Personal Investment in Characters

[GrantBricksly]

Ever spent so much time developing characters, and their environment that you become so comfortable with them they are like real living people? Like old friends?

Some of you may have read my Valentines story Anniversary Gift. Which focuses on The characters Grant and Isabelle, with an Ex of Isabelle's. Well, before I even wrote that story, I wrote another story, which will be submitted for the Winter Holiday Contest, also focused around Grant and Isabelle, plus their daughter Amelia. All told, I've written over 80k words about the family and their lives and environments. (One story takes place mostly in a hotel, the other mostly in their house.)

So, when I needed to come up with a new idea for my April Fools day story for March...I thought about it a moment, and realized Grant and Isabelle had more sexcapades to tell. I mean they've been together a long time after all. They've done A LOT! So, I sat down and started writing..and it was like coming home. The words just started pouring out. New Characters materialized as old friends that I've known for years. Activities came to me like memories..like I was just remembering "Oh yea, remember when this happened, write that too..." Even the house they live in felt familiar to me...

Anyone else experience that?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Absolutely. It happened to me in both of my long series. I think I have actually changed some of my initial ideas when it comes to plot, so I wouldn't 'hurt' the (female) character I've grown to like. I made a decision to 'hurt' the male character I like far easier, although I still wouldn't expose him to some intense humiliation. It feels strange and good in some ways, but also restraining in some other ways, as I have probably lost some of my objectivity when it comes to those characters. It is definitely one of the stranger aspects of writing I've noticed in my very limited wannabe-writer experience

 

[GrantBricksly]

Absolutely. It happened to me in both of my long series. I think I have actually changed some of my initial ideas when it comes to plot, so I wouldn't 'hurt' the (female) character I've grown to like. I made a decision to 'hurt' the male character I like far easier, although I still wouldn't expose him to some intense humiliation. It feels strange and good in some ways, but also restraining in some other ways, as I have probably lost some of my objectivity when it comes to those characters. It is definitely one of the stranger aspects of writing I've noticed in my very limited wannabe-writer experience

I've had to create a separate document to keep track of very specific details that I mention, so that I can be sure not to contradict myself...though I find that I am so engrossed in the lives of these "living" characters that I rarely do. It really is like they are alive. Sometimes I start writing with a clear idea of what is about to happen, and then the characters just kind of take over and move the story/scene in a completely different direction..

 

[Djmac1031]

The only character that's happened to me with is Jenna and, by proxy, her surrounding cast.

The series started out as the male character Tom's story, but Jenna quickly took over, and although she is quite fictional, i feel like I know her.

She's the main reason The Jenna Arrangement is now at 26 chapters plus a prequel lol.

Not that I don't love all my characters, or most of them anyway. But once their tales have come to an end, I've set them free.

Although i might be revisiting a few old friends who got abducted by aliens again soon...

 

[GrantBricksly]

The only character that's happened to me with is Jenna and, by proxy, her surrounding cast.

The series started out as the male character Tom's story, but Jenna quickly took over, and although she is quite fictional, i feel like I know her.

She's the main reason The Jenna Arrangement is now at 26 chapters plus a prequel lol.

Not that I don't love all my characters, or most of them anyway. But once their tales have come to an end, I've set them free.

Although i might be revisiting a few old friends who got abducted by aliens again soon...

I guess for me, Grant and Isabelle's story just isn't over yet. It also helps that Grant is partially based on me. And Isabelle is partially based on my wife. But even without that...I've only written 2 stories so far...and published 1...and based on those 2 stories, their marriage spans over 20 years already..plus courtship...not to mention Isabelle's past relationships...there are just so many stories I can tell..

 

[rosebudliquor]

I just had reason to reread a couple old stories, and to think about a couple others, and I definitely feel this way. Some of my characters are seriously messed up, and not nice people, but many of them are endearing to me even if they are flawed, and a few are very real. I told myself earlier today that instead of making up new ones, I should see if plot ideas can work with some who already exist in my fantasy world.
My parallels to your Grant and Isabelle are in my Candy series, which I plotted to have three or four more characters that I haven't introduced yet. However, a few characters I never planned on jumped in and hijacked the story line a little. They keep wanting more attention!

 

[SimonDoom]

Not really. When my story is done I'm done with my characters, and I don't feel an attachment to them as though they are real people.

The exception is when I write a story that's based in part on a real person--for instance, a woman that I've fantasized about or with whom I've had some kind of relationship. And in two cases I wrote stories with a modified version of myself as a main character, and so that character lives on as a fantasy projection. But otherwise, no.

 

[KeithD]

Ever spent so much time developing characters, and their environment that you become so comfortable with them they are like real living people? Like old friends?

Yes, but only with characters who pop up in multiple works over a considerable time.

