Black Dog Blog

Old meme. A few questions changed for readability/comprehensibility etc.

Character Q&A

Part 1: Which of your characters…

1. Is the happiest?
In a healthy, non-hyper way… Suitov. The one with the highest highs is Basaltine.

2. Is the most depressed and unhappy with life?
I try not to create depressives, because what's the point? The most discontent is probably Perry at times. Girl has problems of the "godlike powers, no patience, can't get no satisfaction" kind. A few others are annoyed, legitimately or otherwise, with their place in the world. Weft is no depressive; he just has frequent mood swings.

3. Easily gets angry?
A lot of them. Basaltine, Suitov, Weft—all for definite sore points, though, not just anything. Ferrl doesn't get angry, she gets calculating. Siri is more mellow than I occasionally manage to play her, but is prone to righteousness on behalf of others. Treter is cold-blooded. Perry rages incoherently and goes off on destructive binges.

4. Would rather be alone most of the time?
I seem to have a crop of characters far more functionally socially-adjusted than I. Perry, I suppose; it's hard to tell what a time-travelling teleporter does with most of her time.

5. Is annoying as hell?
Oh, all of them.

6. Is just a complete asshole?
Weft, whether you want to believe it or not. He has no redeeming features.

7. Would jump in front of a bullet to save their friends?
Understood as "accept likely injury, mutilation or death to spare a friend the same", perhaps Ferrl, by conscious decision. Not Suitov, which means Basaltine doesn't get the option either. Siri might, but might equally hesitate or freeze at the crucial moment. Weft, not for a friend, yes for a client. You've lost Green at the "p-people are shouting, make them stop!" stage. Perry is immortal and would not stick her neck out to save anyone.

8. Is shy and not very talkative?
Green, in a childish way. Weft, in a socially programmed way. I generally put him in situations where he wouldn't be, because *sits in corner looking pretty/unobtrusive/menacing* is boring to write, read and respond to.

9. Is full of themselves?
Basaltine. Perry. Not Suitov.

10. Is always ready for a fight?
None. Basaltine would be the closest, although better described as "willing to try anything" and "easily carried away".

11. Would find the best way to avoid a fight?
Probably a clever mage, who also finds creative ways to end them. To get rid of aspiring aggressors in non-battle situations he's been known to do the following (all corroborated by various parties): fake long-term memory loss; claim an assailant is his long-lost father; take his own dog hostage; threaten dread and terrible magic then pretend to set his jacket on fire by accident; insist on knowing where the assailant got that amazing weapon; persistently misunderstand all threats or insults made in his direction; suggest settling this with a game of dominoes then, on losing, 'admit' he doesn't know how to play; claim he's already paid off one member of the attacking group to leave him alone; variant of previous but claiming one assailant is an undercover police officer; 'conjure' a rather convincing dragon then argue with it about whether it can eat anyone; smile. But when he isn't with someone he wants to impress, he'll generally defuse trouble by cracking a joke at his own expense or throwing someone across the room hard enough to shatter bone.

Tortile disdains such populist tactics, thinks they show a deplorable lack of gravitas and always talks his way courteously out of things.

12. Needs company 24/7?
None. A couple of them, Suitov and Siri, enjoy other people for their own sake, but they're also the characters with the most insistent need for quiet time. Basaltine would happily hang around people all the time, but he's so distractable that that would result in him never working or sleeping. Weft alternately hates and needs people, but even at his most insecure or damaged does not need (and could not stand) round-the-clock company.

13. Loves the sound of their own voice?
Basaltine and Perry. They also like to duet, and oh gods, kill yourself before allowing that to happen.

14. Tries to be the leader of the pack?
None of them consciously decides they're the leader and then tries to be one. (Is that even realistic behaviour?) Basaltine has a rather strange installation of Pack Structure Mentality. Perry thinks she's better than everyone else, but she's too flaky to try to lead anything. Suitov is a leader, and most of the time he's trying to do it well.

15. Wants revenge?
Perry doesn't know what she wants. Suitov plans and executes elegant, proportional retribution and then immediately forgives the person, or, if revenge is impractical, makes himself get over it. Basaltine either takes revenge immediately or is distracted and forgets about it. Weft's forbidden from vengeful thought and deed. Tortile plans other people's revenge. Green doesn't hate anyone, but there are people she bites on instinct.

