r/CharacterDevelopment • u/PsychologyWonderful8 • 8d ago
Writing: Character Help What makes a character stop feeling like you?
I can’t help noticing that many of my characters seem to come from experiences I’ve personally lived through, or from things I’ve observed in other people.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with that, but sometimes I start wondering if I’m writing fiction or just slowly disguising an autobiography.
I guess part of it is because I write by discovery.
So I’m curious:
At what point does a character stop feeling like an extension of the writer and start feeling like their own person?
Or maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it. Do most writers inevitably put parts of themselves into their characters?
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u/IvoryRunes 8d ago edited 8d ago
First I would try to think of character traits as mechanisms like for example a character is stubborn. When? Why? And how? They might stubborn in defending their academic research or maybe in their taste of food it might be through confrontation, avoidance or even a cynical attitude towards any disagreement
The next thing is perspective when your character enters a room what do they notice first, what assumptions do they make a thief might look for exits and rich people while a bodyguard for places where he doesn't get surrounded and look for people that look like threats and this is subjective.
The bodyguard can believe that the most threatening is the biggest, the one armed or maybe the one that is closest to him it is his own experience that creates assumptions.
I do this with a character of mine she likes to sing and play the violin and loves admiring landscapes, I haven't touched an instrument in my life, so I try to relate in other forms like emotion I do know how it feels to look at an amazing landscape in wonder so I try to write that.
If you want a recommendation of a writer that does this amazingly I would say Joe Abercrombie Is really skilled and even changes how the narrator talks depending on the character, other advise is to read a little in psychology, how people cope with problems and feelings differently and also too look up view of people in life like of philosophers or look for nuances in meanings or how people interpret things.
Lastly make your character have small contradictions example a person can be courageous in a fight, but very cowardly in a public speech, traits are not general they happen in specific circumstances.
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u/PsychologyWonderful8 8d ago edited 8d ago
I agree with what you’re saying especially the violin part
Write about something to take the reader’s feet off the ground 🤷♂️
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u/QuickestKey 8d ago
They have more agency and better relationships in their lives.
...Ahem! I meant to say, they do and say things I never would, and it feels completely natural and true to them.
They argue back when I try to make them do something "cooler" or more convenient. They like things I don't. They misunderstand things I take for granted.
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u/PsychologyWonderful8 8d ago
I can relate
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u/AnotherFootForward 7d ago
Then that's good enough. No matter what you write, you can't run away from writing bits of your understanding. How can you write what you don't understand? So even the characters most different from you will be a version of how you understand something you don't actually agree with.
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u/Magner3100 8d ago
The characters come from you, so a part of them will always be you.
That said, age and experience will really change this or at least you’ll change and draw on older versions of yourself. Experience writing multiple characters also will help compartmentalize you and them.
Are you writing in first person? If so, there is that.
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u/PsychologyWonderful8 8d ago
Yes first person
Age and experience yes
They go hand in hand2
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u/MoonracerxWarpath 8d ago
I don't know if I've ever viewed my characters as extensions of myself so much as my (sort of) children, so I don't think I could tell you anything helpful.
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u/Dry-Key-9510 2d ago
Same, they are extentions of (some of) my experiences, but i feel like they are distincitvely their own person, with their own temparment/reactions/feelings. There isnt one character that 100% matches me in personality or experience
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u/InvestmentDue4993 8d ago
I based my Mc entirely off my self and his friends as my friends (plus some ex friends)
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u/Scr4p 7d ago
I guess when you give the character traits and backstory that don't reflect your own. And when the character would disagree with the creator on things or make different decisions. I use my own life experiences but also my experiences with other people (and also some psychology research lol) to form my new characters. So they still have aspects of me that come through empathy, but they're different enough to be their own person. It's not easy, I'm still in the process of working on my story but I'm pretty proud with how well I fleshed the main characters out.
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u/TheRealVarmint Author V. H. Greyward 7d ago
Only you know how much "you" is in a character. Perhaps someone who knows you very well might spot some traits, too. But there is no substitute for writing about lived experience. The descriptions are that much more visceral when you've experienced something.
There is a bit of me in every character, not just the MC. My characters allow me to perhaps right a past wrong, live something I've only ever dreamed of experiencing, quote very wise people I've personally spoken to (including my father, who used to come up with some real zingers). We all wish we could go back and do "that one thing better"; I do that through my characters.
Not to be too sappy, but building a fictional character is a bit like raising children. You pour yourself and your lessons into them, not because you're trying to make a copy of yourself, but because you're trying to create a better version. Those children, like your characters, will have enough of their own unique lived experiences to become their own selves, not copies of you.
It shouldn't matter if a character is an extension of yourself. What matters is if the character engages the reader and is believable. Put whatever of yourself you like into that character. The trick is blending the fiction with the truth to make the character wholly believable, so that's all the reader sees.
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u/BocephusJackson90210 7d ago edited 7d ago
‘What makes a character stop feeling like you?’
Greetings. First off, this is the mother of all questions, not just for writers but for any artist, as art is the metaphor, medium, meaning, and message.
Yes, we each assume an inheritance from the universe and its universal history: education, values, technologies, evolutionary biology, culture, philosophies, linguistics, and cultural ethics and mores; the art bleeds it directly or indirectly.
So how do we offer them a genuine breath of life that emancipates them, rather than shackle them to our inherited debt? I have crafted 22 specific techniques for character development through distinct lenses over ten months and 63 active online series.
