Part-time writer, gamer full-time reader & fangirl

 Okay, I probably have more fun naming these discussions than I should lol. But, yeah, today I decided to talk about character building, because I received an interesting STS ask from @fields-of-ink, and then an interesting reply to it by @writeblrfantasy, regarding the subject, and it really made me start to think more about the subject.

 So, I thought I’d pose the question to the rest of my fellow writers. How do you go about coming up with your characters? What’s the process? How much detail you normally go into during the planning stages? And how different do your characters normally wind up when you start writing them?

 As per tradition, I shall start.

 I don’t go into a ton of detail when building a character at first, as I discover most of their personality and stuff while I go. I tried doing the character sheets/figuring out every little detail before touching my story methods, and they didn’t work out for me. Maybe it’s because I have a pretty chaotic and messy writing method.

 Sometimes I start with a concept, a basic personality, some backstory, and maybe an idea of what they look like. Then I’ll flesh that out a little bit more until I have motivations, a few quirks, an idea of how they view things, and have settled on their role in the story.

 If I have more than one character planned out, I’ll connect them somehow. Like A and B are best friends, C is A’s cousin and finds B annoying, D and C have similar goals and that will lead to them meeting, E hates A’s guts because of something that happened when they were teenagers, ect. I find that it helps me ground the characters in the story, build up backgrounds/future plot points, and creates dynamics.

 Sometimes I don’t even have that much and have to reverse engineer a character. I’ll have a role I need played and have to start with motivations and then work backwards until I have a concept and can flesh that out more.

 Then, I have random characters that just appear out of no where and I’ll have to adjust my plans to account for them. I may need to take some time to flesh these ones out more, particularly their motivations. 

 As for how often they turn out differently than I planned, it really isn’t an uncommon occurrence. Most of my characters are at least a little different than I originally planned them, which is part of why I write the way I do. It let’s me be flexible with sudden changes to backstories, secret motivations, unexpected personality differences, ect.

 But what about all of you?

Taglist, ask to be added or removed.

This is how it normally goes when I start building characters for a story:

1) Boy/girl

2)Whatever idea I had to come up with the story

3) Why they're important to the story

4) random backstory idea and motivations

5) 1 physical thing that sets them apart/ one defining character trait that'll be different from the other characters.

(2,3,&4 tend to all blend together if I'm honest)

I don't even have to have a name just a vague shape of something that could be a character. Then I'll start thinking well this vague thing needs parents right? And maybe a couple friends? A possible love intrest? Or 5? A rival? An antagonist? Let's go with all of the above. And then for all those other side characters I nail down the very basic stuff:

Name

Age

Gender

Apperence

Height

Relations (as in to the main character, not necessarily to anyone else unless there's a flash of inspiration)

Then I'll go back and try to give my MC an actual name. (Sometimes this will happen for the love interest as well. In my contemporary romance the frist 15 pages of my notes[aka random ideas before I started the story] they were just The Bad Girl and The Boy Next Door) and maybe do some more spiderwebbing for the other characters to see how they all connect and maybe thay may generate some new ideas and it generally helps with figure out how everyone else see the MC vs how they see themselves vs people who actually know and love them.

I find that the characters don't change too much from when I think them up, I just get more context for why they act the way they do and then thier rolls in the story get bigger or smaller depending on how much context I've gotten, and how much I enjoy playing with that specific character.

I've only ever had one character that has laughed evilly at me from a corner cause he definately didn't turn out the way I thought he was going to. And that probably happened cause my co-author thought it would be hilarious to bring him back from the dead which left us to figure out why this guy who had been characterized 90% of the time and sweet, protective and never intentionally cruel to any one ever, would do his two best friends dirty like that.

Anyone and everyone CAN write. The world’s most skilled writer didn’t start off skilled. The key is that they practice hard by writing a lot.

out whole and alive

while you were cracked into

a million pieces

&

and it wasn't fair their skin remained

untouched

while yours turned into red lace

if your blood could only mean

forgiveness and redemption

not ghosts fighting to break through the cracks

&

it wasn't fair that they got to live

 Of course there are going to be people who get bored with it and will complain, but it’s on them to pick stories that have what they’re craving to see, not you. Write the story you want to, and forget about things like if someone won’t like an ancient or common trope. Because I’m sure there’s someone out there who still loves that trope as much as you do ^-^ I, for one, know there’s cliches that I still adore even though I’ve read/watched them dozens of time.

 Heck, I’ve read 1 book, 1, 7 or 8 times and am contemplating reading it again when I finish the series I’m reading through just because I love it. Literally the same story, and I’m still reading and rereading it. If people like me do that, we don’t care if you use tropes we’ve read a lot. We’ll be happy to have it.