Part 2: Writing practices

1. Who is your main character?
I guess everyone's expecting me to say Suitov, and I would like to write his story. What I consider the 'main' character depends on the universe and/or story, though; for example, Treter's the most important character in Treter's storyline, Ferrl in Ferrl's scenes and obviously Skyler in Mews-verse. Whoever I'm writing, that's who is most important.

I don't have a favourite character. (The favourite I don't have is probably Basaltine.)

I keep a running total of four 'major' characters, but that's based on archetype and some arcane theory that isn't important.

2. Does your main character have a rival? If so are they a friendly rival and do they hate each other with a passion?
I'm not very good at putting in one character labelled The Rival, it seems.

Suitov has plenty of political contemporaries, rivals and enemies, generally impersonal and courteous, as well as enemies with which it's intensely personal. In his younger years he has someone who acts as both foil and general sexual tension, but their interests don't directly oppose each other (indeed, for a while they nicely coincide) so there's no rivalry as such. But a lot of oneupmanship and battling of the sexes.

Skyler has someone vaguely friendly who becomes a rival later through a plausible sequence of events.

Ferrl makes certain her enemies understand that "we are going to get along because otherwise things will suck, and I really don't care if we like each other".

Treter has astonishingly few enemies.

3. Does your main char represent the real-life you?
No; in fiction-writing that'd be either masochism or boring. One of 'em represents Slen, though, naturally. I don't recommend this unless you're sure it's a good idea. One of the problems I encountered was how to make interesting story happen without seeming like I had a secret desire to have my brother maimed or mauled.

4. What character are you really proud you created?
FELICITA :D (Jaws clamped insistently around my wrist dictated my answer to this question.)

5. Do you think about your chars a lot?
Yup, always chuntering away with plot or scene ideas.

6. Do you ever wish you could meet your chars in real life?
No, not really. I have no desire to. (Except for any of the dogs, because, well, dogs.) Occasionally I think "Boy, I could make use of so-and-so's talent right about now" or imagine what sarcastic quip one would make, but in general we inhabit rigidly-separated worlds.

7. Do you remember the moment you created your first char?
Don't be silly. I don't remember my pre-school years at all. And I definitely don't remember when I crossed over from being The Water Rat to self-originated animals, and does "a lion" count as a distinct character anyway, and…

The Rat sculled smartly across and made fast. Then he held up his forepaw as the Mole stepped gingerly down. 'Lean on that!' he said. 'Now then, step lively!' and the Mole to his surprise and rapture found himself actually seated in the stern of a real boat.

'This has been a wonderful day!' said he, as the Rat shoved off and took to the sculls again. 'Do you know, I've never been in a boat before in all my life.'

'What?' cried the Rat, open-mouthed: 'Never been in a—you never—well I—what have you been doing, then?'

'Is it so nice as all that?' asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.

'Nice? It's the ONLY thing,' said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. 'Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: 'messing—about—in—boats; messing——'

'Look ahead, Rat!' cried the Mole suddenly.

It was too late. The boat struck the bank full tilt. The dreamer, the joyous oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.

'—about in boats—or WITH boats,' the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up with a pleasant laugh.

In conclusion, Ratty is ♥ and what was the question.

8. Is originality important to you when creating a character?
They grow organically as the story or idea demands, and no. I think about originality in creating settings and stories, but people are people. For appearances, for example, I just pick from whatever range of colouring I decided the species has. They tell me how they dress whenever they're ready to. I make sure to work out how they think before other trivia.

9. Do you ever look at somebody's character and wish it was yours?
No. Ew? Say I like how something's written—if I tried to do it myself it wouldn't be the same. This is precisely why I don't write fanfics.

I don't tend to look at concepts like "a one-winged angel" or "he is the last of the Orbs and he is vary powerful" and think "omg I must make one just like it". If the pertinent aspect is something generic enough, and something I think I can do something new or fun with, I'll steal it. (The last time I did that for a character was probably when reading about an assassin monk to whom horrid things happen. Do it much more often with worldbuilding details, obviously.) Otherwise I'll just be happily jealous.

10. Can you see yourself still writing your characters in the future?
Slen hopes!