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  1. CrossWiredGarden

    CrossWiredGarden Member

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    Favorite Character You've written?

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by CrossWiredGarden, Oct 31, 2016.

    So, I was curious. I've enjoyed a lot of my characters, and I've always enjoyed the stories that I've been able to come up with them. However, there is one character I have always really liked, and I've always come back to him. Rather, both of them.
    My character 'Arin', is definitely one of my favorite character's I've written. That is purely for the selfish reason he's based heavily on myself, and I find it interesting to try and write myself into a story that I've always wanted to do.
    His partner, Ivan, is one of my long term favorite characters I've made. I made him long ago when I was just starting to get into writing. He's constantly surprised me, and he's been one of my more complex characters that I've been able to develop.
    I was just wondering if anyone else has that character that always seems to give them the joy to write?
     
  2. ddavidv

    ddavidv Senior Member

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    I think most writers like multiple characters. I don't know that I have a favorite as to whom I like the most. I do have a favorite I like to "work with". She's a bit of a train wreck but that is what makes her fun to write. I'm also enjoying her nemesis/love interest because he is the kind of guy I wish I was. Always clever, always in control and master of everything in his world.

    OTOH I did fall in love with one of my characters. I wrote about it on my blog titled "My First Love": https://davidwittlingerauthor.wordpress.com/
    I became so emotionally invested in her that I felt pain when I wrote scenes that hurt her emotionally. Not based on any real person, so even stranger the reaction I had to writing about her. Having that close connection is probably just as important as the fun-to-work-with factor.

    Part of the reason my current WIP may be stalled is because I haven't yet made that hard connection to my MC. But then the only way to gain that connection is to work with him for awhile.
     
  3. Pauline

    Pauline Member

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    I have a secondry character that I'd like to give his own story to. He got to say a few one liners and my betas liked him as well. I think I'd have to mature him a few years, or do something awful to him to tone him down, otherwise he's be too exhausting. As for putting myself in my own book. Just no. Hard enough explaining to people that when my characters have sexy time, that I don't necessarily, um, do it that way myself.
     
  4. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    I don't think I could ever pick just one. Weirdly, my favorites tend to be secondary characters rather than the MCs, and I've had readers say they feel the same way! For sure Carmen in Under the Knife has a decent fanbase according to Goodreads.
     
  5. Pauline

    Pauline Member

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    Weird cross post. So will Carmen get her own book? Or are you sticking to MM?
     
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  6. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    At the very least, I'm a romance writer who has no interest in writing about straight couples. ;) So it's very unlikely that Carmen will get her own book via my pen. If anyone wants to write fanfic though, I'm totally up for that!
     
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  7. MusingWordsmith

    MusingWordsmith Shenanigan Master Contributor

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    I have a variety of favorites. Interestingly, they are also a variety of personality types. To be honest, one of the MC's from my current work was kinda a bland character I didn't personally care for that much until this draft. But then I gave him a hero complex and a disability, so now he's actually really fun. XD Of course, one of the other MC's has been one of my favorites since I first thought him up. (I've only got 3, my girl is, eh, probably more unexplored than anything. I'm pantsing it.)
     
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  8. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

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    My favorite character was a living teddy bear named Christainsen. While he's only a minor character, his dialogue was so much fun to write. While everyone was prim and proper, he was just like "Yeah, I'm going to the bar." So he ended up adding a lot of comic relief to an otherwise bleak plot.
     
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  9. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Corlixia Burvonn (AKA Mother Confessor), has been a very fun complex character despite the simplicity with which she sees things. Gives a different perspective of what it is like to interact with different cultures and species, as well as self exploration, learning, and understanding. Kinda funny to think of an alien creature that acts like a curious inquisitive young woman, trying to also inter-mingle and fit in despite being an outsider and bio-engineered (an aspect that she is not aware of yet, among other information about her that has not been told to her either).

    Marckus is fun in the similar to that friend you have that is the lovable ass, but when you need him (either to chat, or to be at your side in a shit situation), he is there for you when need a friend, psychiatrist, or a foul mouthed blunt instrument to aid you in combat. As a character he is one that you love to hate and hate to love.

