How do you manufacture characters?

[bluefoxicy]

What method do you use to manufacture characters?

 

In my case, I have copies of people.  Everyone I meet gets copied.  Their behaviors become interpolations and extrapolations, to the point that I've rooted out people's secrets by coming to understand what in their minds must have minor influence on their actions.  It's not something I can do by intent, but it's also something everyone seems to do in some capacity.

 

I have archetypes, ideas, fragments.  I make pieces of characters.  I make scenarios and pick attitudes and stresses and relationships, and mold someone out of a rough model of a particular type of person.  The same facility that makes copies of people makes constructs; I can talk to these people, I can mask facts from them, I can prompt them and have them respond without recognizing or remembering the discussion.  I can read into their thoughts and feelings and insecurities.

 

I've spent a lot of time discussing things with others, turning them on and off at will.  I'm at a point where I don't actually hold conversations; I have the idea of the conversation, and everything we would have discussed leaves its emotional impression immediately on my mind, and I instantly have every nuance of memory of the conversation impressed on me without taking the minute or two to exchange words.

 

It's hard to build characters this way.  You have to build them with some backstory, then insert them into situations in that backstory to explore the little things.  You let them wander.  It's like discovery writing, but it's really hard to get started; it can take months to make one person actually do or say anything, even though they're standing right there staring into your eyes with a blazing anger at what's been done to them, with a single instant of complete, developed life, every emotion, every motive, all ready to snap, and you're not sure what actually happened.  They know, but you have to ask the right questions.

 

Maybe I need another method.  Something to get the wheels turning.

[Zmann966]

This is going to sound totally lame, but I also feel like you've probably heard it before.

You don't build characters, you discover them. lol

From what you said, it seems like you already do this. (I do the same thing!) In observing people you interact with personally and hold on to bits and pieces of them for future writing use. It's brilliantly helpful, for sure, and it also helps your characters have a "natural" feel to them. (Don't even get me started on how well it helps out with writing convincing dialogue!)

 

I guess the next stepping stone is to sympathize.
You've got this character, woven to shape from bits of your interactions and pieces of your imagination. You've got their personalization, characterization, and motivations ironed out; you have their point A figured out and maybe their point B in mind... 
At that point it's fairly easy to empathize—after all, you understand them almost intimately. But if you want to push them off the hill and get them rolling, sympathize. 
It's one thing I praise my background in film for. Even though my focus was writing, I still had to take acting and directing courses. So I learned a lot about not just understanding the character, but being the character. (I know, sounds totally cliche right?)

 

Take a moment, or an hour, or a day, and act out your character. Interact with the world like they would, then throw yourself into the situation you're trying to write them through, (in your imagination of course. Especially if you're writing some kind of high-octane thriller! lol)

I find that lowering inhibitions—as actors are trained to do in order to ignore embarrassment and act—and just being a dork and play-acting as the character gets me through situations where I just. don't. quite. know where to go.

Good luck!

Edited February 6, 2016 by Zmann966

[CarolaDavar]

Brandon Sanderson once talked about this in a class of his. With setting and plot, he outlines everything. But character, he let's them grow. They have a mind of their own, and sometimes he has to rewrite his plot to fit the character's development. I do this too

[Zathoth]

My general creative process is "Take something and do horrible things to it". Take an archetype, do something horrible to it, see what happens. Take two people you know, mash them up, do something horrible to them, see what happens.

 

This does not mean you have to end up darker than usual. Take a villain, a really horrible dictator, give this villain another character they really care about, see what happens.

[Citadel16]

I literally just came up with this.

 

I start with a name...

off the the top of my head I have chosen the name ansen'thir, or ansen as his friends call him. ansen was a young child when his village was destroyed, burnt to the ground be the Ravaging of the world, when the gods betrayed mankind (a bit of world building here).  ever since then he has been working in a mine with the survivors of his race. as a youth he was trained by all the surviving elders of his society, he learned swordsmanship, metalworking, archery, stealth and most importantly magic. later as a young man, he destroyed the mine he lived and worked in in a slave rebellion which he led.

 

now, freed from slavery, ansen wanders the world with his companion, the greatest archer in history(who is his near opposite in every way) at his side to free the world from the tyranny of the gods.

