Recently I just wrote a characters physical appearance and started jotting down points about the character, I've done a few of these before but never have I started off with the appearance.
The initial note I wrote: A Greyhound-like character with a sleek and slender build, long, narrow face, pointed ears, deep chest, wearing a short, smooth coat, graceful gait, athletic movements.
I normally write with a theme in mind not a character, so the characters I write often feel forced into the story.
I'd love to hear what you feel makes a character apt for a story and what order you tend to build a story in.
13 Comments
cerement@slrpnk.net · 6 pts · 2y
there’s arguments that Tolkien designed whole languages before he wrote his books – that the stories of Lord of the Rings were just showcases for Quenya and Sindarin and Khuzdul …
there’s plenty of precedence for designing the pieces before the whole (“bottom up approach”) – rather than trying to fit your characters into a story, try to let the story grow around the character …
Lacanoodle@literature.cafe · 1 pts · 2y
I feel unclear that way, having a theme makes my work and intemtions clear. I know how to structure a story within a certain idea but without a greater idea in mind I just keep babbling.
RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y
I am no writer, but I can tell you characters come first for me, and also this seems like a logical starting point to create a story. After all everyone's story depends on their character and those around them.
RandomDent@literature.cafe · 5 pts · 2y
I definitely do that! I have several characters floating around in my head right now that don't have a story to go into yet.
Lacanoodle@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 2y
Ever create character profiles?
RandomDent@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 2y
No, not really. They're all in kind of different states of completeness, if that makes any sense. Some don't have names or faces yet, that sort of thing. But I tend to just leave them alone until I need them, then they start to become more concrete depending on the story.
ThatExpatGirl@literature.cafe · 4 pts · 2y
My characters always come first -- well, that and the world they inhabit, as I work mainly in fantasy. Character and world are so intertwined for me, after all, we're all a result of our contexts and background.
Lacanoodle@literature.cafe · 1 pts · 2y
World building is so much fun! I'd love to read some of your work.
Dagwood222@lemm.ee · 3 pts · 2y
Not me, but Roger Zelazny would sometimes write an entire story about a minor character so that when it came time to put them in a book he'd know exactly how they'd act in a particular situation.
Lacanoodle@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 2y
I've been given that advice too! Didn't know he did that tho, that's cool.
Dagwood222@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
This is my personal trick to get going. I pick an actor to play the character to start the ball rolling.
"Danny Devito walks into a bar..." is an completely different story than "Clint Eastwood walks into a bar..."
Lacanoodle@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 2y
Yessss I only recently did smth similar with jeff goldblum
Dagwood222@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
If you know someone who is creative, it makes a great game. One person names two actors who have never appeared together, the other has to come up with a scenario. Actors can be any age they appeared on screen. Best pair I ever got was Gary Coleman and Tom Hiddleston