 

[MrPixel]

Oh my goodness, yes. I even talk about them with my wife as if they were real people. Of course, she's one of the characters, too, and there are also bits of her in most of the FCs.

Mentioned elsewhere, I thought about killing off one of the FCs for a tension element, but it occurred to me that I was invested in her, too, and would have mourned her loss.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Oh yeah. I chat to them loads when trying to get to sleep.

Adrian, Laura and Dan kept me company for a year of illness, with Richie, Rachel, Brad and others along too, now. It's hard work thinking of characters from scratch, but I've got a lot of stories still to tell about people I've already written a bit about. How the stories will pan out - that depends on how I chat to them and which answers seem convincing.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Fairly constantly. If I don't fall in love with a heroine, I can't expect readers to. An author's affection for a character comes across in their writing, I think, so it can become more intimate, somehow. When I dream a character, I know she's really put her hooks in!

 

[Voboy]

Every one of my characters is like that for me.

 

[PennameWombat]

I've had to create a separate document to keep track of very specific details that I mention, so that I can be sure not to contradict myself...though I find that I am so engrossed in the lives of these "living" characters that I rarely do. It really is like they are alive. Sometimes I start writing with a clear idea of what is about to happen, and then the characters just kind of take over and move the story/scene in a completely different direction..

Well, with the exception of thinking of them as 'living,' I do have a rich environment, mainly focused around "Mel's Universe." It's a bunch of my stories all in a shared universe. Each different 'series' focuses on different main characters, but any and all of them can appear for cameos in any story. It's essentially SF&F alternate history, where aliens discovered Earth and have been secretly spying on us, and the slow revelations around that.

I use a spreadsheet to keep track of the large and expanding cast of characters and the timelines.

Not all of my stories are set here, other stories have their own universes, although most aren't as detailed.

 

[GrantBricksly]

Well, with the exception of thinking of them as 'living,' I do have a rich environment, mainly focused around "Mel's Universe." It's a bunch of my stories all in a shared universe. Each different 'series' focuses on different main characters, but any and all of them can appear for cameos in any story. It's essentially SF&F alternate history, where aliens discovered Earth and have been secretly spying on us, and the slow revelations around that.

I use a spreadsheet to keep track of the large and expanding cast of characters and the timelines.

Not all of my stories are set here, other stories have their own universes, although most aren't as detailed.

Oh no...my characters have taken on a life of their own. I have tried a few times to set a scene, and before I'm even 2-3 paragraphs into it, the characters have made it clear that my idea was just that, an idea. They say "nope, this is what really happened, let us tell you about it..." it's surreal...there have been days that I sat down to write..and 8k words later I looked back and said "damn...where did that come from? that's not even close to what I intended to write.." but the characters man...they are alive..they know what happened in their lives. I am just a humble onlooker, taking notes and relaying the story. Sometimes they let me embellish a little...

 

[Stimtheone]

For me, I've got plenty of characters that I do indeed get a bit of attachment to, if only because I am seeing such growth and feeling a bit of pride. It is always tempting to give them more adventures, but I also fear that might ruin the happy ending they were left with.

I have indeed at times experienced them "live"... as in I am no longer just trying to consider how they react, but I just put the scene and them in it and they start going in it. You could ask me what would one of these characters do in one situation and the answer would come surprisingly quickly.

This is, in my experience, just the territory with writing. No, I do not believe they interact with me or anything, but they do start to take a life of their own.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I hope this doesn't come off glib, but don't understand why anyone would go to all the trouble to create characters that they don't care about deeply.

 

[GrantBricksly]

I hope this doesn't come off glib, but don't understand why anyone would go to all the trouble to create characters that they don't care about deeply.

I mean, I have some stories I have written in the past that are one and done stories. While I can't say I don't care about the characters, I also wouldn't say that I care "deeply" about them either. When I'm done with them so quick like that...I just don't really get to know them as well. (For what it's worth, I also probably don't develop those characters nearly as well as I have the ones in Grant and Isabelle's story...)

So I would understand if not everyone gets as attached as I have become to Grant and Isabelle.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I hope this doesn't come off glib, but don't understand why anyone would go to all the trouble to create characters that they don't care about deeply.

To be fair, for stories of a certain size and above, I couldn't agree more, yet for like 3-4k words stories or smaller, I don't think anyone can write enough character development to get attached. There is a decent number of people who write only those stories, so I guess those characters are single use, to convey a certain sex scene or erotic moment.

 

[MelissaBaby]

To be fair, for stories of a certain size and above, I couldn't agree more, yet for like 3-4k words stories or smaller, I don't think anyone can write enough character development to get attached. There is a decent number of people who write only those stories, so I guess those characters are single use, to convey a certain sex scene or erotic moment.

