We all have issues with characters; how best to introduce them, how to develope them as three dimensional people, and so on. But then there's the time when you've really established your characters, and are in full swing of the story. It's times like these when we really start to love our own creations, however faulty they might be to others. Are there any characters you've created for a story or novel that you're particularly proud of? Subsequently, what do you believe makes your characters particularly strong? In what way are they original? How did you come to strengthen your character from merely an idea, to a fully-fledged member of your story? I'll go first. I'm really proud of the characters I've created for my Children's book, which includes a small community of "zombies" (they're actually people mutated by radiation) that live underground in an abandoned, sectioned-off sewer. My favourite of these is a spritely girl called Cordelia Crow, who was a freedom fighter before she became a "zombie". She's a really bulshy young girl with alot of attitude, but also alot of emotion. I love the way she fights for what she believes in, and doesn't take kindly to pity. However, she tugs my heart strings (and I hope she would tug the reader's!) because she never truly got to become a woman herself, being only about 15 in the story, and unable to grow as a result of her condition. I like to give the impression that she could have been someone truly influential, had she only been given the chance. Also, I think she's a good way of educating 9-12 year olds about politics and campaigning. I've also just introduced a new character called Nina Sarin, who's an indian girl that's moved in next door. I love her because she's wonderful to describe, but also because she provides alot of wisdom for my main character, Jack. She also adds cultural diversity to my otherwise white british kids, and I needed to introduce a girl for fear of turning my boy-filled book into Lord Of The Flies.
I just recently started writing my first novel and i have it so complex (what other people say NOT me) that its also got more than a simple meaning and moral to the story I am proud of my biggest main character Christina she shows how strong she is no matter how much people judge her for what family she is in or for who she is in love with who is a semi main character Derek bloodstone any way I am proud of both of them because I see within them I see myself because after all Ive been through in my 16 years as a human people don't see me as some one normal just like the magickal creatures in my story with Christina well i got nothing left to say blessed be!!! msXmystery
Hmmm, well I have a favorite character, and a few characters I'm really proud of. If I had to choose though, I'd have to go with Voolone, a wolf character that I created before I could even really write words. At first he was just a figment of my imagination, something to work with. But then as a learned to write I quickly started developing his character into something that couldn't be denied. Before I knew it he changed completely. He went from a weak little pup that feared the world around him into a strong willed wolf that was wise and selfless. Even at the end when he was forced to kill his own brother he forgive his brother for all the pains that he had cost Voolone. Anyways, Voolone would be my choice. Maybe one day I'll bring him back and give him his story once more. Instead of leaving him in my past as a figment of my imagination.
I like that, Ashleigh. She sounds like she's really something. Recently my favorite character that I'm writing about is named Rachel. No last name as of yet despite the fact the book is already close to fifty pages haha. A bit of background on her. She's pyrokinetic because of an experimental cancer treatment she was given. She nearly died before it was given to her. I based her story off of a friend of mine who passed away as a result of cancer. His name was Noah. He was really something. He always had a joke about his situation and powered through it all despite the fact he knew he was dying. He really touched me and this is a tribute to his character. So back to Rachel. She's pretty brazen and out there. She's also very vulnerable under the surface but she never lets anyone see it. She's been through a lot and she desperately clings to the notion that she is in control even though deep down she knows she isn't. That the cancer could come back at any time and turn everything upside down again. Plus she's trying to come to terms with the fact she is pyrokinetic along with everything else she's been through. I recently wrote a part demonstrating all this and I am really pleased with it overall. I know it's not perfect.. but I'm still very happy with the dialogue at least. haha She has a pretty intense exchange with the guy tailing her that turns creepy. Then she grabs his arm and burns him in broad daylight after he refused to let go of her arm. While she acts like all that only made her angry it seriously shook her up. Which you later see when she's driving away.. Rambling sorry. I'm so ecstatic that I've had a three day writing streak! lol
I really don't like any of my writing much so my views on my characters come from the very clear mental picture in my head. lol Lots of my characters tend to be unfortunately similar but despite that, I do still like them a lot. One of my favorites in terms of the story they had is a young boy named Luke, orphaned at a young age and growing up into an old fashioned orphanage. He is eventually adopted by an older wealthy couple and invited into their home, but due to his emotional scars and an initially mysterious disease, he feels unworthy to be there and thus can't fully embrace being part of the new family. Everything that happens, really kind of struck me as somewhat real, if a bit idealistic at times. But I just felt that Luke came alive in this story. I feel this way with most of my characters but I feel it especially true for young Luke, hence his journey is especially precious to my writer's heart.
