"on what do you base your characters," she says...
oh, does that open up a can of worms! (some stories i couldn't publish w/o the "characters" giving me permission first!) Going to need a big glass for this one!
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Fodder for the Character Souffle Molds: People i know... people i don't know... people i'd like to know... people i wish i didn't know... people i'd hate to meet in a dark alley at midnight...
|____| <-- toss all of the above in blender, hit "Frappe" & let it rip, then pour the result into mold & bake until it gels. Then eat, or is that, write?
Probably the best example is in the fanfic i'm sort of stalled on at present. After seeing in a sudden flash of insight many salient elements of several characters from others' work that i'd admired, several characters from my own works, and the personality quirks & attitudes of my last three, oh, let's call them, 'romantic interests', embodied in a certain Tolkien-property character, i determined that such a revelation made me eminently qualified to write about this (colorful adjective deleted) character. Trying to write it FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE was sort of a "walk a mile" exercise to make it more challenging.
Other characters will just walk on and suggest themselves without me even having to audition for them. i love those, but the danger with them is that if they start out as bit parts and get more camera time, they may steal the story from your intended stars (for example, Skheel the half-Orc will be rewarded for her patience with the sequel...)
Speaking of which, LMP & Naaramare, i know you're both busy, but when you have a chance i'd love to get your input on that story (and i know i gave both of you the link) as i'm expecting to get two radically different yet equally logical interpretations from you...
s.t.
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<-- who, me? Take the Ring? Betray the Fellowship?? Nah -- couldn't be ME, i'm too cute...
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