fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2105 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2105 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm kind of confused. How can a character you create hide things from you or refuse to show you things? And how can a character not tell you his name? I get if you have trouble coming up with a name or figuring out a name for your character, but the way you're phrasing this is like you think these are real people talking to you, which confuses me.

Do you read many author interviews? A lot of writers talk like this. Some people use it as a way to get around blocks, or flesh things out so they seem more real to the audience. It's just another way of saying "I don't know what this character's name is or what his purpose is in the story, but I'm hoping this will become known to me as I continue to write."

I've read author interviews but they've never been to the extreme of the OP. I've seen people talk about characters giving them trouble and not being able to get a feel for characters, but never about how they are hiding things from them and the kind of stuff OP is saying. Just struck me as very odd.

Well...tbph I agree with you but I've also heard pro authors talk like that. I just kind of take it as their way of saying "this is giving me trouble" like you said.

As a writer, I agree. I'm not saying it's not a valid writing process, but OP's tone is weirding me out a little. I often feel like my characters have a sort of life of their own, but the thing is, they don't interact with /me/. I'm one of those fly on the wall types, paying attention to what they do and say. The idea of them somehow being aware of /my/ existence is super freaky.

Do you read many author interviews? A lot of writers talk like this.

Yeah, bad writers.

Maybe. I haven't read all of their books. But they write stuff and make money off it and get famous enough to give interviews, so.

Still doesn't make it a good thing, and it really isn't conducive to the writing process.

I have never read an interview where a well-regarded literary writer said anything like that. Writers like Stephenie Meyer? Sure. And yeah, she's successful, but she's not a superb writer by any means.

And maybe you've read more interviews and quotes than I have but "the story/characters are living things/treat them as if they're real/think of them as my children" seems to come up a lot, and like I said I haven't read all of their stories so I can't judge if they're good or not. But I read it as OP venting about their mental block and maybe being a little over-dramatic. It's not really hurting anyone even if their writing is bad so I don't see how it can be a good thing or a bad thing?

And hey, maybe they want to be a writer like Smeyer. Some people are in it for the fame and money rather than sharing stories.

... I think their characters are talking to them. Which I guess can happen to some people.

Huh. That seems very strange to me. I've seen authors talk about their characters causing trouble, but never in the sense that they are real people like OP was talking. Just struck me as odd.

Because not all authors craft, create, or otherwise 'control' their characters. Some feel they simply have to tell a character's story because they're the only ones with access to it, by virtue of knowing the character in their own minds.

Sometimes when a writer is trying to flesh out details about a character's personality or backstory, they will have the sense that there is a specific right answer to a particular question about that character, even if the author hasn't figured out what that answer is yet. Finding that answer feels less like "making it up" and more like "discovering it." I've had that experience, with characters supplying personal details about their history and preferences that I didn't know were true until I wrote them. Sometimes I've tried to name a character, and the impression I had of that character in my head "rejected" a bunch of names until I hit upon the "right" one. It didn't feel like, "Yes, this is the name I like best for this character, I think I'll use that." It felt like, "Aha, that's your name, isn't it?"

What you said sounds logical and normal. What OP said does not. They're similar concepts it's just that OP seems to have taken it a bit too far.

[ SECRET POST #2105 ]

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

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Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters

Re: Ranting about your main characters