Writer/Poet/Foodie
May. 10th, 2017 06:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflydreaming posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
2017revivalName: Cris
Age: 45
Location: Pacific NW, United States
Gender: Female
Describe yourself in five sentences or less:
I love to have conversations about fiction: characters, world building, fandom. I enjoy learning from other viewpoints as well as engaging with folks who have different life experience from mine. I write fantasy/sci-fi/horror, fanfiction, and poetry. Online, I’m open about my opinions, my depression, my story thoughts, my sexuality, my religious/spiritual beliefs, and… pretty much everything? My approach to life is to have convictions, have compassion, and to look for the way forward.
Top 5 Fandoms:
Cardcaptor Sakura, Disney’s Frozen, Disney’s Tangled, Pacific Rim, and folklore.
I mostly post about:
Whatever comes to mind that might start a conversation. Generally speaking, my observations and opinions regarding ongoing life experiences and creative endeavors.
I rarely post about:
Politics, my relationships.
My last three posts were about:
Problems at my current employment, a sh*tpost about liking my own writing, ancient history (personal) regarding a person my online+IRL friends here know about
How often do you post?
Several times a week, typically via email.
How about commenting?
When I can get online -- every few days or so -- to read my Reading List, I try to comment on posts. I’m much quicker to reply to comments (to my comments, or to my posts) because I can do that by email.
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Date: 2017-05-11 10:49 am (UTC)I primarily post fandom stuff that we might not share, so I understand if you don't want to subscribe to me, but would you mind if I followed you?
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Date: 2017-05-11 03:22 pm (UTC)I don't mind at all! Added. :)
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Date: 2017-05-11 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-11 10:31 pm (UTC)It's unusual for me to start with a plot and then populate it, but I have done that when I was shooting for a specific genre (mystery short story for a themed anthology) and -- one still in the works -- to subvert a particular trope (Tolkien derivative fantasy tale).
I take characteristics from everybody. Mostly strangers, though. I've worked retail and food service plenty, providing me with lots of personality types to mine. ^_^ I did make kind of a mistake recently by making a minor character name from the names of 2 coworkers. The story was selected for publication... and those coworkers noticed. Lucky for me, they were both pleased. {whew!}
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Date: 2017-05-15 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-15 10:14 pm (UTC)Like, love to hate? I think that's a good goal with antagonists. When villains get fleshed out, they like to steal the story (this happens to me repeatedly!) but if they are bad enough, I think I could keep a hero in the spotlight. The bad guy would have to kick puppies or talk during movies.
Just plain hate, get sick of? I don't think I have, yet. Has this come up for you? If so, what happened?
On May 15, 2017 12:39 PM, "karlamartinova - DW Comment" < dw_null@dreamwidth.org> wrote:
[image: karlamartinova: (Default)] karlamartinova http://karlamartinova.dreamwidth.org/profile replied to a comment you left in a Dreamwidth entry "Writer/Poet/Foodie" http://2017revival.dreamwidth.org/47053.html. The comment they replied to was:
Characters come to me pretty easily, the basics of who they are, and then traits get added to them to fill them out. First, after core personality, I get a sense of their appearances. I've tweaked that some times in the "what if?" part of development. For example, I may want to feel out how a age/body type/gender/race would play put in the larger plot. That's generally how it goes: first a character, then a story to go with them, then changes to the character as the planning goes on.
It's unusual for me to start with a plot and then populate it, but I have done that when I was shooting for a specific genre (mystery short story for a themed anthology) and -- one still in the works -- to subvert a particular trope (Tolkien derivative fantasy tale).
I take characteristics from everybody. Mostly strangers, though. I've worked retail and food service plenty, providing me with lots of personality types to mine. ^_^ I did make kind of a mistake recently by making a minor character name from the names of 2 coworkers. The story was selected for publication... and those coworkers noticed. Lucky for me, they were both pleased. {whew!}
The reply was:
I have never attempted to put into words how my mind works with creating characters, but this sounds absolutely lovely. Did you ever really hate your character?
From here you can:
Reply to this comment by replying to this email. Replies will be formatted using Markdown syntax. Your comment must appear before all other text at the top of the reply email. Do not change the reply-to address. It uses a secret address to identify you. Reset the secret address http://www.dreamwidth.org/manage/emailpost if you've accidentally shared it with anyone else.
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Date: 2017-05-20 12:00 pm (UTC)For me, the characters are most important, and it's my biggest weakness as well.
Any advice?
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Date: 2017-05-20 04:02 pm (UTC)What makes you hate them? I think that's a first step to changing that/breaking the cycle. Is it their traits, their choices? Are they too "good at everything" to stay interesting? Are they reminding you of irl people?
Or, is it a feeling that, as the author, you're not making them likeable or interesting to a potential audience?
Fanfic or original, I project a lot of myself into the characters I'm working with. It can feel too revealing, sometimes, and that could easily turn into aversion. When I see too much of myself, I step back and focus on what kind of story I'm telling. Why do I want to tell this character's story?
I also always give my protagonists traits & skills I admire but don't have. For example, the character that is most Mary Sue/like me an artist, painting & drawing. She has a pure heart & is always kind. The story she is in, though, is not about her. It's about being confronted with a problem too big for one person. So the supporting characters, and her relationships with them, are more important.
