Munachi
Sumaq Sipas
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2005
- Posts
- 10,456
Answering without reading hte other posts, will do so afterwards...
How do you flesh out your character? (eg.s welcome)
Often very little. I tend to only mention the things I find necessary for the story itself, for the role people take in it... as you asked for examples I will give some... in one of my stories I do describe a secondary character into what for me is quite a bit of detail - in that case less to have her be an individual that looks a certain way, but rather to place a cultural or regional setting for which she is somewhat stereotype:
In some cases I write even less about what the characters look like - especially if it is written in first person or in third person but very much from the point of view of the character.
This is not because I can't come up with the way someone looks, usually, but more because I don't want to. As I said, I see it as important if it places them somehow into the context of the story, or if the way they look characterizes them, but else I don't like too clear descriptions.
As for the characters character and state of mind - I guess in a way I do describe that a lot because I tend to like to write about how someone feels... Which of course is an indication to what kind of a person they are.
How far do you go to create a picture in your head before you write?
There is a picture there - the thing (and part of the reason I don't like descriptions) is that I think quite often to a certain degree I identify with the characters... In other cases, like the text example above, there is a stereotype I see...
But I think few of my characters are complete characters - it depends on the kind of text, but if it is a short text they are often more an idea, or an aspect of a personality, rather than a complete person.
Are character flaws important?
They are, if they have an importance to the story, or to the placement of the character. But when the text is in first person or from the point of view of a character they are of course more likely to be implied rather than said... In other cases where it is not from someone's point of view, I sometimes like going distant enough that again, I wouldn't name flaws or characteristics, though they could be guessed from what happens...
Do you find you are better at plot or characterisation?
Don't know... I was told I am good at descriptions, but it isn't usually people I describe. So then that would be neither one (unless of course you say that a place or similar can in fact be the protagonist of a story)... I don#t know, really...
How do you flesh out your character? (eg.s welcome)
Often very little. I tend to only mention the things I find necessary for the story itself, for the role people take in it... as you asked for examples I will give some... in one of my stories I do describe a secondary character into what for me is quite a bit of detail - in that case less to have her be an individual that looks a certain way, but rather to place a cultural or regional setting for which she is somewhat stereotype:
In a way I think this is one of the most precise pictures I have given of a character of any of the things I have written, at least concerning the way someone looks. Of the actual main character in that story the only things look-wise taht are mentioned - and even that a lot later into the story, are that she is red haired and blue eyed (which has an importance to the story itself, and is only mentioned at the point when this comes up), and that she has quite pale skin. I think it isn't even clear she is a girl until quite a bit into the story.
In some cases I write even less about what the characters look like - especially if it is written in first person or in third person but very much from the point of view of the character.
This is not because I can't come up with the way someone looks, usually, but more because I don't want to. As I said, I see it as important if it places them somehow into the context of the story, or if the way they look characterizes them, but else I don't like too clear descriptions.
As for the characters character and state of mind - I guess in a way I do describe that a lot because I tend to like to write about how someone feels... Which of course is an indication to what kind of a person they are.
How far do you go to create a picture in your head before you write?
There is a picture there - the thing (and part of the reason I don't like descriptions) is that I think quite often to a certain degree I identify with the characters... In other cases, like the text example above, there is a stereotype I see...
But I think few of my characters are complete characters - it depends on the kind of text, but if it is a short text they are often more an idea, or an aspect of a personality, rather than a complete person.
Are character flaws important?
They are, if they have an importance to the story, or to the placement of the character. But when the text is in first person or from the point of view of a character they are of course more likely to be implied rather than said... In other cases where it is not from someone's point of view, I sometimes like going distant enough that again, I wouldn't name flaws or characteristics, though they could be guessed from what happens...
Do you find you are better at plot or characterisation?
Don't know... I was told I am good at descriptions, but it isn't usually people I describe. So then that would be neither one (unless of course you say that a place or similar can in fact be the protagonist of a story)... I don#t know, really...
).
I only manage to write snippets of a story at a time, so character development only begins about chapter 3 or 4 for me. Before that, I use dialogue to create and shape the character in the readers mind. It isn't a conscious thing I do. And nobody has ever said I have great dialogue, or even commented on it - so now you have me wondering what the readers pick up from my stories, and if it was what I intended 
)