I think it’s one of those widely held beliefs amongst book lovers that no two people ever read the exact same story, so why would we, in the writing community, believe that two people could ever write the exact same story? I would even go further and say that no single individual reads the same story twice. Even in re-reading a book, your perception of it and its impact on you will be changed by the life circumstances it finds you in, your age, or even just by virtue of it being the second time you see that story unfold. The bones are all the same, the details are all the same - indeed, they are the same exact words, arranged in the very same manner, with the very same punctuation. But they hit you a little differently.

I’ve got to second your perspective that tropes and cliches exist and persist because people love them. People retell the same stories because they’re good stories. I’m reminded of a quote from Osamu Dazai (the fictional character from the anime, Bungo Stray Dogs, not the actual novelist). He said, “A good book is always good, no matter how many times you’ve already read it.” Not shockingly profound, but it struck me all the same because of how deeply it echoed my own sentiments.

I am a huge re-watcher, re-player, and yes, re-reader. I’ve always re-watched movies I loved (like for a couple weeks at a time), and I re-watch tv series start to finish. I replay my favorite videogames, and I re-read those special books that hold that place in my heart. There are two books in fact that I’ve finished, taken a breath, and immediately turned back to page one to read a second time. I for one am perfectly happy (even hungry) to read the same stories with different details over and over and over forever.

What I'm trying to say is that trying to police a writer into adhering to some standard you have set in your head is like trying to stop the flow of coursing water.

It goes where it wants to go and water will erode any stone or metal, even if it takes a long time.

Writing is as much an art as painting and music and all the other art forms in which we so openly accept innovation.

You enjoy writing

You call yourself a writer

That's it! That's the criteria!

 I wasn’t tagged, but I saw @austrohungarianwriteblr‘s new tag game and it looked like fun ^-^

 Rules: Basically put a picture or a sentence of what your characters always seem to have on their mind. Or what they have in their heads except brains. =)

Sparrow: Internal screaming and ‘this isn’t what was in the game.’

Jalen: More internal screaming, to-do lists, keep Sparrow from dying, keep Sparrow from dying, Oh no, Sparrow’s about to die.

Claude: Don’t blow up the workshop, double check the runes, did I teach her to do this enchantment the right way? I’m not in pain, I’m not in pain, the pain doesn’t exist if I ignore it… who am I kidding?

Raina: Duty, duty, honor, sparrow, is my sword sharp enough, more duty, did that shadow move?

Hunter: Herbs, monsters, furs, promises, promises, people suck, where the hells does all the candy go?

Hugh: I hate you and I hate you, you’re funny, need to find more stories, that’s a pretty flower, I think mom had one like it. I wonder what my sisters are up to.

Aaron: Glory, honor, revenge, get them out alive, I did not sign up for this load of horse manure.

i feel like i’m losing it. that touch. it’s either that or i never had it in the first place, which is equally terrifying because that means i’ve just been getting by on my own delusions. it would serve as proof that i’m hilariously full of myself; plump with more than enough arrogance and self-deceit to think myself a writer – and a decent one at that. how could i have been so blind? ignorant to all the mistakes, the inconsistencies, the repetition and tired topics and tropes that have been relentlessly omnipresent in my work? how dare i assume a craft i am incapable of mastering? what’s the point of doing something if you’re not the best? 

and what if the talent is fading? like ink drying up in the crevices of a ball-point pen. this circumstance is no better because my entire existence and self-worth is built upon my ability to write. the flair i ought to have for the written word. my innate knack for the expression of the English language. it’s all i’ve ever known, so how can it be taken away from me now? why does it feel like the only thing i’ve ever considered myself to be good at, is being wrenched from my mind? i’m scrambling to absorb as much information as possible, from all credible sources. memorising good vocabulary, experimenting with grammar and sentence structure in my head. but there is too much and it feels like i’m running a race i can never win. 

I have been writing for a long time - really ever since I can remember - but I’ve been writing with the specific intent to finish a book and publish it for about 4-5 years now. Over those years, my desire has only become more and more passionate. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s a reflection of how much work and effort and passion and time I have dedicated to my craft.

And during this time that I’ve been writing, there have been brief moments where I stop and wonder if I’m just deluding myself - if perhaps my writing is really nothing special, or even really all that good. That maybe it might have no merit and it’s something that’s bound to fail. The thing is, I’m in a position where my only source of feedback is from other writers, readers, and followers here on Tumblr. Based on the feedback I get, I should get an idea of what I need to improve - and what really needs improving, versus what is just fine as-is and any thought to the opposite is just a warped reflection caused by my many hours staring at the screen.

That’s the real culprit for me - those long hours writing and writing and then feeling that buzz die down, and naturally having it followed by some kind of self-doubt. The eye of the hurricane, so to speak. The part where everything is quieted - your motivation and inspiration and energy - and the other thoughts, the ones you don’t give much room to, come to the center of your mind.

