When Characters Affect the Author.

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by cutecat22, May 30, 2015.

  1. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

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    Especially when emotions are running high! :D
     
  2. Razet Elwood

    Razet Elwood Active Member

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    yeah ...no kidding
     
  3. No-Name Slob

    No-Name Slob Member Supporter Contributor

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    lol! No hard feelings. I can be tricky. :)
     
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  4. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    I was replying to Phil Mitchell and yes, there was an element of sarcasm to my answer.
     
  5. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

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    Ok cool. Your sarcasm is subtler than No-name slob's.

    IMO his opinion is way out of line and something something wtf.
     
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  6. Razet Elwood

    Razet Elwood Active Member

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    i didn't see your wink face No Name ....i am so blind
     
  7. Razet Elwood

    Razet Elwood Active Member

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    yep phil is blank
     
  8. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    I'm all for people having opinions, it would be boring if we were all the same but yes, I do feel like he's actually laughing in my face just because I have an affection for my characters. I wonder what he's say if I admitted that I talk to them ... (and here comes the white van ...)

    Seriously though, I know we are not all the same but rudeness is not always necessary. :-D
     
  9. Razet Elwood

    Razet Elwood Active Member

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    David Gerrold recommends that you sit down and you have a conversation with you characters on the computer. It helps you to get to know them better and it can be really fun!
     
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  10. No-Name Slob

    No-Name Slob Member Supporter Contributor

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    I just want to chime in here and say that I'm totally cool with being the measure with which sarcasm on this forum is accepted. :supercool:
     
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  11. Phil Mitchell

    Phil Mitchell Banned Contributor

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    That's your values. I'd rather be honest and call a spade a spade than be well liked. I see no requirement to wait until my post count is higher.

    Now to the poster who cried for months when she drew her character in a scene.

    I say this from a place of kindness now and not snark or sarcasm - Have you ever considered that you might have an emotional disorder?

    To cutecat and others.
    I don't see any correlation between crying and the end product being bad or good. Being emotional on the page is all that matters. A healthy distance is a good thing. It makes one more objective, logical and clearheaded when writing. And even emotional - on the page.

    Why would anyone need to know almost everything about a character? It's enough to know what's relevant for the story. Example: If my character's going to have a romance then how they feel about romantic love becomes something that should be known. If not, then who cares? Fanfic shippers? o_O

    Do you cutecat have a theoretical point where you'll take a step back and think this is far enough? Or do you think any amount of detail and any amount of talking to your fictional characters is good for your craft?
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2015
  12. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

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    This is a classic case where "show, don't tell" would be significantly more effective. I encourage you to give it a go. And perhaps look up "psychological projection" if you have the time.

    I am also curious why you are not seeking understanding, but continue to belittle and dismiss other people's technique or process for writing? What do you hope to achieve here? Changing me? Changing others who have an emotional connection with their characters or story? Do you honestly think you can do that? If not, what is your goal here? I am sincerely curious.
     
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  13. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Experiencing the emotion of the character is quite different from expressing it. Feeling the pain, anguish, sadness or even joy through strong empathy does in no way guarantee that the reader will have the same impact, simply because the link between your emotion and theirs, the writing, may not be strong enough. Empathy helps greatly in writing a deep character, but feeling the emotion is one thing, being able to express that feeling is the next step. A character that makes you cry could bore the fuck out of a reader or come across as a turd. I like my characters. If not for my characters I would abandon most of my projects. But they don't impact my emotions, and I'm happy to do bad things to them and kill them off when needed. They serve a purpose, after all.
     
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  14. Phil Mitchell

    Phil Mitchell Banned Contributor

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    Crying for months isn't part of any process. How is it? What goal is it for?
     
  15. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

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    No answers as to what you are seeking to achieve here?

    Do you even know?
     
  16. Ben414

    Ben414 Contributor Contributor

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    You're not being "honest," you're pretending to be able to tell whether certain writing methods are legitimate, when, in reality, you're just being condescending and dismissive. It has nothing to do about being well-liked, except that people don't like other people who are condescending and dismissive.
     
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  17. Phil Mitchell

    Phil Mitchell Banned Contributor

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    I don't answer logical fallacies. Appeals to motivation are logical fallacies.
     
  18. Phil Mitchell

    Phil Mitchell Banned Contributor

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    "You're not being "honest," you're pretending to be able to tell whether certain writing methods are legitimate, when, in reality, you're just being condescending and dismissive. It has nothing to do about being well-liked, except that people don't like other people who are condescending and dismissive"

    Arguments against tone is another logical fallacy. No reply required.

    The question still stands, how is crying for months, or getting "wrecked" or depressed, or crying as a reaction to ideas or what is written, part of the writing process? That hasn't been established yet. Yet you're making points from it.
     
  19. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

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    Noone said it was part of the process.

    Reading comprehension helps when arguing something. I'll only answer one strawman from you. This was it.
     
  20. Ben414

    Ben414 Contributor Contributor

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    I'm going to preemptively check out before the Mods show up. I hope the rest of your time on this forum will be more productive.
     
  21. Phil Mitchell

    Phil Mitchell Banned Contributor

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    "you're pretending to be able to tell whether certain writing methods are legitimate, when, in reality, you're just being condescending and dismissive"

    "but continue to belittle and dismiss other people's technique or process for writing?"

    It's not a strawman.

    What my posts mention:
    People who have extreme emotional reactions during their own writing process.*
    Writers coming up with tons of character details that are just trivia and clearly not relevant to the story.
    Writers getting turned on by their own characters.

    You say I'm belittling a writer's process when none of these has been established as being part of the actual process. Two are reactions to the process and one is non productive.

    *I italicize reactions because there is a clear distinction between getting emotional to inject emotion into a scene vs getting emotional over extended periods with no goal to it.
     
  22. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

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    I was not aware emotions had to have a goal. Talk about logical fallacy. Goodness.

    I am sorry you have not understood people describing writing process when they have done so, despite you then putting their process down.

    I'm joining Ben414 outside where it's cold and emotionless.
     
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  23. Razet Elwood

    Razet Elwood Active Member

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    ok phil if you must know the reason why i cried for months is i always lacked a relationship with my father! oh and why we are at it i don't have a mental disorder ! I was a premature baby and I almost died from a 4 degree brain bleed ! so yeah i have a few problems but so do you. its whatever. I will take my leave now! I hope you have a nice day!
     
  24. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    If I didn't know he was left-handed, then I wouldn't know on which side of another man's face he landed his punch after that man tried to destroy something dear to him. If I didn't know about the mole under his ear then I never would have written the flashback about his ex-girlfriend who aborted his baby behind his back and ran off with another man. If I didn't know about my female MC never wearing socks, then the scene where she wears her lover's socks, would mean nothing.

    If I didn't know these details about my characters then I wouldn't be able to write them as real as they are.

    Have you never read the advice to writers to make a bio of your characters? So what if I've taken it a step further?

    What you are essentially doing on this thread, is telling everyone what they should and shouldn't do. Does it really matter to you what I do with my characters? Does it upset you that much that I talk to them? Would you even know me if you met me in the street? No! So get off my back and stop dissing the way I do things. Have a little more respect for authors who work very differently to you.

    There are no rules when writing, there are no rules when deciding how to research and write your characters so step off and jog on.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2015
  25. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    I love your honesty, @Selbbin

    What I also love, is that this is your process and you are by no means telling us that it's the only process and therefore the right process. x
     

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