    Zlada 'Red Wolf' Volkov could easily be my fav. even though like many others seem to enjoy their secondary characters. The decline from being happy-go-lucky, to an emotionally cold and unflinching killing machine with echoes of her former self peeking through the surface. Kinda turned into a scary character can shake even the most hardened soldier with a hard gaze with her dark green eyes. Also she can pick your nose at a little over a klick with a sniper rifle (though she can hit a target farther than that). :D
     
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  10. Shorty82

    Shorty82 New Member

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    Oh god yes! I've been writing about Kate and Ryan for about five years! Kate is this strong independent woman who doesn't trust or let many people get close to her and I guess she's most like me, even though it wasn't intentional. Ryan is this bad boy type who's been in trouble with the law growing up and they collide and sparks fly. I love how they bounce off each other and their dynamic grows. They are still growing but I love writing them!
     
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  11. Phil Mitchell

    Phil Mitchell Banned Contributor

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    I don't believe in having favourite characters when it comes to my work. A character is only good because other characters put them over. Characters work together to bring the best story.
     
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  12. RayAlamo

    RayAlamo Member

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    My favorite character is one I based of a friend I met while adventuring China years ago. A free spirit, he let me crash his place when I had nowhere to go. He died not long after we parted ways but I treasured the time we spent together. Nomads who met on the road, so I wrote a character to honor his memory.
     
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  13. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Are you guys writing multiple novels about the same characters? That seems like a lot of work and a lot of time to spend with the same characters. But if you've got a good thing going, I don't see why not. I write mostly short stories, and I have reused some characters. I haven't done it a lot and I'm not quite sure exactly what it is that makes me want to return to certain characters. But, yes, I can relate. I know the feeling of not being done with a character even when I'm done with a story.

    That being said, I'm not sure I have a favorite character. My favorite characters tend to be the ones I'm actively writing. If I'm writing something and I feel like these aren't my best or favorite characters, I start to worry that something's wrong.
     
  14. Jay Lafountain

    Jay Lafountain New Member

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    Ah, I have too many characters I like. As some people have said before me, they tend to be the secondary characters. I have nothing published, nor I probably never will, but I still have a connection with most characters - they come in my everyday life. For example, I hear each character in every song, see them in every picture, can imagine them in any situation at every given second. It's honestly very interesting and complex. I love my character Topaz, although he's not the main-main character if you understand what I mean! I've always loved his cool and easy-going personality despite all he's gone through, and I like his joking and eloquent air. I wish Topaz was a real person, almost! I also like my character Lux, although she's the opposite of everything I like in a character. She's unintelligent, pretty nonetheless, prissy, clingy, and yeah, you get the point. Your cliche popular girl, if you will. I still like her for some reason. (All of these characters are cats, note.)

    Some of my other favorites are Akemi, Lillith, and Lumus from the book I'm working on called "Lost in the Shadows". Akemi is sassy and care-free, but she is still smart although she doesn't like to show off. She is a bit of a rebel and a rulebreaker yet she would give her life for her Pack. (These are wolves, now.) And in the end, I was so sad when I wrote her death scene because it clearly defined her connection with Soleis, Lumus's brother. Lumus, I honestly don't know why I like him. He's kind, and the protective brother type. He was easily swayed by promises of being a better wolf for his Pack, and even so that he went and trained with the Pack of Lurking Shadow. And Lillith, she's your typical powerful female manipulative piece of trash. She is young, and a trainer in the Pack of Lurking Shadow. Lumus was her first trainee and she was determined to do her best because her parents were Alpha and Beta, but they were abusive to her. She was afraid of being wrong, so she trained Lumus to the max to make them happy and ready to manipulate him to join them, so they can start a war against the Pack of Whispering Stars. Despite all of this darkness, she still somehow fell for Lumus. I think that's why I like her.

    Sorry if I wrote a lot, but I have always felt a connection with every character I wrote and had reasons for them all. Trust me, this isn't even skimming the surface off the characters I am obsessed with :supergrin:
     
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  15. G. Anderson

    G. Anderson Active Member

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    My favourite character has been a 17-year-old girl (or woman, that age is hard to define) in a novel, which I finished but never took anywhere because it's not edited, and I can't exactly get my hand around how to improve it. But the character was called Emily, and I really loved writing her and felt that I understood her very well.

    Other than that, I enjoy writing April, who is the main character in the novel that I am currently writing.
     
  16. Scot

    Scot Senior Member

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  17. Lyrical

    Lyrical Frumious Bandersnatch

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    I wrote a retelling of the creation story believed by the Yoruba people, wherein the orisha sent to create the land is instructed to take several things within him including a black cat for companionship. I turned the cat into a character of his own and he instantly became a favorite. He and the orisha (god) are friends, of sorts, but he's cynical and aloof and difficult. I've put into him the personality of my own cat and given him the words I believe she'd say in the moment. He's incredibly fun to write.
     
