I may have to use the headline in a new story (or possibly novel) I'm writing, as the main character (or at least a very important one) is nicknamed Mouse.
Why am I telling you this? Because I want to give advice again! Mouse was actually inspired by an advert (yes, Mouse is inspired by Alexi Wasser, but changed to my liking of course). You may ask why that's important, but it's really not. So why am I including it? To say that characters can come from anywhere. It's kind of like trying to find the perfect actor for a role in a movie, is it not? I mean, all you need is a very basic description and flesh them out as you go (or start out with a fully fleshed out character in your mind and describe them little by little to the reader). All you need is a good source (even just your brain, but I've found -at least with my writing- that charaters I generate with no inspiration are kind of pathetic, shallow, and boring).
Pick traits you like, but make sure the character has a few flaws. I think I've said this before, actually, and got argument from people because I used the word humanize and someone talked about a whiny cthulhu being a horrible character, though I NEVER said you had to make them human. I meant humans have flaws, so make your character, no matter what they are, have at least one flaw (preferably a personality flaw, though physical flaws are okay to an extent, but it would have to be significant enough to be used as a plot device).
Also, make sure your characters have names that tie in with your story. You don't want one named Brawn Thundereagle, another named Staxonailienude, and another named James. That's just ridiculous, see? The only time I can see that being okay is in a time-compressed world with extreme sci-fi and fantasy, but I could only see it work as a comedy. Feel free to prove me wrong. I'd love to read it if it's good enough.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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"Hey Dudel where do you get your (character) ideas?"
ReplyDelete"My anus."
"A-wha?"
Most of my characters are based, in some manner, off myself or an allusion of myself. Makes relating to the character very easy and the character generally "enjoyable" (I use quotes cause even if you dislike a character you can still enjoy him/her.
Also... YES, all my characters ALL OF THEM are somehow based on myself. Which is why my stories run from one perspective and that's usually of the indiscriminate narrator of "god" POV.
And if James is a comic relief his name is not only "okay" but does INDEED make sense. The whole story doesn't have to be a comedy or set in either sci-fi or comedy provided the general feel rings with "Long Annoying Names". OH and with such a simple name it kinda means he's doomed to death, also. XD
Although, now that I think on it, I believe a steampunk type setting would fit all 3 names very easily and isn't technically sci-fi or fantasy nor would "James" need be a comic relief.
OR you could make James Simplename the main, or one of the main, characters only to have him has this really long arse name near the end.
"James is short for Jamesthionian Timbermakerton." O.o?
Most of my characters remain rather nameless when not writing in RP fashion, though. I do like leaving my writing vague.
Well, there's really no need to argue any point when it comes to writing as the only rules that matter are the rules of grammar...and that's not really true all the time, either.
ReplyDeleteI never said not to base characters off of yourself, though, so I don't know why you argued the point (sorry if I'm misinterpreting what you said). You're right about it, though. Every writer puts a little of themselves in their characters so they can write convincingly. The problem most run into when doing this though is they forget that not everyone else is them and forget to tell major details in the lives of these people. Backstory makes a character more interesting, after all...at least to me.
On names: While the names COULD appear in the same work, I was making an indirect reference to the older Final Fantasy games, specifically FFIX, with names like Princess Garnet Til Alexandros 17th, Zidane Tribal, Quina Quen, and Vivi Ornitier.
I'd also like to point out that while it could be possible to have all those names in a steampunk story, it wouldn't be likely. James would obviously work, as you said, but the last name Thundereagle would have likely been phased out by the 1700s ("pure" steampunk stories should take place in the age of steam, roughly the 1880s, give or take two decades). The name "Staxonailienude", however, was a comedic word my father and I came up with while playing our nonsensical version of scrabble where you have to make up a word and a definition (it took a few turns to come up with it). I'm not even sure if I spelled it correctly -it's been 6 or 7 years- and I don't remember the definition. Regardless, I don't see it being used as a name in anything before the year 2100, though like I said, rules don't matter in writing as the writer makes up the world and all of its rules. Your world could have flowers ruling the world (as sentient beings) and people being used as food.
Also, again on names: Not all the names in the world we live in necessarily belong together, either. The names I listed could be regional. You could end up with a Sethunya Unathi, Dikeledi Boitumelo, and Bob Smith in the same class in middle school, so at this point, I admit I was partially wrong. The names COULD be used in the same story, but most stories don't involve world travelling and speaking with the locals...or lots of foreign immigrants.
And thank you for providing an at least somewhat logical argument.
I do want to mention something about your last point, however. In a short story, not naming characters is fine. In a longer one, it would be confusing. Naming wouldn't necessarily have to be naming them Alice Abney, Jacob Marley, or Ebenezer Scrooge (one of these names doesn't belong ^_^), it could be "shoe-thing", "the Future Fruit lady", or "small hairy" (all names from the Mirrormask script). While these names are semi-vague, they still allow one to identify the character better than pronouns. A room full of twenty men would be confusing only using "he". Even "one man", "another man", "yet another man", or "still another man" would be less confusing, though that could be used in the beginning of a story as long as at least some of them are named afterward.
And just so you know, you've helped me with my new story just by giving me the opportunity to argue points that have no reason to be argued. Thank you.
It wasn't an argument, though. XD
ReplyDeleteYou give effort so I return effort, that's how I work.
Basically, I just wanted to tell you some random things. :D