What if you’re not good enough? What if all of this is just some hobby that you’re messing around with, and won’t really go much farther than that? What if this one skill that you thought you had - this one talent - isn’t really much of a talent or skill at all? What if you’re bad at it - and have always been?

I think I’m much lazier at dealing with it than you are - either that, or I’m a lot more stubborn! I generally tend to brush it off with this kind of “Well, I’ve already started and there’s no going back” sort of attitude. I don’t go out of my way to research what good writing should look like, the Top 10 Words I apparently need to cut out of my writing, and Tropes All Writers Should Avoid upon pain of literary failure and death. Sure, these things are interesting to check out when I’ve got the mindset to humor them, but generally speaking, I strongly recommend everything is taken with a grain of salt (perhaps a pinch) and if an advice post doesn’t have something new that I hadn’t thought of before, I move on. 

What I am writing is essentially a reflection of my interests and my reality - a fusion of the two that manifests itself in a range of different ways. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea - but when it really gets down to it, no matter how much fancy vocab I push into my manuscripts or how much I try to include tropes that people are into right now, it’s still not going to be everyone’s cup to tea. I write what I like, how I like. I read it out loud to myself, and if it sounds good to me, then that’s great. (If it doesn’t, I go back and adjust until I like it.) I let others read it, and if it sounds good to them, then that’s great. (If it doesn’t, it’s time to have a conversation about what’s not working out, and see whether that’s something I’m willing to change.)

I get that there are a lot of writers who believe you have to write to the market - to what people are interested in these days. I’m not going to say that they’re right or wrong, because I honestly have no idea what’s more lucrative or just better, but I will say that I stubbornly and pointedly ignore that particular motive in my writing. Maybe I’m too lazy. Maybe I’m too independent. Maybe I’ve just got a hard head, like they say in my mother tongue - but being a little stubborn has helped me retain my confidence in my writing.

I guess the point that I’m trying to make is, I’ve realized that self-doubt is kind of a thing that’s going to be around. As you write, you’ll learn more about writing through experience. As you read, you’ll learn more about writing through admiring its results. As you network with other writers on social media, you’ll learn more about writing through communication and sharing. All of these are good ways to learn - but they do also come with a certain amount of self-doubt. It’s kind of a package deal.

Generally speaking, here’s how I kind of deal with it, and you don’t have to take this as something you must follow - this is what has worked for me so far:

You’re going to want to start comparing yourself to those amazing writers you follow and admire. Don’t. That’s where jealousy starts to rear its ugly head, and nobody likes being envious of others.

You’re going to want to pick apart why people might be more interested in the works of popular writers than your own, and try to copy what they’re doing. Don’t. This comes from a desire to be seen and visible to others - but it won’t be a genuine improvement of your skills.

You’re going to want to downplay your work as comparatively juvenile and low quality. Don’t. This is akin to opening the door to self-doubt and will kill some of your motivation and writing (and this is coming from someone who has scrapped numerous stories that, upon retrospect, might not have been so bad).

In other words, have faith in yourself and your skills. If it sounds mushy and cliche, I can’t really help it - mush is just another part of life and cliches are, as cliche as it sounds, cliche because they generally work. I try to have faith in myself and in the skills I have spent hours honing, and if I want to improve those skills, to do so not as a result of self-doubt, but rather as a result of a natural progression of my writing craft.

Instead of those things above, I have been trying to work on the following:

Reading pieces that I think are good and trying to break them down and understand what makes them as good as they are. In other words, trying to infer techniques from writing I admire - not copy a style.

Sharing what I am comfortable with sharing online when it comes to content - and not drowning myself in some frenzied desire to create content and throw it into a void and hoping others will notice. As a result, I’m free to create and share what I want, when I want, how I want. I’ve found a lot of people who appreciate that for what it is.

Engaging other writers and asking them for feedback on my own writing every now and again. The best way to see if your writing is really up to snuff is just to throw some snippets or excerpts out there and ask for honest feedback - and to handle it maturely when the feedback isn’t what you were expecting (to take a step back, mull it over for a few hours or a whole day, and then trying to see if it will honestly help you improve your writing or not).

Reading my own older written works - because if that isn’t a pick-me-up, I don’t know what is! I often notice that my writing has improved. Going back now and reading something I wrote a year ago is such a strange but pleasant feeling - I realize that “Wow, there are some things here that the me writing today would change and do very differently” - and that is just a natural result of your skills evolving.

Along the same vein, I compare my work to my work. That’s it. There’s no other way to compare work for me. Is it better than it was before? Yes? Great! I’m improving! No? What’s changed? What’s not working out? What have I been experimenting with lately that’s not really doing as well as I thought it would? And so on.

As a parting note, I’d like to add that I don’t think talent fades. Skills can get a bit rusty at times, especially if you don’t use them with any regularity, but unless that’s a loss based on something that makes it impossible for you to do that thing again, you can always find your way back. I think that talent and skills are always evolving. It’s kind of like a superpower. As you go along, you learn more about your talents and your skills, and you develop them.