On May 20, 2017 5:00 AM, "karlamartinova - DW Comment" < dw_null@dreamwidth.org> wrote:
[image: karlamartinova: (Default)] karlamartinova http://karlamartinova.dreamwidth.org/profile replied to a comment you left in a Dreamwidth entry "Writer/Poet/Foodie" http://2017revival.dreamwidth.org/47053.html. The comment they replied to was:
Like, love to hate? I think that's a good goal with antagonists. When villains get fleshed out, they like to steal the story (this happens to me repeatedly!) but if they are bad enough, I think I could keep a hero in the spotlight. The bad guy would have to kick puppies or talk during movies.
Just plain hate, get sick of? I don't think I have, yet. Has this come up for you? If so, what happened?
On May 15, 2017 12:39 PM, "karlamartinova - DW Comment" < dw_null@dreamwidth.org> wrote:
[image: karlamartinova: (Default)] karlamartinova http://karlamartinova. dreamwidth.org/profile replied to a comment you left in a Dreamwidth entry "Writer/Poet/Foodie" http://2017revival.dreamwidth.org/47053.html. The comment they replied to was:
Characters come to me pretty easily, the basics of who they are, and then traits get added to them to fill them out. First, after core personality, I get a sense of their appearances. I've tweaked that some times in the "what if?" part of development. For example, I may want to feel out how a age/body type/gender/race would play put in the larger plot. That's generally how it goes: first a character, then a story to go with them, then changes to the character as the planning goes on.
It's unusual for me to start with a plot and then populate it, but I have done that when I was shooting for a specific genre (mystery short story for a themed anthology) and -- one still in the works -- to subvert a particular trope (Tolkien derivative fantasy tale).
I take characteristics from everybody. Mostly strangers, though. I've worked retail and food service plenty, providing me with lots of personality types to mine. ^_^ I did make kind of a mistake recently by making a minor character name from the names of 2 coworkers. The story was selected for publication... and those coworkers noticed. Lucky for me, they were both pleased. {whew!}
The reply was:
I have never attempted to put into words how my mind works with creating characters, but this sounds absolutely lovely. Did you ever really hate your character?
From here you can:
Reply to this comment by replying to this email. Replies will be formatted using Markdown syntax. Your comment must appear before all other text at the top of the reply email. Do not change the reply-to address. It uses a secret address to identify you. Reset the secret address http://www.dreamwidth.org/manage/emailpost if you've accidentally shared it with anyone else.
The reply was:
That's that, it happens to me a lot, I try to hard when creating them and then I end up hating them. Just trying to figure out what can I do to change it.
For me, the characters are most important, and it's my biggest weakness as well.
Any advice?
From here you can:
Reply to this comment by replying to this email. Replies will be formatted using Markdown syntax. Your comment must appear before all other text at the top of the reply email. Do not change the reply-to address. It uses a secret address to identify you. Reset the secret address http://www.dreamwidth.org/manage/emailpost if you've accidentally shared it with anyone else.
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Date: 2017-06-05 05:36 pm (UTC)Do you create your characters before starting writing or do you let them shape on the way?
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Date: 2017-06-05 09:29 pm (UTC)They are always shaped by the writing, as it happens. That's how I fill out knowing much more about them. As details become needed, I can ask what they would do & think. Say there is a scene that happens at fancy party: I will find out what they like to wear, how they get dressed (in a rush? change ten times with indecision?), if they dance, what they would drink and eat.
Do you write fanfic or in shared world (i.e. game worlds, Star Wars, Harry Potter) ever? I feel that fanfic can be really freeing, because you already know the characters and world. If you do, you can compare how your characters are filled out compared to canon characters.
Another useful thing to look at is Joseph Campbell, who talks about archetypes, such as The Hero. Similarly, TVtropes.com addresses some of the same concepts. If you only have an archetype or trope character, they are only a hollow vessel. Mary Sue characters aren't bad, they just aren't finished.
Maybe your characters need some things to happen to them. You can develop a lot by putting them into conflicts. This is where you can draw from your own life, important events and memories. There are always those times you could have made different choices or you can think about how things would have been different if it had been your character, not you. It's OK if these are private things that you don't want include in the story. They will help flesh out your character, I think.
When they have experiences to learn from, they will fill out and should start to seem more like actual people. At least, I think that should work.
Honestly, though, we might be very different writer types. Michael Criton tells exciting stories that readers love, but his characters are not very well developed. It's much more about action and suspense. Romances are known for characters that the reader can step in to, so that genre doesn't benefit from deeply detailed characters, either.
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Date: 2017-06-18 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-11 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-12 12:41 am (UTC)Added! :)
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Date: 2017-05-12 07:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-12 03:26 pm (UTC)Hi! Adding back. :)
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Date: 2017-05-14 06:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-14 06:29 pm (UTC)Thanks! I'll add you, too.
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Date: 2017-05-20 01:25 pm (UTC)(We don't have many other fandoms in common, but you seem a lot of fun, so I'd like to add you!)
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Date: 2017-05-20 03:44 pm (UTC)Thanks! The best way to get into new fandoms is with/because of friends, so who knows if we'll eventually end up interested more like Pacific Rim. With Boyega in 2, the sequel is promising. {hopes}
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Date: 2017-07-08 09:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-08 03:45 pm (UTC)You seem interesting, too! Thanks for finding me.
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Date: 2017-09-22 12:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-09-22 06:19 pm (UTC)