 

dang, I NEED TO WRITE THIS BOOK!

 

Ok, now Ive got a story, now I need to take the history, and see what it does to people. he was a slave. that would mean lots of pent up anger and a blatant distrust for any minion of the gods. he'll be arrogant due to his accomplishments, and determined due to the fact that he accomplished them.

next, I give him a tragedy. his childhood sweetheart died in his arms. This allows readers to sympathize with him as well as promise a bit of potential romance in the future. he would become sad every time he thought of her and potentially bring tears to readers as a back story (i'm evil that way).

another important thing is how he interacts with people. is he condescending? to stupid people maybe. is he smart? if he isn't, it will not draw very smart readers. Does he laugh? no, he would smirk every time a joke came his way that he thought was funny but laughter was driven from him as a child. does he smile? under a clear night sky and during a thunderstorm, those are the times he feels true happiness and peace.

 

I could go on and on about this, but I think you get the picture.

I agree, Characters arent created, they are discovered.

[Talanic]

For me, it's somehow tied into names.

 

I once had to write a scene where one of my protagonists was being awakened by a maid.  I knew the maid was not just a housekeeper - the keep in question is staffed entirely by rejuvenated, loyal veterans - but I still had her as just a bit part that probably wouldn't recur.

 

Then I realized her name was Kailyn and her full personality emerged.  She wasn't there to bow and scrape, but to joke and flirt, to test and train - to prepare her charge for introduction into the staff of the keep while subtly vetting her as a potential romantic interest for their employer.  She went from a bit part to someone who's constantly trading jibes and witticisms with the other characters, and steals most of the scenes she's in.

 

All that from a name.

 

In my current work I was originally trying for a horror piece.  It started with an intrusion into an extradimensional manor house, where the protagonist is soon trapped.  A statue guardian comes to investigate and...introduces itself as Hewn.

 

In my mind, no evil stone minion would call itself Hewn.  Just like that, the story flipped from scary to adventurous.  Hewn's not a bad sort and neither is his employer; in fact, Hewn's a gentle giant (well, he's 5' 4" but he weighs nearly seven hundred pounds) with an inferiority complex.  His brittle nature and easy repair means that he tends to be the one to soften up bad guys, but is usually in pieces by the time they've won - and his obvious inhumanity means he's had to fade into the background as history marched on.  He's the Eternal Sidekick to a group of Eternal Champions.

 

I don't know why, but learning a character's name is a huge part of learning who they are.  I'm trying to name my protagonist's roommate but haven't come across the right one yet, and it's driving me nuts.  I know her rough personality, I know her college major (mechanical engineering) and how she's stuck at a dead-end job while she's studying.  I know she likes building things with her hands and she collaborates with the protagonist to create simple automata for their apartment.  But until I figure out her name, I won't feel like I know who she is.

[Stormgate]

My problem is names. For some reason, no matter what I write or do, if the main character is male, he is Jacob. I often try to give the main character other names, but I then accidentally write 'Jacob' instead of whatever it was I decided the character was. I am great at coming up with names for cities or something. I take a random word and write the letters that pop into my head.

 

Shard: Shailroarvith. Just now. They aren't usually that long though, but for some reason that one is. The point is, you can have a city or kingdom or even planet named Shailroarvith, but what kind of person names their child Shailroarvith?

 

The point is, how in the name of Trell Adonalsium can I think of good names?

Edited February 9, 2016 by Stormgate

[Talanic]

Shailroarvith.  Too long for a person's name in conversational use, but what if the culture in question is like that?  It's not unheard-of for cultures to have a tradition of long, formal names that are rarely used in full.  Shailroarvith could be a character's formal name, used on official documents and circumstances, while friends would call her Shail.

[Zathoth]

Another way is to come up with a trait, like Wayne came from his obsession with hats and then that just spiraled out of control...

 

Three of my characters had the following origins:

With Riem I wanted a charming, but cynical trickster thief, so he is a sarcastic anti hero who crashes governments just because he really wants something. And a little because they are corrupt and the people would be better off without them, but mostly because that is one hell of a decoy.

