What Characters like/Don't Like that You Don't/Do?

[3113]

One of my many pet peeves when it comes to stories is when an author bases a character so much on themselves that the character no longer seems like a character...just a puppet with strings. This is often most transparent in the character's politics or religion, but also in the characters tastes and preferences. I don't necessarily mean that the character likes being tied up and tickled with a feather so much as what the character orders from Starbucks. If they get some sort of complicated, double-chocolate drink and wax rhapsodic about it...I'm gonna suspect that the author has come out of hiding to excitedly tell me all about THEIR favorite Starbuck's drink. Not that the character just *happens* to like this drink.

Now, obviously, we all base characters on ourselves and our experiences to some extent. And I certainly have characters that share my tastes. Characters that will pick dark chocolate over milk chocolate, or, yes, want sex a certain way or share my politics. But I think one of the joys of being an author is when you bring a character so to life that he/she informs you about their likes/dislikes...and those likes/dislikes are very different than yours.

Which brings me to my morning musings. I was considering a story and possible scenes for a character, as we do. I had a scene in mind which involved peering into this character's refrigerator looking for drinks. So...what drinks were in his refrigerator. Well, I knew that he'd have protein drinks...but what flavor? Chocolate would be my choice...but not his. Vanilla? No. Strawberry. No......

Orange. Popped right into my head, as if the character were sitting there shouting it at me. Orange. I *HATE* orange drinks (orange julius excepted). But my character likes them.

I know this happens all the time, but it's still weird. The character seems to cut their strings and walk away from you. Which is very cool...but still weird. So. Tell me about a character or two of yours who, without your ever intending it, somehow managed to end up liking something you don't like, or hating something that you happened to love.

 

[galaxygoddess]

I guess you mean like my character Rick who is in love with Blueberry muffins, but I won't touch the damn things.

I have things like that alot. I'm going to reference some characters for stories I haven't submitted here yet.

I have one character who has a giant pet snake, and a few little snakes. I'm absolutely terrified of snakes. I would sooner take a shovel to one than keep it as a pet. >.>

A few characters have various religious beliefs, some are devout this or that and I'm not devout anything. I my beliefs are based on preferences over some kind of religious description.

I have another character who hates sweets, and I'm obsessed with them.

 

[Recidiva]

I try to write what I know, but not preach.

It's cool to know other people like orange and blueberry. My characters even occasionally drink wine or smoke and I do neither.

There are authors that are not telling a story for entertainment. They're giving a life lesson, a template. They want you to know they're right.

I dislike that sort of preachy stuff and lose interest fast. It's supposed to entertain me, not make me feel like I'm sitting in a pew at attention. Unless you like that sort of thing, I guess.

Certain conventions bother me. Like "Smallville" where Superman has all this angst. Why the fuck would superman have angst? He shouldn't even have angst receptors in his brain.

 

[DeeZire]

One of my characters fingers his sister in church. I don't go to church, but I appreciate his naive faith in the hocus-pocus that is religion. It gives his life meaning, while his belief just makes my skin crawl.

Now that I have managed to piss off legions of readers, you needn't bother searching for that particular story so you can one-bomb it, because it isn't up yet.

Praise Orange Julius!

 

[Recidiva]

One of my characters fingers his sister in church. I don't go to church, but I appreciate his naive faith in the hocus-pocus that is religion. It gives his life meaning, while his belief just makes my skin crawl.

Now that I have managed to piss off legions of readers, you needn't bother searching for that particular story so you can one-bomb it, because it isn't up yet.

Praise Orange Julius!

Oh, our silly, dumb characters. Or our characters that are much smarter than we are.

We love you.

 

[Boota]

Lenny Kapowski, from my novel, is very like me in a lot of ways, but very unlike me in many others. Especially considering his diet. Lenny loves pork rinds and Twinkies. You couldn't get me to eat that shit on a dare. Lenny drinks to excess. A second beer in one night is HUGE for me. Lenny is nice where I would be meaner.

In my erotic writing the guys have different tastes, but they all pretty much fuck like I do. I'm my own point of reference, of course. I'll be expanding those techniques, though, in some erotic horror I'm working on.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

All of my characters get to do things that I don't. They hang out with thier friends, they have sex, and they all eat real foods. None of them has been such a picky eater as I am.

And none of them has been as anti-religious as I am either.

 

[christabelll]

Hmmmm Julia is nothing like me (except for the lemon drop martinis)

Maria gets cudos for being most like me in verbiage

Clarissa - sort of but not really (I paint angels LOL and though I have had an abusive relationship in the past the one and only time he raised a hand to me I was out of there faster than lightning striking and he wished it had!)

The Story I am working on now - maybe she is toooooooooo close to me cuz I can't finish writing it right now LOL.... (it was based on a dream I had and I ran out of dream LOL)

A book I am working on - is me in another life - but she has very different sensibilities - and can work magic - we both beleive in elves (sidhe) but there it ends....

So pieces of me are always in my stories - but- they really do have a life and mind of their own -

 

[cloudy]

All of my characters have pieces of me. The exception to that is Sherry (protag in a story no longer here), who is me in disguise.

The rest, although they have pieces of me, all differ in some fundamental way: their outlook on life, their insecurities are different, etc.

In "I Alone," the main character, Maria, chooses practicality over love (although that's not fully explained in the story). I'm very much the opposite.

