how it's going to fit in. Yet, I can't shake the desire to want it to fit in.

I think I need a psychiatrist.

With a big enough hammer you CAN fit a square peg into a round hole. And with enough words to grease the insertion you can fit anything that is even slightly connected to it into a story. To many take the "well that would never happen" line without realizing that true events can be stranger than imagined ones. If the character has gotten that far into your head, it's time to let him have free reign, or boot him to hell out. Choose wisely.


Comshaw

 

[gordo12]

With a big enough hammer you CAN fit a square peg into a round hole. And with enough words to grease the insertion you can fit anything that is even slightly connected to it into a story. To many take the "well that would never happen" line without realizing that true events can be stranger than imagined ones. If the character has gotten that far into your head, it's time to let him have free reign, or boot him to hell out. Choose wisely.


Comshaw

I did the insertion and they had SEX!!! My obsession is complete. It also greased the way to ch2 which I'm currently writing. I now have three horny characters competing for the girl and a pissed-off husband over her behaviour. The tension is exquisite! Who's going to win? The author has no idea yet!

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[32aa]

Yes. I get obsessed with my characters. I am a romantic. I see life through rose-colored glasses. I try to create my characters in the same light.

In my story series, 'You're not a serial rapist', I found myself basically living my life through the three character's interactions, their thoughts, and their feelings for each other. Maybe it was because it was the time of the Pandemic and it was a way to escape everything. But, even now, when I re-read those chapters just for fun, the emotions that I felt at the time return.

I've done the same in my other series, immersing myself in the characters, but it seemed that particular series, it became a real obsession. I've tried to write in other categories: Erotic couplings, and incest (cousins), but it just doesn't do it for me.

So, yes, I get obsessed with my characters. I guess that is what creative writing is all about.