The detective (I really need names for these two) is fabulous, charming and intelligent.

Then there was a female villain/anti hero (Im no good at making 'good' characters...) who's entire personality came from a really dirty joke...

 

 

I am horrible at names too. I usually just have placeholder names, that then stick because I am too lazy to come up with actual names...

[Brightness Enna]

Hm... I've never written anything substantial but there are lots of little scenes in my head. Lots of them have similar characters that I've tried to flesh out.

 

For me, the visuals and names are so important. This sounds a little funny, but sometimes I go find the quality dress up games (like a bunch on dolldivine.com) and play around with the settings. As I go, I think of why they would wear that shirt or why their hair is in that style. That helps me get a fairly good handle on their personality. Then I go somewhere like nameberry.com and search via meaning or origin, and find a name I like. After that, it's a matter of letting them meet other characters (even ones in published books I like) and do their own thing in the universe that exists in my brain. 

 

There is one character who can see emotions, and they're pretty much a staple in the development for other characters. I play out a conversation, noting what they think of each other and how the character I'm testing feels as discerned by that guy. Then as whatever story pushes full steam ahead, sometimes I brainstorm interesting traits or mannerisms they could have, then possible backstory reasons for that trait. It works, mostly. There are a few really random bits of characters floating around in said universe and others that have changed so much there's more than one of them!

 

Aaannnyway. I have to try very hard to get my characters to act and react like they should. It's not the best system but it works for me.

[Stormgate]

Shailroarvith.  Too long for a person's name in conversational use, but what if the culture in question is like that?  It's not unheard-of for cultures to have a tradition of long, formal names that are rarely used in full.  Shailroarvith could be a character's formal name, used on official documents and circumstances, while friends would call her Shail.

I usually don't write the kind of story that has long names be a good idea. Completely independent of my ability to make unusual names, I came up with a magic system based on names, so I could use that for my strange names.

[CarolaDavar]

My characters tend to do what they wish as soon as i get a base. for example:

I once needed a character idea. i drew a sketch of my friend, but with a slightly changed personality(Slightly changed, because she lives with different people) THen, I re-imagine them, so htey look different, and they aren't my friend in my head, but someone new, that i have yet to meet. Hten, i start to write from their point of view. After a while, this character starts to be influenced by the people and setting placed around her, and wants to choose her own decisions. After a while, she advances, and i can almost forget who it was based off of, for the different things around her.

Sometimes, though, I have had to quit writing stories because the character does something i didn't want her to do, and therefore she ruins my plot line.

DO what you do, is my advice. try things. explore new optiions. mix and mingle said options. after that, you'll fidn what's right for you

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

I've noticed that characters tend to come to me in snatches, images and bits of dialogue, that may or may not make it into the actual story but are immensely helpful in determining who they are. 

 

With Susan Gillespie, for example, she started out as an idea for a precog who reads ethics books. I had this image in my head of a young woman, dressed in a 1940s-style grey dress, sitting in a bar and reading A Critique of Pure Reason. Much thought, many false steps, and a few rewrites later, I finally landed on what I feel is her true personality, and I even have a way to use the scene where she's reading Immanuel Kant for fun. 

 

My whole process is hard to describe, but part of it involves setting my characters up for a conversation with characters from other fictional universes. If I have a dark prankster, I'll write a conversation in my head between them and the Joker. If they're the honorable type, I'll have them chat with Captain America or Dalinar Kholin. These are by no means the only characters I'll role-play with, but they're two of the more….conventional examples I can share. 

 

Finally, I never feel I've developed a character enough until I know what their Patronus would be and why. For instance, I know Susan's would be a dove, because she strives to be a peacemaker and always prefers nonviolent resolutions to conflicts. I'm still working on the Patronuses for the other characters in this WIP, so I've got a ways to go. 

[Datan Nomlibash]

My problem is names. For some reason, no matter what I write or do, if the main character is male, he is Jacob. I often try to give the main character other names, but I then accidentally write 'Jacob' instead of whatever it was I decided the character was. I am great at coming up with names for cities or something. I take a random word and write the letters that pop into my head.

