I actually have no idea if I should put this to the Writing Discussion section instead but anyway lol
When I make characters, I want to make them as realistic as possible so I tend to observe people and break down their aspects as a person, then add (maybe even tweak it a bit) it to the character I’m making. For example, I’m really forgetful and often absent-minded, and I added that feature into Ethan Arden (my character from Blue Royalty). I think it’s really helpful to do so because it actually give more depth into the character you’re making, especially if you know it happens in real life.
Do you also take a feature or aspect from yourselves and/or others and make it your character’s own?
Yeah! I make sure my character shares some personality traits with me so it’s easier to imagine how they’d react in a situation. Though I find it weird taking inspiration from other people I know, so I tend to avoid that.
I do, all the time. My wife observed once that every female character I’d written has an element of her in them.
It’s like artists painting their lovers; They’re handy. Sit still for me? Thanks.
But it’s the same for everyone else too. If I’ve spent any time in your company there’s bound to be some quirk or detail or tag of speech I’ll borrow later.
Yes, always.
The main characters in my stories have a lot of my personality traits and preferences. My antagonists usually have traits that I dislike in others.
As others have said, I think taking an aspect of yourself (or others, especially those you know well) is really a trick to go when creating characters. If you can relate to your character, then—in certain situations—you won’t have a big trouble coming on your way when it comes to portrayal. One character I can definitely relate to, especially knowing I placed a good amount of me in her, is Tala—the feeling of defending people.
@RPers, how about you? Which characters can you relate to, having been placed an aspect of you or others into them?
I feel like even unintentionally, we all take at least some aspect of ourselves to put into our characters. It could be something as simple as a common phrase or some of their likes/dislikes, or something more significant in how they approach others, certain personality traits, or even part of their background. I could look to any character I’ve made and find some aspects of myself. Most of the time, its not in a way I intended on them being similar, but I know there’s some common aspects, even when I try to further differentiate them from myself.
When I do intentionally take an aspect of myself into a character, it may be something like how I’m a complete klutz, and I’ve created a character/s that are also that way, or how I have no desire to drive a car, so when I created Jezebel in Blue Royalty, I created her with a severe fear of driving.
