1. Harmonices

    Harmonices Senior Member

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    Do You Talk to Your Characters?

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Harmonices, Feb 10, 2019.

    Do you interact imaginatively with your characters? If so how so? And how do they contribute to your understanding of them and their stories?

    Feedback for the first scene in one of my stories in the Workshop (https://www.writingforums.org/threads/the-castle-of-heroes-scene-1-maggie-tells-paddy-his-fortune.161166/) suggested that one of my characters needed drawing out a bit more. I realised I hadn't got as strong an idea of the boy character as I had of the woman character.

    So last night before I went to sleep, I pulled up an image of him in my head and had a chat with him. He didn't say much though, he was kneeling on the floor looking away from me. So I wombled on a bit about how he was a sort of magician, he wanted to know if he had a magic wand, I said, no 'it's a staff of power', he said 'cool!' And not much else.

    He was excited by what I told him about his role, but didn't contribute much to the convo. Anyway, eventually I realised he was focused on something else. So I asked him, 'what are you doing?' He leaned back and showed me. He was building a castle out of lego bricks, and all around him were pictures he'd drawn of animals and birds in chalk and charcoal.

    So I learned a lot about him. He's creative and industrious, he likes animals, he's got a great imagination and is artistic. He's also aware of the eponymous 'Castle of Heroes', as it features in his play, so he must see it somehow. All great leads for building him more vividly.

    Does anyone do this kind of thing? What did you learn?
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
  2. Kaitlin Gil

    Kaitlin Gil Member

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    I do this kind of thing all the time! Sometimes, depending on my mood and the character, the character will sit next to me as I write and comment, like, "Oh please, I would never say that!". Basically, the best thing to do is make a character profile for all of your characters (at least the significant ones). Write it down. But, for your main and even supporting characters, go deeper. Think about things they would've done earlier in their life. For a doctor, think back to that one time when they were just starting out and there was this one patient whose life he saved... etc. It'll really help you build a realistic character. Or, if you're feeling adventurous (and don't mind getting weird looks when you accidentally say something out loud to "no one"), spend a whole day with a character. Take them to your school or work and see how they would react to YOUR environment.
     
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  3. Harmonices

    Harmonices Senior Member

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    This is all interesting. I like the idea of sharing my day with a character. Should get onto those character profiles. Neato!
     
  4. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    That's what I call immersion! Fantastic. I think immersion is the tool that is sometimes missing from the tool box of newer writers, who can get so focused on plot and plot points that they forget their characters have to be 'real' as well, not just agents who move the plot along.

    I have never done it quite like that myself, in that I don't directly 'talk' to my characters AS myself. What I do is envision other characters with them, talking to them and listening to them, asking questions, offering opinions, etc. Not only do I discover more about all the characters, doing this, but I learn more about how they interact. There have been a few surprises. :)
     
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  5. Harmonices

    Harmonices Senior Member

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    Good point about the reality of the characters driving the story. Not just 'plot agents'. I should keep that one in mind.

    It's is something that really came home after posting the scene mentioned above. Maggie is real and very strong in my mind. Respondents to my thread, said they found her vivid too and responded to her well. Patrick's also 'real' to me, but more remote and intangible. Farther away, less present. Respondents found him poorly described.

    Maggie is independent, colourful, strong willed and a woman with a lot of life experience. She's easy for me to see and describe. Patrick's a 'far away' kind of kid though, off in his own head. Harder for me to capture.

    I think I need to work on building a relationship with him myself. Or maybe I could do as you suggest, and build the relationship between the two characters imaginatively.
     
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  6. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Whatever method works for you! It sounds like the direct author/character interaction has produced very usable results.
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2019
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  7. graveleye

    graveleye Senior Member

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    I don't talk to my characters, but I sure do think about them constantly, and somehow, I seem to feel every single emotion that they're feeling.
    Sometimes it's to the point of distraction in my real life.
     
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  8. Merley

    Merley Member

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    I tried talking to one of my characters and he's a huffy little ball of sarcasm. He likes to wear heels and a black cape. Because he's extra. I think that talking to characters is interesting, it helps to build the character, like you said. My thing is you have to let the character react, like I was trying to put my self in both places of the conversation, but when I imagined I was talking directly to him, he just kinda took his own form and made himself a deeper and better character.
     
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  9. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

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    No, I tend to have them interact with each other in my head, and play out scenarios.
     
  10. GB reader

    GB reader Contributor Contributor

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    I talk with my dog about some of my characters. (I make sure there is no one close by). Sometimes it’s good to put real spoken words to an idea you have about a character.

    Of course this is totally silly, but aren't we all when it comes to writing!
     
  11. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Mine talk to each other, not to me. Out loud you can hear when someone would or wouldn't say that or do that.
     
  12. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    All the time in my head.

    "Mishu, no. You don't get to be all edgy and angsty!"

    "Gregreo, wtf bro?"

    "Kenthew, think -- what would you do in this situation?"

    Considering we dedicate our time putting a bunch of words on a stack of dead trees that'll make people hallucinate peoples and worlds that don't exist... I think the concept of sanity went out the window a long time ago.
     