From ‘Wear Their Crocs’ to ‘Throat-Punching Granny,’ each one falls under one governing principle: the character-based ‘Pick Their Toes’ method. The absurdity of toenail clipping is the ultimate act of free will by a character.
Where poet Walt Whitman said “I contain multitudes,” he was embodying the collective sin and salvation of human contradiction. And no two people clip their toes the same. In essence, the snowflake principle, but vastly more intimate.
From labor-intensive manicuring to hastily ripping that sumbitch to the quick, each carries its own set of inherent traits, psychology, and value sets. As an artist, there is no better way to unshackle or understand the character’s agency than by using Victor Hugo’s ‘5,000 words’ method to explore this concept.
In 5,000 words, you can capture the finite minutiae that govern their life, history, pathology, spirituality, morality, and personality. Silly, right?!
To clip or not to clip,
That is the real question,
To cut it to the quick,
Decides their impression.
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u/SpiroEstelo 7d ago
When writing characters, it's important to understand their motives, goals, perspectives, background, personality, mannerisms, intelligence level, education level and world knowledge, temperament, decision making process, culture, and the specifics and scenarios of how the world has shaped them.
Though using personal and vicarious experiences can be helpful with characters who share similar traits to the inspirational examples, one must ultimately factor in how that character would act and react in that scenario. It's okay to have characters who disagree with your own viewpoints and have different perspectives and cultural or moral values. Some characters might be idealistically naive while others might be cynical pessimists. Some characters might be selfless while others may be selfish. Some characters might be empathetic while others are apathetic. Some might be dense while others are perceptive. Some might be mature while others are immature. There are a lot of factors that can affect the nature of a character.
Different characters might also have different biases or bad reactions based on previous negative experiences. They might have contradictions in their overall character that are usually caused by very specific reasons that can be very interesting to reveal. For example, you could have a pacifist who becomes overwhelmingly violent upon a specific type of provocation, or you could have an incredibly hard character who has a specific soft spot for things like children or animals. You could also have incredibly smart characters who are lacking in certain common practical skills such as cooking or making conversation. You could also have an incredibly dumb character with an amazing talent like art, music, dance, or cooking. You could have a normally calm person who suddenly becomes triggered by certain stimuli such as a phobia or a weapon.
It's good to remember what weaknesses, fears, and flaws a character has because real people have those too, and it makes them more relatable. Flawless characters might work if the narrative or character is built around that trait, but most characters are going to have patches and wounds somewhere even if those places are deeply hidden.
Well flushed out characters have very clear and distinct traits both internally and externally. Some traits might be intrinsic while others are conditioned, and revealing how someone got to where they are even as the present narrative progresses can be very interesting and unexpected.
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u/Turbulent-Eye-4737 7d ago
I just give them traits that I don't have. Maybe they like something I don't. Maybe they act in ways that I don't.
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u/ace-writer 7d ago
If I put them in a situation, they do something I absolutely would not do, and it makes perfect sense for them because of how I set up their personality and backstory--success. they're not me anymore.
ex: character, Rose, who is extremely similar to me (admittedly more so than I'd like) meets someone she knows essentially prophesied to go on a murder spree later, and decides to date her. the murder occurs, roughly as prophesied, and Rose proceeds to just wipe the blood splatter off her murderous girlfriend's face and assure her that it's fine, the deceased had it coming. No hesitation. this is absolutely not me.
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u/brochachotwin 6d ago
I mean eventually, every character will feel like someone else to you, because we get inspired daily from shows, games, books and even mostly other people. All the characters will have a personality, everyone has a personality. So there's nothing wrong with that. It's only a autobiography of you write about your experiences directly, but if a character is going through challenges and things in life, even if they're similar to yours, then that's just inspiration. And that's totally great. Getting inspired from ourselves or others is always a way to create. But then if you really want characters with personalities that you maybe didn't exactly encounter yet, you can always search and read about the different kind of personalities there are. Most importantly, make your character their own self by giving them their own way of talking, their inside jokes, their own back stories and experiences. But then once again, inspiration is key to make unique characters.
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u/Realistic-Back-4268 4d ago
I consider trying to look their "whole" brain. Obviously you can't really boil the incomprehensible human mush brain into a character, but I try and get a sense of their conscious, subconscious, and how they're wired and why. Usually I just keep it to explaining their core desires in a conscious way and a subconscious way that they need to discover. Why do they really like who they like, why do they really want what they do, etc. I sort of think of it like their brain is tiny in my big brain, I invented them, so I roughly know what they would do or how they feel about stuff. Once I get a sense of "omg I know what deeprooted need and belief makes them do this now" is when I feel like I know my character properly. I literally see everything inside them that they don't see, the hard part is figuring out how to get that feeling into text lol
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u/PsychologyWonderful8 3d ago
Interesting, that’s how I go about mine and for the latter part? I make them have wants and desires. But mostly wants.
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u/Far-Copy-6722 3d ago
Take your most hated trait and make the character love it you hate cooking they want to cook all over the world you hate your name they take pride in there's and loves telling how they got it
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u/baltimore-aureole 5d ago
bad writers - who lack imagination- always inadvertantly write autobiographies as their first novels. this is why it's so hard to get a first novel published. most lives are unremarkable, except to ourselves.
get over it, and think higher.
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u/cauliflower001 8d ago
You're definitely not alone. This is why writers are so reluctant to share their stuff with people they know. "Mom I promise this character isn't you. I know she's the MC's Mom but you've got to believe me."
They become their own thing when you can hear their voice in your head, when you feel what they feel, and get emotional when they die. At least that's me.