Shard: Shailroarvith. Just now. They aren't usually that long though, but for some reason that one is. The point is, you can have a city or kingdom or even planet named Shailroarvith, but what kind of person names their child Shailroarvith?

The point is, how in the name of Trell Adonalsium can I think of good names?

I know how you feel. For me its really hard to even name my characters. To keep the ball rolling I will just give them a simple name that I can change later that I can remember belongs to them. Like moon, lord, sword or hunter. The only real trouble with this is using the replace feature when they get a real name can be messy if there are already normal items of that type in the story.

For me, it's somehow tied into names.

I once had to write a scene where one of my protagonists was being awakened by a maid. I knew the maid was not just a housekeeper - the keep in question is staffed entirely by rejuvenated, loyal veterans - but I still had her as just a bit part that probably wouldn't recur.

Then I realized her name was Kailyn and her full personality emerged. She wasn't there to bow and scrape, but to joke and flirt, to test and train - to prepare her charge for introduction into the staff of the keep while subtly vetting her as a potential romantic interest for their employer. She went from a bit part to someone who's constantly trading jibes and witticisms with the other characters, and steals most of the scenes she's in.

All that from a name.

In my current work I was originally trying for a horror piece. It started with an intrusion into an extradimensional manor house, where the protagonist is soon trapped. A statue guardian comes to investigate and...introduces itself as Hewn.

In my mind, no evil stone minion would call itself Hewn. Just like that, the story flipped from scary to adventurous. Hewn's not a bad sort and neither is his employer; in fact, Hewn's a gentle giant (well, he's 5' 4" but he weighs nearly seven hundred pounds) with an inferiority complex. His brittle nature and easy repair means that he tends to be the one to soften up bad guys, but is usually in pieces by the time they've won - and his obvious inhumanity means he's had to fade into the background as history marched on. He's the Eternal Sidekick to a group of Eternal Champions.

I don't know why, but learning a character's name is a huge part of learning who they are. I'm trying to name my protagonist's roommate but haven't come across the right one yet, and it's driving me nuts. I know her rough personality, I know her college major (mechanical engineering) and how she's stuck at a dead-end job while she's studying. I know she likes building things with her hands and she collaborates with the protagonist to create simple automata for their apartment. But until I figure out her name, I won't feel like I know who she is.

I once had a story I set out to write but spontainiously found one of the characters maids to be much more interesting. ( that might have been the point of the story for complicated reasons but i digress ) so sometimes you just have to write and they show up in the least expected ways.

Also Talanic, that story was one of the things that I really enjoyed back in my days of lurking the shard:)

And finally can someone teach me how to use spoiler tags so I can hide mountians of text?

Edited February 11, 2016 by Datan Nomlibash

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

And finally can someone teach me how to use spoiler tags so I can hide mountians of text?

 

Like this: 

 

 

Just remove the spaces.

[DreamEternal]

I don't craft my characters, but I don't discover them either. The first is too rigid, the second too immediate, as if the character appeared complete. No, I don't build my characters piece by piece, and I don't simply find them fully formed by my subcouncious mind and ready. The process that creates them is slow and constant, councious yet spontaneous. I don't create characters, I grow them. Cultivate, even.

Most of my best made characters start as pieces of myself, little seeds that can grow into something very different from the original, but of the same substance.

If I feel I need characters of too diffeent nature for the first method to work, I try to construct a logical chassis to then let them grow around. What do they think is right or wrong? Why? How do they feel used to acting? How would they feel truly confortabke acting? Do they control every move they make, or go where the wind blows?

After I have the seed and chassis, I feed it. I feed it with music, generaly, or attach some parts of other people and characters, to be assimilated into the emerging being. When I feel they are ready to move on their own, I write and let them grow further, sometimes with surprising results.

Edited February 15, 2016 by DreamEternal

[Oversleep]

I usually don't write the kind of story that has long names be a good idea. Completely independent of my ability to make unusual names, I came up with a magic system based on names, so I could use that for my strange names.

I got around investing inventing(my first Sandersonian slip!) names for lead characters by letting them assume a nickname they are known to the world. Like superhero name/given title.