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  13. DarkPen14

    DarkPen14 Florida Man in Training Contributor

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    Oh, absolutely. I can go for days on end having conversations with all of my different characters, most of which have never seen the light of day. Sometimes they have conversations on their own and I'm just a spectator. And other times they complain about scenes in a story where I've skimped on the feels because I don't feel and do not know how to do feels, and sometimes they get into fights. Characters are people, and just because they don't exist in our reality doesn't mean they don't exist in their own.

    And sometimes I ask for advice on how I'm supposed to react.

    Me: "What would Jathan do?"

    Aura: Nobody knows, you won't let him do anything.

    jathan: How the hell did a half-dragon become a vampire?!

    Me: This is getting out of hand.

    Also Me: You started this.

    Every day.
     
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  14. Shenanigator

    Shenanigator Has the Vocabulary of a Well-Educated Sailor. Contributor

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    It's how I ended up writing my WIP. I'd had the same dream about these two people three nights in a row, so I did the subconscious exercise you did, where, in a relaxed state, you ask the people a question. I said, "Who are you people?" and the guy who became my MC, Alexei, was eager to tell me about himself. His girlfriend was not. That's when I knew I had a novel.

    I probably don't do it as often as I should. Alexei is a chatterbox who always give me answers when I think to ask. Well...almost always. Once when I couldn't figure out which piece to have him play in an important scene (he's a classical pianist), I asked him and he shrugged and said, "Whatever you want. It's nothing to me. They're all easy." Conceited little snot...(Only about his music, though.)

    It's a great exercise, though. I highly recommend it.
     
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  15. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    I talk to them. I would say, "Okay girlfriend I want you to buy into everything this guy is telling you."
    Her reply, "Eat dirt, lame brain.
    In the end I wonder who wrote the story. Maybe I just wrote the bad parts that needs work by my characters.
     
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  16. animagus_kitty

    animagus_kitty Senior Member

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    I don't have 'conversations' so much as...I learn things from them while I write.
    For example, Z and M used to date, like 30 years ago. This is not nearly as long for them as it would be for a normal person, but that's not the point.
    The point is, I didn't know that until one of them realized that the other had held onto a trinket for thirty years.

    So now I have to move forward, and even do a bit of rewriting, to accommodate this new information that APPARENTLY, they used to be an item. This isn't the first time the characters have revealed their own backstory and made me wonder who was actually the author here, but it's certainly the most drastic.
     
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  17. Odile_Blud

    Odile_Blud Active Member

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    I used to but not anymore. Usually, what I do now is have two seperate characters interview each other. You oughtta' try it. It's fun!
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2019
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  18. Justin Thyme

    Justin Thyme Active Member

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    I like to put my favourite chars into some awkward situation and then write a flash fiction about it, usually just 300 to 500 words. I find it really helpful, I tried talking to them but wasn't sure I'd be able to make them go away when I'd finished talking.
     
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  19. Friedrich Kugelschreiber

    Friedrich Kugelschreiber marshmallow Contributor

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    Y'all need to see a psychiatrist :supertongue:
     
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  20. animagus_kitty

    animagus_kitty Senior Member

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    To think that one writer could say this to another. smdh :p
     
  21. Darius Marley

    Darius Marley Member

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    Why spend money on a shrink? Editors cost less, and are more useful!
     
  22. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    If someone saw me, they would probably think I was schizophrenic with multiple split personality disorder. I actually prefer to act out the speaking and conversational aspects of my characters to get a better understanding of how they realistically would speak or act. I can jot down an amount of the body language portrayed by the character that I otherwise would have missed if I didn't place myself in their shoes. This also allows for me to immerse myself in their feelings and create a scene that is believable. I have trouble writing nonverbal communication without physically acting it out. If you try it in a mirror, after you get over laughing at yourself looking stupid for a few minutes, you'll find a lot of intricacies in body language that actually gives the reader and you a better feel for how your character looks and appears to other characters. I find this sort of method acting to be incredibly useful in writing. But I'm sure I sound quite silly.

    I also find this is great for understanding the mechanics and physics of an action scene. If you try some of the movements you're writing about, you get a better understanding what kind of physical feats are actually possible, what should only be reserved for those trained, and you really find how actually clumsy real combat or action is. I was in the US Marine Corps, so I already had a very good understanding of this, but sometimes I try to act out or reference the actual movements to remember how much of a struggle much of it was. Helps me remember how much of a pain it all was!
     
  23. Shenanigator

    Shenanigator Has the Vocabulary of a Well-Educated Sailor. Contributor

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    I, too, do this when writing dialogue. It really does help, especially with the pacing.
     
  24. Reece

    Reece Senior Member

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    I have interviewed my characters. I asked each of the mains in my WIP around 20 questions each. Silly things like favourite colour, favourite smell, what would you do if you won a million dollars, etc. I found it really helpful to understand who they are and help them become more three dimensional.
     
  25. hirundine

    hirundine Contributor Contributor

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    Once. Sort of. By accident. At one point while I was working on an earlier version of my novel, I speculated on how things would have turned out if Sigrun had gone to Germany instead of her brother.

    Her response: "Well, for starters, I wouldn't have fallen off the roof and died."
     

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