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Saygen40



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 PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 8:10 pm Reply with quote        
During a conversation with a friend about writing and developing new characters (particularly main characters), my friend mentioned some interesting rules.

1. Never base the main character off yourself.

2. Avoid not describing physical characteristics of your character.

What are your thoughts on these? Who do you base characters off of? How in-depth do you explain your characters appearances?
Juneberry



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 PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 3:44 pm Reply with quote        
I try not to base my characters off myself, but they do definitely tend to have at least one of my traits in their essence. However, they all grow differently in various ways, and that's part of the definitive solution in my opinion.

Every character has a base, but sometimes it's as simple as someone you saw on television, or a mixture of people and how you think their personalities would blend into one being. To be honest, though, I tend to forget how I came up with characters most of the time. Some are more memorable than others, and some just don't need a base anymore after a while, as they've grown to be far too substantial to think of it.

As for the character's appearance, it's important to me to at least express a bit about it. I may not always give an exact height, or but sometimes it's good to mention whether a character is of normal proportions or top heavy. There are many ways to describe a character, and using a multitude can be a good thing at times to me. But that's just my way of doing it. ^^;

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superbinka



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 PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:02 pm Reply with quote        
I tend to base my characters off my friends and acquaintances. Sometimes I pick an interesting looking person on the bus and sketch them or write a little description, and then try to imagine what their house is like, what their family is like, what they enjoy. The less you know about them to begin with, the more they become your character.

While I never intentionally base a character off myself, they tend to think like me and make decisions like me, because I came up with them. It's hard to get into a very different mindset to your own, and it often seems less believable.
Peril



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 PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:31 pm Reply with quote        
I try to adhere to that first rule as much as I can after breaking it through the entirety of middle school and some of high school. What can I say - I know myself really well! xD

Unfortunately, though, I am not very imaginative so I break the second rule a lot. If something doesn't seem directly important to the plot (as is often the case with physical appearance), I am usually quite comfortable disregarding it entirely, which is one of the main reasons I am terrible at character development. ><

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Kimi_Delaetus



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 PostPosted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 3:56 pm Reply with quote        
I break both of them and I do it often.

The main character tends to be at least a little bit like me, to start with. I do try to avoid making the character entirely based off of me, if only because it gets boring. But I always want them to share something in common with me, because it tends to be easier to get in their head. But once I'm there? The connection is no longer necessary.

And as far as physical descriptions go, you usually get hair/eye color. And that's it. Everything else? Up to the reader. If they want to imagine my stoic, cold and bitter character in a yellow daffodil costume? All the more power to 'em.

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Saygen40



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 PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 4:20 pm Reply with quote        
I am awful about not responding to my own threads. ^^;

I agree with what a lot of your guys are saying. I don't think it's bad to base a character off yourself, as long as you have a well-developed idea of who you are. Problems arise when a character losses consistency, which can be the result of you perceiving yourself differently over time and also using the actions of your character to justify something about yourself- which turns out, sometimes, not making sense.

I rather like JK Rowlings creation or characters. She takes different eccentricities about herself and others, and forms a quirky character around them.

I've read enough fanfiction to be dismayed by the overuse of eye and hair color to describe a person. "The indigo eyed boy looked up quizically." "Her cobalt blue eyes found the door."

My god, it drives me nuts. Jab

I rather like when authors describe a person based on characteristics that are more than just physical, but suggest a specific physical quality. "Happiness squeezed like water from her eyes, filling her cheeks to the brim as as it trickled down her face into a look of utmost glee." That's the best I can do, but I've seen better.

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Ira



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 PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:30 pm Reply with quote        
Okay, I have been writing for almost 9 years now and here are some things that I have learned.

1. All characters you create are a part of you. (Which is rather scary to think about, honestly), even if it is just one piece. But yes, avoid making your characters look exactly like you. But no matter what, every character you create is a part of yourself.

2. Yes, do put a description of what they look like at some point. even if it is one piece at a time. Such as: 'She looked in the mirror and fixed her brown hair.' Another thing to watch out for is the 'block of description' where you tell the reader what your character looks like in massive detail down to the pores on their skin; all in one paragraph.

Then never mention it again.

I hope this helps.
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