Thread: Between the characters and you?

So I've had a small concern for myself in recent years, and will appreciate any advice or input you guys have to offer. ^^;

I write fiction exclusively, and ever since I started story drafting at age 10 ( the age I started drawing comics), I've felt an immensely close connection to all of my characters. I become very proud of them. Now, I don't mean to say that in their adventures miracles happen that save them when a dark time is supposed to set. No, it's nothing like that. When I write, I tell their story through their eyes, not through what I want them to see.

But...I'm a bit of an awkward person in real life. In the sense where it's not easy for me to relate well to just anyone who walks up to me, because I have a very strange mind. (Though what writer sees the world 'normally'?)

I sometimes feel like when I make my characters, a lot of my awkward thinking pours into them, making them so unusual from anything that has ever been published, I start doubting any agent or publisher would want to invest in them.

So I ask; am I wrong for thinking this way? Have any of you had the same or similar worries? And more over, how do I prevent this from keeping my self-confidence from dropping as I flesh my characters out?

I have become attached to my characters in such a way that I used to never want anything bad or life-changing to befall them. Then I realised that those things were necessary and I have since killed-off those characters because the story required it. I don't know if that's any help to you.

I'd say have faith in your writing. Unusual is different. Different is good. It sells. Publishers are looking for something unique. That's the way I'd look at it.

that's called your 'own voice', not to worry. Besides if you are thinking about it, means that you would control any out-of-hand writing

Originally Posted by Sapphire-Rayne

I write fiction exclusively, and ever since I started story drafting at age 10 ( the age I started drawing comics), I've felt an immensely close connection to all of my characters. I become very proud of them. Now, I don't mean to say that in their adventures miracles happen that save them when a dark time is supposed to set. No, it's nothing like that. When I write, I tell their story through their eyes, not through what I want them to see.

Interesting! I actually want to be in that place where characters I write about are agents of their own right, not just puppets for me to shove my hand in.

IMO, I think when writing at a young age (esp. teen and young adult years), self discovery will heavily influence your writing. Art becomes more a reflection. Plainly speaking, just go in the direction you really want to do in. Let your artworks evolve as you do.
Discover your characters as you discover yourself.

Thank you for your advice, everyone! I really appreciate it, and it's helped me out quite a bit, believe it or not. Haha!

Oh, and @ guy_faukes:

I actually want to be in that place where characters I write about are agents of their own right, not just puppets for me to shove my hand in.

Exactly~ It's too often I think I see the difference between a real, actual story, and one large marionette to someone's gushy side. And you brought up a good point that I think I've forgotten to calculate, which is my character's growth. I, as I think about them, sometimes forget their layers of depth or hidden motives that makes them so fun to write with; but at the keyboard it all comes flooding back to me. That being said, I should make a note to remind myself that anyone else who reads it will notice it too. That is, if I do my job correctly. lol Thanks again~

I've always had a bond with my characters, lot of them I can't relate to, but the main reason to that is because I use emotion, personality, characteristics of people I know and have met. It's good to put some of yourself into your characters. Hell, my characters make more sense than I do most of the time, plus they usually have a better sense of humor. A character needs to feel real in my mind, it can't fabricated to make it seem that way, it's gonna be believable. Putting a bit of yourself into the characters is important. That's just m 2 cents.

Characterization is a big weakness for me, and I struggle with making my characters feel real, even to me. I've been excersizing my characterizational skills through writing prompts that focus on just that. By doing so I've actually gotten into the mind of one my characters, and that really excited me. I broke through a barrier I hadn't ever been able to cross. I didn't follow the prompt for every character, but took the same basic principles ("my characters need a desire and a want") and wrote them out. At the end of the excersize I developed the skeleton of my plot and you can be sure I jumped up and down like a kid in a candy store!

I've also heard of some people interviewing their characters, and the only author I can think of off hand that has actually published her "interviews" into dossiers, is JR Ward. Her characters are already well developed, but it was nice seeing a more "casual" side of her characters. I've thought about finding those silly MySpace surveys and filling them out as if my characters were doing them. Sounds cheesy, but might be fun.

I don't know if I've helped but I hope that will shed some light on how others might look at their characters.

I think a lot of writers or people in creative arts have this issue. Sometimes your characters will be the only way you feel safe expressing yourself, and they are a medium into which you can invest your hopes, doubts, fears, quirks, etc, without fear of reprisal.
This, I think, is healthy, but what you say is true: there is the chance that giving so much of yourself to your characters might give them undesired or unusual traits from yourself as well, which you would prefer they not have.
My only suggestion is that you might learn to filter and control which emotions go into which characters. There's no reason you can't let all of your emotions into your characters, but learn which emotions fit which characters. For instance, your shyness and introverted mindset might come together in a timid character who is trying to overcome his inherent restrictions. Having the character succeed might aid your own success. Additionally, if you place your strong-willed traits into a character, don't give him a hidden insecurity (unless that is his unique trait), because it will undermine both he and you.

I don't know if what I said made much sense to you; that is how I visualized it, I hope it can be of some help.

I like weird characters. Makes me rather insecure when so many characters come off as 'what is expected/accepted' without any real depth. I love depth, mistakes, demons. Let yourself out.

I've been reading a book of late from one of my favorite authors, Sharon Shinn. Her character has bought and eaten so much candy in this book, I just have to laugh, and it makes me love her all the more.

@absquatulator: Right, I get it. It's sort of like that ability to 'use your weakness to your advantage', where, in the midst of all this writing, you just might learn a thing or two about yourself. I think that I've figured out how to do this more consciously through writing. Like, it's different in comics (well, manga, which is more or less what I draw), because such wacky traits are to be expected; but in a book, it seems like I felt the need to rear in a bit, because I've never seen a cast so unusual in a literary sense. (Feels like a strict, invisible line I don't want to cross.)

And I really appreciate your quote;

Additionally, if you place your strong-willed traits into a character, don't give him a hidden insecurity (unless that is his unique trait), because it will undermine both he and you.

That was something I really needed to hear. lol. I think I get so carried away with just making them into someone that I forget certain aspects of myself get dragged in, and as a result, when those aspects are attacked, things get....uncomfortable. Thanks again! And to the rest of you as well--you've been very supportive and helpful! ^_^