Character Survey Thread

[ghostyghost]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."

For a majority of my writing, I either take something I deal with or feel and base a character off of it, with different character traits, or I completely distance the character from myself (at least I try my best to). However, there are times when I do put myself into a story, although none of these have been finished.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?

My preference is male characters because they have more stereotypes centered around a lack of emotion that I can twist, and I just generally feel more comfortable doing so. Females, on the other hand, have a tendency to automatically be portrayed as more emotional, and while I like writing emotional conflict, I'm better at conflict centered around feeling something a character believes they should not feel. Of course, I also writing about genderless characters, since there is a certain beauty in anonymity.

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?

I get attached enough to my characters to want to develop them fully, but I would never let my attachment get in the way of developing plot. As far as whether attachment hinders writing, I believe that so long as an author can maintain a certain amount of objectivity as far as plot goes, there is no issue. In fact, the more an author develops a character, whether shown or left out, the better the character will be. Facts about a character have a tendency to leak into the writing, whether the author explicitly states it or not.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?

I don't get incredibly attached to other's characters, unless I've read the book/series five times. In that case, the attachment is incredibly strong, especially if I can relate to the character.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?

It depends on the situation. For shorter stories, I develop a character and then the story. For longer stories, I focus on plot and and develop a character based on the plot's needs. Unless, of course, I'm just writing to write, in which case I don't develop either but instead just charge full speed ahead.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?

I make my characters by first thinking of a flaw, such as being emotionally unattached or way too nervous, and then I further develop the character around it. Depending on how I feel, I may go as far as to flesh out small details, but typically I come up with the personality, outfit preference, eccentricities, place in society, and other such essential things. As far as effectiveness goes, I'm not sure.

[WagickTricks]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
Virtually all of the characters I have created are, in one way or another, based on me. For example, I have at least two who are notably cowardly or anxious, while a few others are defined by how friendly they are. In many cases, my characters share a trait with me or have one I admire or abhor. I actually do not have a character that is based exclusively on me.
2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I do not have a real preference, but I do tend to roleplay male characters; it is a habit that originated in how some Roblox warrior cats roleplays would have mostly female cats, thus resulting in me seeking to balance the gender ratio.
3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I do not get extremely attached to any of my characters, but there are some that I draw frequently or develop through thinking up stories about them. It seems to me that the newer the character, the more focused I am on it, as if to fulfil the need to develop it early on. However, I can imagine that someone can get way too attached to a character, resulting in them paying too little attention to others for an extended period of time.
4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
I am not very attached to them, but I may still have that same early obsession when I have discovered something new. In some cases, however, I do not forget about them, and they may frequent my doodles from time to time.
5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I usually make the characters first; some actually have no story, while others used to. For those that are no longer storyless, I had to create a story or plot that goes with them. It may rarely be the other way around, however, but it may just be making a character to fit a role in a story.
6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
There really isn't a proper method that I use: I simply come up with a concept I like and start working on it and drawing it. Over time, the idea will slowly be molded and remolded into a full-fledged character.

[bluecass]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."

Not purposefully I don't think. I mean generally when creating a character they're going to get some features from yourself but I've never really like self insert characters so I don't think I'd ever go out of my way to make one.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?

I feel like I don't do female characters justice whenever I try to make one so most of my characters are male. Which might be weird looking at it since I'm a girl but all the women I've tried to write always feel too cliche I guess.

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?

Veeeeery attached and for me I don't think that it's too much of an issue because I still write them going through hell and back. The only issue coming from that would be there are character that I will not kill off no matter how emotional it would make the moment. I don't think that really matters much, however, because the people reading won't know which characters are the ones I'm attached to.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?

I mean sometimes all it takes for me to get attached to characters is a goo design (physically) an having one of my friends gush about them to me and I'll be attached so I'd say I can get very attached to other people's characters as long as the person who made them is also attached to them.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?