My villain Hey y'all. I'm new to the site. I like this topic. My favorite Character is Oscar Torres, a beast of a villain. Set in New Spain his father died at a young age and his mother did what she had to to survive. The man who employed him and his mother when he was young abused them both. Him with beating, her with brutal rapings. Oscar was ashamed of his mother so he ran away and grew up to be a very stealthy antagonist. He does favors for people in need and somehow employs their help in return for life. He is always accused but never punished. He has mastered the art of wide eyed "who me?"s then smoke and mirrors his way to an undeniable innocent platform. Good people get mixed up with him Nd he uses their credibility As an overcoat. He's handsome and sweet with the ladies, but brutal to any whore who finds themselves behind shut doors with him. In short he's a nasty piece of work and I adore him. BTW sorry about the typos I'm writing from my iPhone.
Ha! As a writer, I believe we all have a crush on our own characters. Why would we write about them if we don’t like them, right? My latest crush (well, she isn’t the first and won’t be the last, right?) is named Red; just Red without surname; her getting a surname is a path to the goal of story. She is the best character I’ve ever created; both the protagonist of story and the largest obstacle of all other characters; even to her protagonist companion and would-be first love. As a circus wolf girl – real werewolf, not just a hairy person – she was raised inhumanly, making her having no emotion. Throughout her unearthly long childhood she faced a lot of tragedies; beaten, sexually assaulted, and killing her father. Fortunately, she would find a little spot beside her would-be love interest and learnt to be real human. I’ve never created any character this deep before and wish I could finish this work.
I hate the majority of the characters who i create. I tend to attempt to make them as realistic and human as possible. Sometimes, it just doesnt work out. The ones im least proud of are in my re-write of my novel. Those are some bland bland people. BUT! I did fall in-love... with a guy D: Just kidding, hes a character of mine who im extremely proud of. Ive never loved a character so much. He was completely human, and very much "three dimensional" his journey is long and funny and i think its just ****ing brilliant. The only story im actually proud of... his name... is... er.. well... "Guy #1" Ive always called him guy number 1 From my "guy" series. I never liked any others as much as #1 so i havnt wrote them yet! But i got 3 other "guys" in my head... i sound mental. I should stop writing this now..
There are a whole bunch of characters I'm proud of at the minute. Each of them completely self-involved, but I love them.
The one character I love above all else is Mazrath. His creation was rather odd too. I started playing a MMORPG and the character started off named Ganondorf. I created him to be 'evil' in that fictional world. I even started writing stories about him that never went further then a page or so before I gave up. Its then I decided to get a name change/race change and got a Night Elf named Tazryl. I started writing stories based around Tazryl and the fictional organization known as the Astari Guard. Which in the game had no backstory and very little information. I took it upon myself to try and figure out what the Astari Guard really was about. He started off as a student with the mentor named Mazrath(my attempt at creating my own version of a relationship between Drizzt and Zak. Can you guess the weapons they used?). I got through 20k words or so and then I stopped writing(the story was horrible with so many plot holes and loose ends and things that were just abandoned) As time went on I discovered I truly loved the name Mazrath. On my third story based around this new ingame character(all of which were his 'origin' story), I switched the names. The general personality stayed the same. Mazrath is a character who loves a challenge. It can be the simple challenge of trying to win a foot race to something as dangerous as taking on more enemies then he can handle. He is also has a short temper which lands him into serious trouble. While loving a challenge and short tempered, he is the type of guy who will go to any lengths to protect his loved ones or anyone who needs a helping hand. He even harbors a dream of completing the ultimate challenge. An impossible labrynth full of traps, monsters, and the undead. He realizes that he will probably die in their like the hundreds before him(legend has it there is some great treasure at the center) but he doesn't go in for the treasure(though he has wondered what he might do with it) but for the challenge itself. Mazrath is my favorite character I have ever created. I think this is because he is also one of the very first. He has changed and morphed as the years went by and now I have two versions of him. The short tempered kid who gets into trouble and him as an adult as a wiser and patient man, who still loves to be challenged. Of course he now knows when to walk away. I really need to start writing the very last version of his Origin story.
