CleanReads.com discussion

What's your favorite thing about creating a character? What do you do to make your characters unique and fresh?

I think my favorite thing is looking back once I've written their story, and seeing just what part of ME ended up in them. Each one has something, good or bad. Diana, from A Chaotic Courtship, inherited my uncertainty about big life decisions, and Lucas, from Not My Idea (coming soon!), was unfortunate enough to have my sarcastic way of looking at things.

Ooh, this is a great topic! I also enjoyed looking back and determining what elements of me ended up in my MirrorMasters characters. Leah's got my sweet side, Kara's got my spunk and love of all things sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal. She's adventurous. I think, looking back at how some of the guys in the group tend to be thrill seekers, I may be more Dauntless -- or, at least secretly want to be-- than I thought.

What are some things your characters have taught you about yourself?

I'm not sure how exactly I went about making each of them unique, but during the edits, it helped to make sure they each have different mannerisms. And I think each having their own back story helped. Somehow, it just all worked.

When I did role play, my absolute favorite character was my original character Ariel, and my favorite thing about creating her was not only coming up with her backstory, but evolving her over time and really learning to see through the lens she saw the world through in her thoughts, her emotions, her reactions. With MirrorMasters, one of my fun character moments was, well, creating a surprise character. There's a moment where Leah is fleeing through the desert to a red castle, hiding from her pursuers. After an emotional farewell to one of her best friends, suddenly King Korin was there as I started writing the initial draft of that scene. I hadn't intended for him to be there, but there he was. And he was Leah's betrothed. So, yeah, throwing him into the mix was fun!

My major characters seem to be variations on me and my parents. That's not exactly my own choice, they all just fight their way into the story no matter what I do. I think they are unique and fresh because the situation is unique and fresh. I really believe that people show different facets of themselves in different situations, and so do characters in fiction.

Brigid wrote: "My major characters seem to be variations on me and my parents. That's not exactly my own choice, they all just fight their way into the story no matter what I do. I think they are unique and fresh..."
Yes!! It's always so fun to see what parts of yourself end up in those characters. And what's fun to hear is how others who know you see those characters and how they interpret yourself in them. That's always interesting feedback!

Lora wrote: "Ooh, this is a great topic! I also enjoyed looking back and determining what elements of me ended up in my MirrorMasters characters. Leah's got my sweet side, Kara's got my spunk and love of all th..."

A good back story really makes that character round and believable. And then you never know when you can go back and explore that story and create a new one!

So true, Kadee! I'm looking forward to doing just that in my MirrorMasters sequel. :)

Creating villains is my favorite. Figuring out who they are, how they became evil, what makes them tick can be fascinating. I do a lot of research into serial killers and true crimes to get ideas for villainous behavior. My villain in Twisted Sisters was created while binge-watching Criminal Minds. Now he was a truly twisted individual!

Kimber wrote: "Creating villains is my favorite. Figuring out who they are, how they became evil, what makes them tick can be fascinating. I do a lot of research into serial killers and true crimes to get ideas f..."

Exciting! Every story needs an awesome villain, and I love when the villain is someone with lots of depth and a great backstory about how they became evil. Bonus points if the villain is redeemable. Two of my all-time TV favorites are Rumple and Regina from Once Upon a Time, because they're both such complex characters, both with great lightness and dark within them.

Kimber wrote: "Creating villains is my favorite. Figuring out who they are, how they became evil, what makes them tick can be fascinating. I do a lot of research into serial killers and true crimes to get ideas f..."

The best villains have a great backstory. Totally agree, villains are fun to write. Because you want to like them kind of, and have some sympathy, even though their means are wrong.

My all time favorite villain is Mike Ehrmantraut. So complex and nuanced. He's a villain who is often my hero. Very confusing! I'd love to write a character like that!

Brigid wrote: "My all time favorite villain is Mike Ehrmantraut. So complex and nuanced. He's a villain who is often my hero. Very confusing! I'd love to write a character like that!"

Sounds fun! What story is he in?

Kadee wrote: "Brigid wrote: "My all time favorite villain is Mike Ehrmantraut. So complex and nuanced. He's a villain who is often my hero. Very confusing! I'd love to write a character like that!"

Sounds fun! ..."

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. There were complaints about how understated his character is in Better Call Saul (the prequel), but I love how the writers take their time with his backstory and building up the character. And of course, the actor who plays him, Jonathan Banks is amazing.

Ah, gotcha! Good to know!!

Creating characters is one of my favorite parts of writing. I guess that's why I went with third-person limited for my first novel, because I had all these ideas for characters and wanted to figure out what made them tick.

And every one of my six primary characters has a little bit of me in then. I have an odd mixture of traits... Tyler has my intelligence, Jessica has my stubborn streak, Brad has my skepticism, Stacy has my perspective on life in general, David has my shyness and Linda has my impulsiveness. Odd combination of traits, yes, but I'm an odd person. ;)