Sometimes, you might go down a path of development that isn’t really what you need or want. The way that you are trying to develop your skills might end up being not the right way for you. That happens. You may need to sort of re-align yourself and how you want to develop your skills and talents.

 This isn’t really a secret, but it’s not something I think a lot of people realize when they stumble onto the blog of ‘the positivity gremlin,’ but there was a point when I hated every word I wrote. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote, but it all seemed so dull, drab, and boring. It wasn’t the polished prose I was aiming for, and the stories seemed like hot messes of cliche and garbage. In the end, I found myself scrapping several stories that might have been decent had I not let self doubt get the better of me.

 I worried that people would see it the way I did on those rough nights. That no one would like it, I worried I wasn’t original or good enough to write it, I compared myself to other writers to the point I felt like a kid playing pretend when I read my own work, and the nail that nearly sealed my coffin, so to speak, was a giant heap of self depreciation.

 Bouncing back was rough and kind of uncertain. I took about a year long break from writing. Reading, gaming, trying new hobbies. Eventually my road brought me back to writing again, and I started the first book I ever finished a draft of.  And thankfully, I’ve managed to figure out ways to help keep me from doing that to myself again.

 I have many of the same methods of beating my self-doubt back with a stick as @hyba mentioned, I reread old works to see how far I’ve come and I’ve fallen in love with old stories and characters doing so, I only share things I’m comfortable with sharing and I do so at my own pace, I study what I like about other people’s writing and how it works, which is how I figured out how to fix my problems with suspense and tension in my stories; and I’ve come to the point in my life where I frankly no longer care what other people like. If I’m enjoying my story, I’m going to write it and write it the way I want to.

 Choosing to write for myself above all other people, has been the most freeing and confidence boosting choice I ever made for my writing. I use adverbs, I use said, I write cliches, and ‘worn out’ tropes because I like them and have fun writing it. Dragons? Yes. Elves? Everywhere. Is everyone going to like it? Nope, but that’s not the bar I set for myself. I write the stories I crave, the tales I want to hear.

 But there’s more to it than that.

 People who follow me may notice that I reblog a lot of self care reminders: stretching and drinking water and such. These are more for myself than anything because I noticed when I’m not properly taking care of my body, the self doubt gets worse. Your physical health can have an affect your creative health. So when I find myself looking side eye at a piece I wrote, I usually make myself get some water and a snack, take a break and stretch, and then see if something’s still funky. If not, obviously I needed the break. If so, I’m usually in a better headspace to deal with it by the end of the break.

 I am also a firm believer in breaks in general. If I’m getting frustrated with a piece, I’ll set it aside and pick up a book or a game or something. Sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes a few weeks, but sometimes I just need to take a step or two back to see things clearly again.

 Sometimes I read through writing positivity and motivational posts when I’m having a rough time again. Some help more than others, admittedly, so I’ve taken to writing my own to reread later on and maybe help other people out too.

 Making notes of what I like in my own stories while editing them in addition to the things that I need to fix/change also seemed to help. Mixing some praise like ‘keep this scene, love that line, character development is going well’ in with the ‘this needs to go, this needs to speed up, wtf is up with this section even?’ can help make it feel less bleak and hopeless and show myself that there is something worth saving about the story.

 I’ve also gotten really picky about what kinds of writing blogs I follow. If something someone posts makes me feel bad about myself or my writing, I unfollow. Sure, you can’t avoid all negativity, but being exposed to it 24/7 really took it’s toll on me and so I’ve cut out as much of it as I can where I can. And I’ve found that it’s been surprisingly helpful for me. It’s easy to pass off the background radiation of negative/harsh writing posts when you are in a good frame of mind, but they do slowly add up over time.

 Talking things out also seems to help me when I’m stuck on a project or doubting some of my creative choices with it. I have my writing partner and some other people I’ll sit down and explain my snag to and just talk. Sometimes their feedback helps me figure out what path to take, sometimes just hearing myself say it out loud does the trick without them saying a word. If no one is available to talk to that I trust, I talk out loud to either the cat, who does not care either way, or myself and that does still seem to help get my thoughts in working order and help me sort through if a change is needed or if I was just over thinking it again.

 Also, OP, I hope you don’t mind me saying particularly since I’m not familiar with your writing or your blog, but I believe that talent doesn’t fade away into nothingness.  It can get rusty, sure, but writing is a skill and skills only grows with practice, time, and experimentation. You may feel like you’re sliding backwards when something doesn’t work, but that’s more of you discovering something that doesn’t work for your writing. It feels like being defeated, I know, but I believe that it’s actually a step forward.

favorite scene from every episode: 1.09 The Waterbending Scroll