I created a character, Jared Slovnyk, for a Rybok's Rat Pack RPG here on the site. He was a small, pale, humorless man, but cold as death. He was a highly intelligent sociopath who put no value on life. He killed, without anger or emotion, anyone who stood between him and his goal of the moment. He was efficient, and as long as your presence was not a problem for him, good to have on your side. But if you became a liability, you'd be lucky to live long enough to run away. After the game ended, I used him as the protagonist in a short story, The Killing Jar. There are details about his childhood that I planned to use in another Rybok game that never happened, but I may write it into another short story at some point. Another of my favorite characters had no name, and only a sketch of a description. She was a mysterious dark haired woman with starlingly blue eyes in my short story Blue. I also have characters I really enjoy working with in the two novels I'm working on, but it would be premature to talk about them here.
Characters have never been my strongest suit. I'm more of a... "the world they're in and the magic that drives it" kinda guy. But I try. I'd have to say that my character creation skills have grown over time, and each new one is better than the last. Therefore I'm most proud of my current novel's main character, Havoc (named such almost as a joke, because the only thing his parents could think of when it came time to name him was how their life of peace, quiet, and unchanging-ness was over.) The reason I'm proud isn't because I've succeeded in pulling off a difficult vantage point with him or anything like that. I guess the reason I'm so proud of him is because he feels so... natural. He's the hero, but he's not heroically brave. He's not heroically smart or clever. He's not heroically... anything. Well, no, that's a lie. He's heroically resilient. One of the main themes behind Havoc is to show that people have the power to be invincible. The invincible I'm talking about isn't the stops-bullets-with-his-skin kind, but rather... The kind where life gives you lemons, and you not only make lemonade, but you share a glass with those who threw the lemons in the first place. He's 11 when his parents are killed and he is made into a fugitive, and the story is about him proving to an entire world that sees him as devil-spawn that he has the right to live, and that he is not evil. I'm proud of Havoc because he is (I think) a believable character who shows you don't have to give up your life to despair. My novel's Havoc is the Bible's Job.
I created a character years ago for my AD&D gaming group. They knew him only as 'The Black'. He was what I considered a Palladin of an evil Goddess. By order of his Dragonlord, he harrassed the characters, driving them to find the elves who had escaped the Dragonlord in a previous war. He was driven and loyal to his cause, and he would use any means necessary to achieve his goals. I plan on using him again in the books I have plans for very soon. Regardless of the setting, he's a character I've always been proud of because the players would visibly cringe any time there was even a hint of him on their trail.
As I sit here thinking and reading great descriptions of other people's characters I can think of two of my characters that I particularly like. The first is a young Native American boy named Lakota who is the best friend to Oliver in my children’s book. He’s clumsy, funny, and goofy but he offers Oliver a very crucial friendship and is very loyal, wise and believes that things happen for a reason even if they are horrible. It all sounds pretty deep for a 10 year old, lol. My other character, Henry McKay, is a wise old Scotsman’s who acts as the classic mentor figure to his Granddaughter (Addison), Grandson (Jace) and his granddaughters ‘boyfriend’(Derek) who are all trying to unravel the mysteries of an artefact found in Mexico. He’s a retired archaeologist who offers his expertise and advice but also learns a lot from his younger inexperienced adventurers. It’s been great fun developing all my characters.
