A lot of people have asked me how I make my characters so realistic. It’s kind of a complex question, because all characters need to be realistic obviously. But I like to give all my OC’s a little something extra to make them that much more human. This ‘extra something’ could be anything from depression to an eating disorder to being a single parent and in one case, schizophrenia. One might think “well, I’ve read tons of stories that have characters with disorders like those! Yours can’t be any different.” And, while I honestly agree with you there because half the time I’m not sure what people see in my stories, I do try to make mine different in some way, shape or form. It’s really hard to explain so this might not make any sense, but here goes.
When you come up with an original character, it’s obviously all in your head. You visualize what you want them to look like, you come up with a name and a specific set of traits, sometimes you might even act out a little scene with them in your mind to really picture how you want them to act. So, when you write about a character you’re writing from your head. That character is basically a part of you. I don’t know about you but when I write I get into this mindset and I let the part of me that is that specific character take over so it’s almost like I’m just writing my own personal diary entry with a bit more detail. I think in order to make your characters almost eerily relatable and realistic you really have to get in that mind frame and tap into the character you’ve created to write like they would, especially if you’re writing from a first person point of view. (I’m really struggling to explain this right sigh) As an example, my Billie Joe Armstrong story Green-Eyed Monster was written in the perspective of the main female character, one of my OC’s. When I was writing that story I really tried to lay it out like it was an actual diary entry for my main character. I wrote from the deepest parts of her mind, not mine. I guess you’d have to have read it to know what I mean but there’s an example because I don’t think I’m making any sense.
A lot of stories I’ve read have characters that are all the same. I can read story after story that all have the same plot line and the same types of characters and it gets to a point where it’s almost stereotypical. Girl meets guy, they fall madly in love, they get it on and the girl gets pregnant and whoa, shocker, they get married! I won’t lie, I’ve written a story or two that technically developed like this, however I aim to make it different in any way I can, which is why I throw in mental disorders or drug addictions and anything serious and real to shake it up. I want to give my readers something different for once. They aren’t typical fan fictions. Yeah there’s romance and drama, but I try to make it not what one would really expect. And I really love shocking cliff-hangers and twists. It’s a lot easier and way more fun as a writer to create those twists and turns when you give your characters that extra edge.
I guess my advice to the people who’ve asked me how I come up with my characters and develop them is to tap into the deepest parts of your own mind and place your characters there. Use them as a sort of outlet for your most intimate thoughts. Or, do some research on disorders and such and apply that information to your character. Just really hide away in your head when you write. But I will warn you to not stay trapped in your head for too long; that’s unhealthy! Basically when you go to write, don’t go thinking “I’m going to write this story.” Instead think “I’m going to write in my diary,” because that’ll really get you going and it’ll put you right where you need to be (it really helps when you’re stuck!). This probably didn’t help at all and you’re probably thinking “I knew this already” so I’m sorry for wasting your time, I’m just not as good at explaining myself as I am explaining my character’s thoughts. Woops.
In other news, after 2 ½ gruelling years I finally got all my braces off! It feels pretty slick. I have to wear a retainer 24/7 for 3 months though so that kind of bombs, but it’s important. I’m really happy with my teeth now. I can actually smile and not feel self-conscious about opening my mouth and all that stuff. It’s just a nice feeling to finally have it over with.
Oh, and I finished my first year of university and I’m working at the museum in my hometown now. Honestly, for $11 an hour it’s a pretty slack job. We basically just sit there all day drinking lemonade and talking since I live in a super small town and no one comes to the museum except for little kids who want to see the caboose and the taxidermy and that’s it. And today, I and the girl I work with always have a supervisor there with us but we were all by ourselves. We waited for 30 minutes and no one came so we had to manage the whole place by ourselves. And we both have anxiety issues so we were freaking out for the first little while! Haha. But we survived. It was rainy so no one came by except for a small tourism group. But I like it regardless. I just like being home and out of the city.
So yeah, I think that’s it. Oh, I was thinking of making a little website for my stories on here, but I don’t know if I will. I’m not sure what I’d do with it, I just was thinking about how I could use it if I did. Any suggestions?
Hope you’re having/had a great day! Sorry I make no sense sometimes.
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