I make a story to fit my characters. I have a much harder time creating plot than I do characters an backgrounds an personalities. And even after I make a general plot I'll often wind up shifting what happens purely to put in a new character, which is awkward cause sometimes I'll tell my friends what I was pretty sure was going to happen and then wind up changing it entirely... woops.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?

Daydreaming mostly. I'll be thinking about scenes with characters that I already have and then they might wind up needing a new character to interact with so I'll think up a personality for the character. Then if I like the character and the scene they were in I'll try to draw them, usually what they wind up looking like changes how I think they sound and act. Ex. I was creating this bird person (not like a furry but a human with feathers rather that hair) and originally they were going to be a man but I wound up drawing a girl an I just sort of went with it rather than trying to redesign her. The last thing I usually do is name them... which I sometimes won't do until I'm actually writing them into a story and I can't avoid giving them a name anymore. I think this works as good as it could for creating characters. I mean there could be better ways to go about it but I don't feel the need for a change really.

[shadowrose45]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."

Absolutely not. At least not past the point where I use my life experiences to create them. Clear as mud? I'll explain. I was a cop. I write a lot of cop stories. I was also an EMT, so I also do stories where characters have those skills.


2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?

Male. I think perhaps because I can make them how I want them.

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?

I don't think you can become too attached. I'm very attached to my characters. I know them inside and out. Personally, I think a writer has to. They can't be real to your reader if they aren't real to you.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?

Very, again. If I'm not invested in the characters, I will rarely continue the book. I want to love them...or hate them, as the case may be. I think this is why so many ongoing series are popular. People feel attached to the characters and will eagerly grab up each new story.

JD Robb with Eve and Roarke. Their series is 30 or so books now, I think.

I bet I could just name characters and people would know the books...if they read romance

Anna and Christian
Damian and Nikki
Eva and Gideon

Or how about...

Sam and Dean
Castiel
James T Kirk
Spock

Again, characters people will know. I believe characters make or break the stories.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?

I always have characters first. My characters tell me their story.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?

I visualize my characters. I'll find images that fit them. I use character sketches for each main character. I'll know things the reader may never even need to know.

[Wraithcaller]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."

I don't really like basing my characters on real people, including myself. Some parts of me always end up in my characters, though, no matter how hard I try to prevent it. For example, a lot of my characters are colored by self-doubt, anxiety, and even depression. I struggle with these issues myself, so it's difficult for me to write strong, confident characters. Lately I've been trying to change my outlook in the hope that my character writing can become more flexible and more detached from my negative feelings.

As for keep stories, I don't have one yet. I guess it's too early for me to build the foundations of it since my keep has only just begun. I've been bouncing around a few ideas, though.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?

It depends on how I feel. All my characters are gender neutral until I can get a good feeling about their gender. I'd say more of them come out as male than female. I've just been more comfortable with writing from a male perspective, I suppose. That said, I do enjoy writing female villains--I feel like there aren't enough out there and I'd like to change that with some powerful femme fatales of my own. As a result I always try my best to make my female villains just as dark and vile as their male counterparts would be.

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?

I love all of my characters, though some more than others. As a rule I'm more likely to get attached to my villains than my heroes. I think villains and antagonists in general are always the most important part of any story, because they define the struggle and give it weight.

Getting too attached to a character is definitely a problem. I think this sort of thing is the primary cause of Mary Sue characters. I tend to make a point of having my characters suffer, particularly because of some flaw they have (or develop a flaw as a result of this suffering) to avoid this.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?

Very. I have an especially deep fondness for well-written and complex villains, and characters with an intriguing mystery about them are something else I admire and try to practice myself. I want to be a writer that can craft a puzzle for the reader, one that's engaging and thoughtful. I think writers who can make their audience think and analyze every last detail are to be commended, especially if every last detail is crafted with foreshadowing and dropping clues in mind.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?