We all have our own approach, and I won't knock anyone for why they write what they do, or how they do it. But my brain doesn't work that way. I have to be invested in my characters.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

My characters take over when I'm writing. Some, probably more than others. I get quite invested in the individuals in my longer stories, and I hope that the readers do, too.

 

[TheRedChamber]

We all have our own approach, and I won't knock anyone for why they write what they do, or how they do it. But my brain doesn't work that way. I have to be invested in my characters.

I think some writers, myself included, start with a situation and then think about what kind of characters would get themself in this situation whereas other writers (hazarding a guess including you) start with a/some character(s) and then decide what kind of scrapes they're going to get in.

I tend to plan out each piece as a complete story by itself. Often then my characters have usually reached a place (often in each others arms) where I'm content to leave them once I've finished. Not everything needs a sequel and often I'm presenting my first story as 'the most important thing that ever happened to them'. Sometimes there's room for a follow-on, but mostly not.

The story I'm writing at the moment is an exception. It the story of two middle-aged(ish) women who end up having their first ever homosexual relationship. It ends on the morning after the first night and immediately on finishing the first draft, I'm thinking that there's lots of situations for these guys to get into that work as individual stories with each with an individual point.

 

[Euphony]

To be fair, for stories of a certain size and above, I couldn't agree more, yet for like 3-4k words stories or smaller, I don't think anyone can write enough character development to get attached. There is a decent number of people who write only those stories, so I guess those characters are single use, to convey a certain sex scene or erotic moment.

Totally get that but who the character's are (in total) and how that affects the author isn't always confined to the published page.

Many of us write significant profiles to assist in later writing, actions, probable responses, problem solving styles, etc. etc. Were I to put even 1/2 that minutia in story, the readers would rightfully lose the narrative. But I need to know it to the point of "living/breathing" it a bit so it comes naturally (or, more honestly, overrides my own natural instincts, biases, thoughts, processes, personality, etc.)

Nothing wrong with the stories here that are situation forward and mold their character clay *just* enough to keep plausibility and meet reader expectation.

I do it myself some times but, overall, quickly lose interest in writing if I'm not actively engaged with my characters on some level.

Give me someone I am actively interested in, charmed by, and rooting for in the story they want to tell me. Stories are a people business not an activities business for me.

 

[Duleigh]

Anyone else experience that?

Two years ago I was sick and tired of Hollywood trying to rewrite A Christmas Carole and coming up with a boring, cookie cutter modernization of the original classic that a thousand other studios did a thousand times before. I set out to write a truly original version of a Christmas Carole, but this time the spirits are not telling the primary character their own history, but told about their best friends history. The ghosts were spirits of the lead character, past and future showing the lead character Karole, how her best friend Lanh Nguyen met her soul mate Don Campbell, and how they handled adversity, and they had some horrible adversity. Christmas future showed Karole what would happen if she didn't deal with the spirit of Christmas present properly. To make a long story short, the spirit of Christmas Present was her friend Lanh's ghost. Lanh got run over by a car moments earlier and Karole's mission was to comfort Lanh's newly widowed husband Don.

I missed the contest deadline, so I decided to wait a year before entering it. In the meantime, I decided to write Don and Lanh's back story, and the more I wrote, the more I fell in love with them. I wrote how they met in high school, being the school nerds, they were bullied and picked on by students and teachers. They married and he enlisted and they traveled the world and as I got closer and closer to chapter 11 where Lanh had to die I was actually getting nauseous over the entire idea. I was losing sleep, and I honestly thought my character was angry with me. One by one the chapters were going up in a series I call We're a Wonderful Wife, I even had chapters written on how Karole and Don get their happily ever after once they recover from Lanh's death...

Then a reader saw all this adversity that Don and Lanh were overcoming and how each trial was getting worse and worse he wrote me and said "You really hate these people, don't you"

That was it, I couldn't kill Lanh. I tore down A Krissmas Karole and rewrote the ending, then threw away chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14 of We're a Wonderful Wife, I just couldn't do that to poor Lanh and Don. On the downside I don't think A Krissmas Karole has the impact of an Erotic Horror story that it originally had, but on the upside I got to keep Lanh, and I'm able to sleep at night. We're a Wonderful Wife is going to have an incredible ending, and I've gotten some serious mileage out of this little IR couple, so far 12 chapters, plus 4 side stories totaling 361,026 words but there's 2 more chapters and at least 3 more side stories coming out, maybe more. I can't let these wonderful, loving people go.

 

[Duleigh]

I hope this doesn't come off glib, but don't understand why anyone would go to all the trouble to create characters that they don't care about deeply.

Absolutely right! I wrote one story as a challenge to myself and I just didn't like the main characters. I really tried to do a good job but it is currently my lowest rated story. The readers can pick up on how we feel about our characters.

 

[KeithD]

If you have to care deeply about every character you write about, you aren't writing too dimensionally or deeply.