  18. Ebenezer Lux

    Ebenezer Lux Member

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    Haven't written him yet, but I've got a character who is an eccentric, but super competent and effective lieutenant. He's got a bit of stoicism to him which makes me the straight player in comedic situations. I'm very pleased with his physical character design, but I need to find the words to capture such an image.
     
  19. I.A. By the Barn

    I.A. By the Barn A very lost time traveller Contributor

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    Er, hmm, this is a hard one. Firstly I love Lu, she was my first serious character and she is just so evily good which I just love in characters. But I also love Kadek, who is very close to my heart. I created them years ago as someone to draw with but I found myself creating a whole world, race and story around them. They're an imp, who strives to be helpful but often is more of a hindrance. Their boyfriend is neat too but he's a bit too controlling for my liking really.
     
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  20. Kerilum

    Kerilum Active Member

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    My main character's whole story is something that transforms him into a malicious, malevolent man. He teaches these short themes to his siblings that always come around to bite him in the ass, beating him down into a depressed, angry adolescent. He's uninterested in love interests, and his motivation (from the audience's perspective) seems to be to benefit himself.
     
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  21. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    When I was 12 or so, I created a character called Matthew Webs - I have no idea why I've formed an attachment to him because this character is totally underdeveloped, being that I wrote him when I was well, 12 or so! He was perhaps my first serious male character - up till then I believe, as far as memory serves anyway, I had either entirely or predominantly written girls, definitely girl MCs. I honestly don't remember any male character before Matthew except for instances of Doraemon fanfiction comics.

    William Reus is the MC to the very first novel I ever tried to write, which was also when I first got serious about writing and editing - up till then I'd just write gibberish for fun without a care in the world for story or writing quality, nor structure. It's now been exactly a decade since Will's story came to be and it's still unfinished because of a very flawed and holey plot. However, this also means Will's perhaps my most complex character whom I've come to love.

    Soren Lost is the MC to my self-pubbed novel (which you can see in my sig and avatar). He's not complex as such, since I quite literally wrote him into being within the space of 5 weeks with my co-author. But he's just very likeable :) With my characters I feel them more than I see them, and Soren has a very attractive core - he's a protector with a drive and determination that Will doesn't have.
     
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  22. PrincessBLJack

    PrincessBLJack New Member

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    I love all my characters! But I do have a clear favorite Candidty Jane the main character from my current story in progress The Legend of the Ultimate Element. She represents just everything I want to get across with writing. I have high functioning autism, and I made Candy to represent that. They don't out right say she has autism, but the reader can piece together that she has mental problems, especially in socal situations. Her interests are few, and she very knowledgeable in the things she likes. However, she is ignorant in most other topics. She's very kind, but there is slight lack of empathy with her. She doesn't seem to feel sorry for people, and she gets over loss fairly quickly. She not a very good speaker. She tends to pause a lot, ramble, and change topics than change back without warning. But she is kind and very forgiving. She will be nice to people who try to hurt her. She's also a critical thinker who philosophically questions just about everything she encounters. My friends really like the character. I do role-plays as her, and she's popular among the people I rp with.
     
  23. PilotMobius

    PilotMobius Active Member

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    For my webcomic project, I made one of the main characters to contrast the current trend of PC culture. Greg is a racist, homophobe, member of the upper class, American nationalist, cop, gun owner, and ordinary white man. He's everything politically-correct SJWs hate, and he's not going to reform.
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2017
  24. Vanthu

    Vanthu Member

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    It was Steven Barton. He's a famous event planner in the state that my protagonist works for. He's an exaggerated version of himself. In his commercials, he's weird. In real life, he's crazy.

    It's becoming Tracy Bacon Parker. She's Autumn's best friend that doesn't return the "best friend" status to her, which Autumn hates. But, without her best friend being there, she and Autumn are close. She even got her own backstory, which was my longest chapter (her parents weren't ready to be parents, she left her home as a baby, and eventually given up for adoption). I make sure I can include her as much as I can. Maybe it's because she's partially inspired by my former best friend.
     
  25. Lifeline

    Lifeline South. Supporter Contributor

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    Yeah, I have a favourite too. And judging from the comments I get, he's the favourite of a lot of my readers. There was not a single moment I didn't know what to write, or how he'd express himself. No hesitation, and I love this feeling - not to fear anything :D
    And no, he is far from perfect ;)
     

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