In Today’s Journal
* My Quote of the Day
* Are Characters Real, or Are They Only Reflections?
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
My Quote of the Day
“As the writer, you’re an observer of the story, not an influencer.” Harvey
Are Characters Real, or Are They Only Reflections?
Questions are always welcome via email (harveystanbrough@gmail.com) or in comments on posts. A writer friend emailed me. Here’s our exchange:
Writer
I want to believe the characters I write about are real. … My issue is that I can see myself or pieces of myself in pretty much all of my characters, and I can certainly see where I’ve unconsciously been working through my own issues in various stories. So I look at all that and think, Well, clearly these characters are all coming from me.
I don’t like this perspective, as it makes me feel very limited (I can only create characters that are in some ways like me–and can’t create/channel ones that aren’t like me at all). Any advice?
Harvey
I know what you mean. I either see myself or who/what I might’ve been in an alternate life in most of my characters.
- Wes Crowley is who I would like to have been had I lived in the 1880’s Texas Panhandle.
- On the other side of that, I could also have been Wes’ primary antagonist (the Comanche war chief, Four Crows).
- Joey “Bones” Salerno is the guy I would probably would have been if I were a Mafia wise guy in 1980s Brooklyn.
- Nick Spalding is who I probably would have been in the period between the Spanish Civil War and the first World War.
- The male protagonist in The Journey Home SF saga is who I might have been had I traveled into space on a generation ship.
- Stern Talbot is without doubt a direct reflection of my yearning to have been a detective or PI instead of just a cop in a small town.
So in a way, all of those characters either are me or contain aspects of me, my values, and my attitudes toward various other types of people.
So I don’t think any of that is a problem.
We all even tend to see bits of ourselves in everyone around us. and in everyone we meet, even fleetingly (at least once we get past the initial stereotype and begin learning more about them). And the more we feel they are like us the more we enjoy their company.
Maybe we subconsciously compare them with ourselves. We tend to expect other people to think the same way we do, have the same values we have, etc. At times, we even wonder whether or why they didn’t have many of the same experiences. And if we eventually decide we don’t like them, it’s usually because they seem less like us than we hoped.
Writer
Well, I’m glad to hear I’m not alone with seeing myself in my characters. I feel like half the reason I create stories/characters at all is to live different lives. That’s the whole point. What would it be like to be a regular Joe who gets involved in a murder in 1930? Or a homesteader in 1880? Etc. You get it.
So you don’t think it’s a bad thing that we see ourselves in our characters? Shouldn’t a fiction writer pride him/herself on being able to get into the heads of characters completely different from them?
In the past I have tried to write characters who are not like me at all (don’t have any of it: my personality, interests, hobbies, way of speaking, background, etc.). It does not work well.
Is this even worth trying, even subconsciously? Because if I let everything flow from my subconscious, well, I think a part of me is going to come out on the page, fortunately or unfortunately.
Harvey
“I create stories/characters … to live different lives. That’s the whole point.”
Yes. Exactly. Nothing wrong with that at all.
“Shouldn’t a fiction writer pride him/herself on being able to get into the heads of characters completely different from them?”
You don’t have to “get into their heads.” Just write what happens and their reaction to it. When you’re writing into the dark, it really is that simple. As the writer, you’re an observer of the story, not an influencer.
The characters will come into the story complete with their motivations, aspirations, schemes, beliefs, prejudices, and whatever else. Or they’ll reveal them as the story unfolds.
“I have tried to write characters who are not like me at all (don’t have any of it: my personality, interests, hobbies, way of speaking, background, etc.). It does not work well.”
Doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that it doesn’t work well. “Trying” is a function of the conscious critical mind.
“Is this even worth trying, even subconsciously?”
Nope. Because you CAN’T “try” subconsciously. So let go of “try” and just write. Seriously. Kick the ego to the curb and just enjoy writing what the characters give you. 🙂
Writer
Thanks for pointing out all the critical voice. I suppose I meant is it possible to write a character like that without trying. Can a writer ever meet/discover/write well a character who is not like them in any way?
I suppose not trying is just going to get you a character, and you don’t get to choose who. That’s kind of freeing.
Harvey
Freeing. Exactly. And see? In the end, you answered your own question. (grin) I love it when that happens.
Talk with you again soon.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 920
Writing of “Ten Cents on a Dollar”
Day 1…… 1965 words. To date…… 1965
Writing of Blackwell Ops 47: Sam Granger | Special Duty
Day 1…… 3250 words. To date…… 3250
Day 2…… 1110 words. To date…… 4360
Day 3…… 3323 words. To date…… 7683
Day 4…… 1656 words. To date…… 9339
Day 5…… 1413 words. To date…… 10752
Day 6…… 3135 words. To date…… 13887
Day 7…… 3338 words. To date…… 17225
Day 8…… 1228 words. To date…… 18453
Day 9…… 1985 words. To date…… 20438
Day 10….. 1312 words. To date…… 21750
Day 11….. 2559 words. To date…… 24309
Fiction for September……………… 15522
Fiction for 2025…………………….. 549671
Nonfiction for September.………… 14290
Nonfiction for 2025………………… 200540
2025 consumable words………….. 742597
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 13
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 31
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 117
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 301
Short story collections……………………. 29