 

[CharleyH]

One of my many pet peeves when it comes to stories is when an author bases a character so much on themselves that the character no longer seems like a character...just a puppet with strings. This is often most transparent in the character's politics or religion, but also in the characters tastes and preferences. I don't necessarily mean that the character likes being tied up and tickled with a feather so much as what the character orders from Starbucks. If they get some sort of complicated, double-chocolate drink and wax rhapsodic about it...I'm gonna suspect that the author has come out of hiding to excitedly tell me all about THEIR favorite Starbuck's drink. Not that the character just *happens* to like this drink.

Now, obviously, we all base characters on ourselves and our experiences to some extent. And I certainly have characters that share my tastes. Characters that will pick dark chocolate over milk chocolate, or, yes, want sex a certain way or share my politics. But I think one of the joys of being an author is when you bring a character so to life that he/she informs you about their likes/dislikes...and those likes/dislikes are very different than yours.

Which brings me to my morning musings. I was considering a story and possible scenes for a character, as we do. I had a scene in mind which involved peering into this character's refrigerator looking for drinks. So...what drinks were in his refrigerator. Well, I knew that he'd have protein drinks...but what flavor? Chocolate would be my choice...but not his. Vanilla? No. Strawberry. No......

Orange. Popped right into my head, as if the character were sitting there shouting it at me. Orange. I *HATE* orange drinks (orange julius excepted). But my character likes them.

I know this happens all the time, but it's still weird. The character seems to cut their strings and walk away from you. Which is very cool...but still weird. So. Tell me about a character or two of yours who, without your ever intending it, somehow managed to end up liking something you don't like, or hating something that you happened to love.

A character never gets away from you. If you know your characters - they never get away from you.

 

[Liar]

One of my many pet peeves when it comes to stories is when an author bases a character so much on themselves that the character no longer seems like a character...just a puppet with strings. This is often most transparent in the character's politics or religion, but also in the characters tastes and preferences. I don't necessarily mean that the character likes being tied up and tickled with a feather so much as what the character orders from Starbucks. If they get some sort of complicated, double-chocolate drink and wax rhapsodic about it...I'm gonna suspect that the author has come out of hiding to excitedly tell me all about THEIR favorite Starbuck's drink. Not that the character just *happens* to like this drink.

When it comes to details like that, I tend to just copy 'n' paste random opinions and tastes that people around me have. it doesn't really matter much ot a story other than to bring a character to a little more life. So if I rant on about a certain coffee blend, it might be my personal passion or that of some random dude I've heard rant on about his favourite blend.

Big issues are more difficult. Ethical and moral home base, as well as instinctive gut level reaction to things... I find those much harder to write whithout using myself as the mould. if I try, they run the risk of being cliché and superficial, since I can't fully understand my character's actions myself, but mimic those of people around me, and might easily end up with a chgaracter that for instance does contradictory things in two similar situaions. I guess, a throrugh job and the right research might remedy that for a competytent writer. But I claim no such title. I'm a lazy hack and happily so.

 

[CharleyH]

When it comes to details like that, I tend to just copy 'n' paste random opinions and tastes that people around me have. it doesn't really matter much ot a story other than to bring a character to a little more life. So if I rant on about a certain coffee blend, it might be my personal passion or that of some random dude I've heard rant on about his favourite blend.

Big issues are more difficult. Ethical and moral home base, as well as instinctive gut level reaction to things... I find those much harder to write whithout using myself as the mould. if I try, they run the risk of being cliché and superficial, since I can't fully understand my character's actions myself, but mimic those of people around me, and might easily end up with a chgaracter that for instance does contradictory things in two similar situaions.

You are on track as a writer, love. Dichotomy and contradiction are the spice of narrative. Don't have obstacles or dichotomy? Don't have nuthin' but a LIT story.

 

[3113]

I'm my own point of reference, of course. I'll be expanding those techniques, though, in some erotic horror I'm working on.

Boota! Swoon!

[jacking my own thread for a moment] Haven't seen you in ages! (have I been reading the wrong threads?) How the hell are ya? Your AV is looking as sexy as ever [/end of threadjack]

 

[rgraham666]

Hmmm. My vampire character loves the taste of blood. I'm not fond of it at all.

 

[DerelictionOfSanity]

Well, I don't have all that many characters yet but so far they're all moderately different from me. I try not to talk about stuff that I know absolutely nothing about (so I probably won't have any stories set in places I've never been), but I'll happily give my characters likes and dislikes that I don't share as long as I can manage a description.

I don't eat fish.

 

[galaxygoddess]

So today I was working on a story and the main character has whole lot of "me" in it, the usual "this character is a vague representation of youself" kind deal, and the conversation I was working on, she is discussing her opinion of a guy with another female in the story, and low and behold, my character lights up a cigarette.

I've never smoked a day in my life and I like to sit and preach about the "Evils" of smoking, and here my representation picks up one! I stared at my own paragraph for a minute, started to erase it and realized, actually, this fits with the story; I need to leave it in there.

Yeah, your characters do take on a weird life of their own some days At least mine do... some times I write stuff and go back and read it and think "wait, how did that get there?"


Also, I have a character who is a heavy drinker (quite obsessed with martinis actually) and I've never actually tried one.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Some of my characters drink to excess or can't start the day without a joint-- personality aspects that I've seen around me but have never had myself...

I've never been jealous of a person in my life, and I now realise I've never written a jealous character-- I'll have to get advice on that!

(edited to add; )

Smaller quirks i can handle-- Essential parts of a personality are much more difficult for me