It's a bit of both, especially if I'm planning a Pathfinder or D&D game. With stories I create a character and a backstory first, and then I give that character a motivation and a goal. I let my characters drive the plot from there, and create new characters to help support the plot if need be. I tend to start with the villain first and then create a protagonist to be that villain's equal or opposite--or both. I always keep character motivation, feelings, and actions in mind as they drive the story forward.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?

The process can vary from character to character. Honestly, I think this is the most difficult part to explain. Usually they just start off as an idea or concept. It can be anything from how they look to a belief that they hold. I try to build upon it from there. It doesn't always work out, as I've had a lot of characters die before they can even be put to paper. Some ideas are too thin or fragile to properly build off of, I guess. If anything I think my process for character creation and world building could do with more structure, but any attempts to introduce any coherent rules have been met with failure. I guess I might get better with continued practice.

[Jade07]

It's me agian!
1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
Most of my older characters are,but now only one has poked they're head up out of the corner that is my mind,a girl who i named Sammy but even then she has shorter hair and is a bit more hotheaded and silent then me.[i'm social,nerdy and won't strait out yell at someone for eating my soup but will speak my mind.She's antisocial,nerdy and actually has done that but won't speak her mind]
2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I am better at writing both equally,as long as if it's a male character it's literally a animal or a creature.
3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I get attacted to my characters too much,i don't think i'v ever killed one off unless it was in a warrior cats fanfic.
4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
I usealy do so much that i can be reading something or watching something,my favorite character will do something cool and i'll start having dreams of them.And then they die next episode or chapter and i get sad and cry in a corner.I am reallly bad luck for characters.
5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I mostly do fanfictions,so its the latter.
6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
I think up they're name and personality first,then there backstory,then the appearance comes.

[ReindeerBoinks]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."

For the most part, only really mascots or personas or something of that sort ends up really being more like me. There are some characters of mine that used to be exactly like me(personality and liking wise), but over time, they ended up growing into entirely different people.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?

Neither. I end up writing males or masculine characters more often, though. It's just a bit of a habit?

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?

I end up getting attached to characters that have stories or appearances I really like. Getting attached is a problem for me since I end up liking them too much to write out deaths of characters that really need to die.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?

I simply like how they are and how they react to the world they live in.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?

Both. I end up making a character or two and their designs help build how the world is around them, and then more characters are made for roles in the story.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?

I use so many different methods and it takes a very long time to make them. Many of my characters are developed off of drawing them over and over again—how they look changes over time, and some end up going off of what jobs and roles are needed to help the story. It takes a long time to fully develop how they look and act due to the fact that I get inspired off of other things i visit and add what inspires me onto my own characters.

[Kor21]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you?
Yes, almost every single one of my main characters are based on me from one aspect or another.


2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I enjoy both, although I think my male characters seem to be a little more interesting. As for preference, I'd go with male characters.


3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I do have certain attachments, mainly just obsessions really. If I'm very pleased with how a character turned out and I'll constantly be quoting a funny line they said or just fangirling them.


4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
Not extremely. There will be a rare occasion where I'll obsess over someone else's character though.


5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
Some of both. I try to write in a way that shapes my characters, but sometimes my characters end up shaping the story instead.


6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
They normally create themselves to be honest. Since I have such an intense connection to others, I find it very easy to create new characters. Improving on old characters or changing them is where it gets really challenging.

[ZaraTina]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so-called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
Almost all of my characters of pieces of me within them, though I blame that on me having like fifty different personalities. The most obvious one is Zara, (the first girl in my username) and is almost entirely just me, but with a few other traits. The characters whom I most differ from are Noname (The Overseer, as people call him. It's difficult to base an immortal kind-of-god off of yourself) and Ichiko (nope. waaayyyy to fuuking chill. even my chillest personality isn't nearly as chill as he is.), though I blame them both on the fact that one is a god and the other one is a robot.