Ah, so many wonderfully awesome and inspiring characters, it's pretty hard to compete with the few characters that I'm proud of, but sadly and regrettably I tend to kill those off. I'll just post the one that I guess I'm the most proud of. The character's name is Alfred, just Alfred. He's a a simple, weak and foolish human being who thinks everyone is good. A few examples would be giving thieves his wallet, thinking they'll do something good with it, helping arsonists light a building on fire, thinking the fire is probably to help people and other things like that. When I put him into the chaos of the imaginary world I created, he saw many people doing horrible things to each other and believed they probably had some just reason in doing so. He met his unfortunate end burning in flames he still had a belief that what was happening to him was probably helping others in some way and he smiled, thinking to himself, Thank goodness for such good people.
Don't want to spoil anything for my TV show spec script, just that there are six brothers (naturalised American citizens; were all born in New Zealand), who love playing pranks on each other and their work mates.
I've just started my first story and I really love my main character... she's the person I want to be and has some pretty kickass attributes.
I like every character I've ever wrote about; but the ones I remember with the most fondness was the protagonist and his grandmother in a short story I've since lost. They lived in the 1920s, when the story was set, and the main character was a bit of a snob, and rather prone to his own fears; but he was intelligent, and had a distinct sense of humour, different to my own. He was a joy to write. His gradmother on the otherhand was an awful racist, and the man had a few racist opinions himself. But it was the zeitgiest.
The Kiwies of California? (And this, of course, will be high drama?) Well you certainly won't be at a shortage of material, will you? Like others, I'd have a difficult time nailing down one character, or even two, of whom I am especially proud. And for a number of different reasons. Some, like the priest who, when I killed him off my daughter stopped speaking to me for weeks! Other than an occasional "murderer!" snarled in my direction. (Ah! The sweet silence.) Him, because he embodied so many outstanding qualities of decent human nature. I wish I myself could be so good. And there's the single father of five kids, an architectural engineer cum building construction supervisor, who worked on the road to provide for his family only to come home following his wife's death, a stranger for the most part, to cope with kids who resent him and a snob of a mother-in-law who always accused him of stealing her only child. Then Bear - James Barrimore McGlyndon - retired Air Force (for whom the formerly mentioned priest takes a bullet at the end of the novel) who finds himself tangled up in international espionage, wanted by the feds, local cops, a crooked FBI agent, and the bad guys who believe he has info to identify their inside spy-guys infiltrating U.S. agencies. He puts his life on the line for a stranger without thinking, just because that's the way he's put together. And then he is just as likely to turn his hands to mush from dealing out a little street justice. My characters cover a wide territory of personality, style, and character. But the thing they all have in common is a passion for what they believe in. Even the 'bad guys' are passionate about what they believe. And, the one poor sad sack who is less than confident about what she does or does not believe, still serves up her own style of passion. I'm proud of all of them, probably just because I embrace them so thoroughly and they come alive for me so completely that I simply love them all! I guess it's like a mother being asked which of her kids she loves the most. Can't answer. Love them all uniquely.
I forgot to add in their three younger sisters, and it is based in New York City, and what hit show do you think my script is alluding to now?
I'm very proud of my main protagonists for my Demon Story, Sam and Lorain. Sam because despite every single thing I threw at him, he still took all of it and grew wonderously from all of it. And Lorain because from the moment she came to me (with Sam) she always seemed to be saying to me "No, I am NOT going to be one of those damsels in distress. Never!" and she stuck to it even when I may've slightly tried. And she's always been a strong-willed girl and refuses to fall into any gender stereotypes. And there's also my villain, who went from being a sort of omniscient evil presence in the beginning, to an emotionally torn/mentally scarred/suffering and deep individual who happens to have such a twisted view of reality based on what he's gone through that's made him evil.
One of my favourite characters that I've created is Jonathon De Luca, in a sort of historical/horror novel I wrote set in the Spanish Civil War. I will go back to the novel eventually, because I think it has some potential, but the whole thing is the fault of that character. He'd been bugging me for a while, wanting to be written, and it just so happened that we were studying the Spanish Civil War at the time, and he walked out of my imagination, into the dusty Spanish streets, cigarette in his mouth, looking for a vampire to kill. Hopefully he'll get some more attention some day, since he was a lot of fun to write.