Frost (or Hoarfroster, not sure how to translate it into English). Fang. Plague. Alchemist (gotta change that, though).

The main protagonist name came from a typo or accidential keyboard mash. "Hsr". It kinda linked with English word for "caesar" and that's how Haesar got his first name. His last name is partially derived from German verb past tense "gesagen". I liked how "esag" is pronounced. I don't remember how it morphed into "Esagvere" (it used to be Esagvére to change the pronounciation, but it's hard to constantly type those special letters ). Now I think about it, it could be derived from german "vier".

 

There was also some origin backstory explaining why he has invented his name and last name instead of just going by his nickname "Blue Flame", but I threw that out since it involved some discontinued elves or something. Now I say that names came before somebody called him "Blue Flame". He dislikes the nickname, since being called by two-word phrase sounds weird (like some Indian name like Running Wolf or maybe some Asian name like Flying Snow or Long Sky), people calling "Flame!" are gonna make everybody think there's fire, and being called "Blue" is not necessarily polite. Like somebody calling you out by "hey you, the one in the black shirt!".

He normally goes by "Hes", but when he wants to sound super official he introducts himself "I am Haesar Esagvere, known as Blue Flame". He mostly manages to pull it off due to his fame/minor legend status (which he feels uneasy with).

[The Honor Spren]

The point is, how in the name of Trell Adonalsium can I think of good names?

It sounds strange, but I would suggest purchasing a baby name book. I stole mine from my parents. They (hopefully) won't be needing it any time soon.

It's a wonderful resource to have for character names. Nearly all of my character names come from that book.

Edited February 18, 2016 by The Honor Spren

[Kobold King]

It sounds strange, but I would suggest purchasing a baby name book. I stole mine from my parents. They (hopefully) won't be needing it any time soon.

It's a wonderful resource to have for character names. Nearly all of my character names come from that book.

 

 

That's where I've gotten a lot of names too!

 

(Side note: my copy was used by my parents back before I was born. Both the names "Jared" and "Wolf" are highlighted in it. I've often considered creating a character named Wolf just to serve as my evil self-insert counterpart. )

[aeromancer]

Characters I'm fine with, usually I develop them alongside powers / situations. Create a set of powers and ask yourself "Who should have these?" Pick a situation, and ask yourself "Who do I want to solve this, and why?"

 

Names ... it takes me a long time to pick a proper name. Usually, my characters end up picking it for themselves because I take such a long time.

[Talanic]

Also Talanic, that story was one of the things that I really enjoyed back in my days of lurking the shard:)

 

Glad to hear it.  Version 2 is in progress; I'm taking my time with it, trying to refine it.

 

 

It sounds strange, but I would suggest purchasing a baby name book. I stole mine from my parents. They (hopefully) won't be needing it any time soon.

It's a wonderful resource to have for character names. Nearly all of my character names come from that book.

 

The strange part is buying a book, considering that we're doing this entire conversation over the internet.  Babynames.com has been quite useful for me.

[Eagle of the Forest Path]

Since I'm writing fantasy (as I assume most of you are) I find that Bob, Mary and Steve don't really work for me. But there's a lot of free fantasy name generators out there for those who need them. What I really like about those is that the names are often separated by culture (or race if applicable) which allows me to keep consistency in groups of people (naming two brothers Jared and Talmud'ji'gilnom is to be avoided IMO).

 

Here's two generators I use, for those who are interested.

 

I know how you feel. For me its really hard to even name my characters. To keep the ball rolling I will just give them a simple name that I can change later that I can remember belongs to them. Like moon, lord, sword or hunter. The only real trouble with this is using the replace feature when they get a real name can be messy if there are already normal items of that type in the story.

 

Try lord_1 or hunter_A as placeholder names, it might get confusing if you start adding lord_2 and so on, but at least the replace function won't destroy your story.

 

As to how I create my characters, I start from their role in the story.

Let's say I need a lawyer. I'll decide some key features - for instance, the lawyer's a sixty-something woman - and some broad traits to base the personality on - like, she's stubborn and irritable - then I start writing the story and hope the rest of the character grows out of that.

I also decide on a name before I start writing, usually with a generator since up to now I haven't needed names with specific meanings.