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I like writing both, as I don't think biological features necessarily plays into a character that much. However, I noticed that my male characters seem to be based less off of archetypes, but that's mainly because eight of my female characters have been around since I was in grade three, and back then I was a very bad writer. But at the same time, I almost feel as if I'm less limited with females. A female who's tom-boyish and plays sports is considered "rough" and "brave" and "cool!" but a male character who likes to play with dolls and likes pink frilly stuff is considered "weird" and "girly" or "eeewwww", but I blame society on that one.

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
Oh boy, you do not want to see me get started on my characters. They're like my family to me. Them to me is like water to fish. They're pretty much my only coping mechanism regarding upsetting topics, or some of my stranger likings. I cannot imagine my life without them, it would be a disaster. Honestly, this level of "Y'all are my life. Leave me and I'll die" level of attachment is probably unhealthy, but I really can't care less.

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
Debatable. I don't get attached to them as much as I do my own characters, but over time, some may start to feel almost as if they were my own. Though I do have an easier time imagining other people's characters in emotional/death (well that came outta nowhere) scenes, and I don't know why. Which, I mean, the "Imagining characters dying painfully" thing is kinda a plus, since I really like angst.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
Both. My first eight characters that were made during my "Hi I'm a terrible writer" phase (Zara, Tina, Trisha, Siana, Nino, Kaity, Azik and Zecara (Notice they are all girls)) have the story bend to fit them. Characters from my "Hi I'm an edgy writer" phase (only Clara) are made to fit the story. Characters from me "Yeah I need more guy characters" phase (Ichiko, Jack, Oliver, Zenith and Tai-Kai) were (keyword were) characters who had the story fit them. My "Mmmmm I need an actual guardian for these teenagers with super-powers" phase (Alizebeth) is sort of a character written to fit the story. Characters from my "Wait this is a fantasy story, right?" phase (Lucas, Mason) are written to fit the story. then characters from my "I don't know any more please send help" phase (Noname, Tayseer) have the story fit them. Although, there were some re-imagining of characters along the road, so I just consider them all a jumbled mess.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
I feel kind of silly saying this, but I go on google and search up "incorrect quotes" and imagine my characters saying them. I kid you not, this is the primary way I develop characters. Through literal crack dialogue. Although, some other ways include
-Make up a backstory. Think of archetypes that characters with these kinds of backstories fit into. Break the archetype.
-Have a major trait that this character is associated with. Think of archetypes that these traits are associated with. Break the archetype.
-Listen to a depressing song. Find a character that this song fits to. If no character is available, develop one of my characters further so that they fit the song. Continue until I have a rainbow of depression all manifested within my nineteen characters.
-Write one of my fifty different personalities out on paper and see what stupid name I come up with
I think option one and two are the most effective, mainly becuase they both involve "break the archetype" and "major trait". A cast with a diverse amount of beliefs, personalities and mannerisms=a cast that's easy to remember and develop deeper

[CrystalPurr]

1. Are any of your characters based off of you? I notice this a lot with the so called "Keep Stories" where people call their character "my magi."
All of my characters are based off of me in some way, but have much better aspects as I'm not a very good or interesting person haha. My main character is basically me, I take on her personality subconsciously and its almost like ive developed mpd?

2. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? Why?
I don't have too much of a preference but I more often write about females because of my ability to relate easier.

3. How attached do you get to your own characters? Do you think getting too attached is a problem?
I am way too attached. And yes it can be a problem. im writing a book and Im so attached to my character that she keeps coming back to life in her storyline. I have to kill her off eventually y'know?

4. How attached do you get to other people's characters?
It depends, If theyre the characters of a famous author or in a film, I get very attached.

5. Do you formulate a story to fit your characters, or do you write characters to fit a story?
I write a story to fit my main characters first! Then after that is done, I usually have to flesh out the world and story with more people so then I write characters to fit the story.

6. How do you go about making a character? Do you think it's an effective method?
I make a design first that I really like, then I make a personality during or after the process to suit their looks. Then Ill adapt and change them to fit with storylines or to fix persoanlity bits I dont like that much. I dont think its too bad of a method