Putting Yourself in your Characters?

[Anonymous]

@godlyfantasy12. @elishavet-pidyon. @mineralizedwritings. @loopylin. @theloonyone. @ava-blue. @lightoverdarkness6. @joy-caroline. @wilder-w. @keilah-h.

Hey Y’all! So…I need to figure out if I’m just weird or if this is a writer thing. XD So…as we all, as writers, create characters, I had a question. 😉

I’ve noticed that when I look at my characters, their struggles, some of their beliefs, etc, I see where I’ve put parts of myself into them…

…and I was wondering…does anyone else do this…or am I just a little…odd? XD

I have my example, of course. 😀

I would say there’s probably a part of me in almost every character I have, but 4 of them are probably like me the most, and those four are:

Riker, Leo, Reuben, and Nathan. 

I say that because of mostly their struggles…heh. But sometimes these characters have helped me overcome those struggles, so I’m okay with admitting my struggles. None of us have to be ashamed to admit where we’re weak! =)

But I was curious if I’m alone in this or if it’s a writer thing! 😀

So…are any of y’all like some of your characters? 😉

[Loopy]

@freedomwriter76   Ooo this is a cool topic! I’m pretty sure every writer on the planet does this (wether they realize it or not). It’s part of what makes stories interesting. The readers can see parts of themselves or parts of people they know in the characters they read about.

I definitely do this because a lot of my characters have adhd like me. I haven’t really introduced the characters that are the most like me, but Simon, who I recently added to the castle kinda has a somewhat similar personality and he likes telling stories.

“Nothing says autumn like slurpin’ apples.” -my uncle

[Anonymous]

@loopylin.

Ooo this is a cool topic!

Aww, thank you! I got curious. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t the only one. XD

It does make books interesting and even better! Some of my favorite books, I fell in love with the characters that had struggles and other things that I could relate to. 😀

Ahh, that’s cool! Really cool that you put that part of yourself in your characters! 🙂 And that’s cool about Simon too! =)

[MineralizedWritings]

@freedomwriter76

First of all, great topic! 😀 This is soooo me. lol. I find that each MC (ok with the exception of one) has a relation to me. they either-

a. Have something I have

b. Have something I want

c. Are a person I wish I had in my life

And often times it’s a mix of one or two of those.

I never really notice the correlation between my life and a character until they’ve been in my story for a few days. But it’s like all over my story 😅 I find it funny how the same characters I relate too, like it doesn’t matter if it’s a guy or girl. It just shows up in a character.

My OC Tuaren (actually my first ever character) I think was an effort to put a guy in my story that is trustworthy and caring. Like the kind of person I wish I could have as a friend (I wanted a little brother awhile). So that makes Lesli, my other oc, have something I wish I could have. Because Tauren is always there for her through her family issues. Lesli family issues are quite a lot worse than my own, but it pretty closely resembles if mine got worse, and if my parents were not christian.

So this causes a major issue. I can’t be giving of the idea that family issues never get resolved, and kids should leave any bad situation completely. Both Lesli and her cousin Keiryn have divorced parents, and Lesli moves in with keiryn and his dad (her uncle). lesli’s mom is Keiryn’s dad’s sister. So… I can’t have a situation where nobody gets reconciliation, b ut it’s very important to me that I fully recognize the long term damage done if any one does get reconciliation. I’m trying to be careful, because I know how books effect me, and I don’t want to accidentally portray an unhealthy way of handling it, and make kids (its ya fiction) think thats ok.

Ok, sorry this is getting into more personal territory here 😂🤣

I would love some advice on this if you guys have any. It’s hard for me to write Lesli’s dad, because it very directly correlates to my life. My current solution is partial reconciliation with a apology from her dad, but just in order to recognize the pain of it, later she has a nightmare that she never made up with her dad and was really lonely. Don’t worry, she’s got friends to help her. But I would hate for it to come off as “People do bad stuff, just forgive forget, and move on in 2 seconds! Lets pretend nothing happened here!” (ok do forgive though)

Keiryn also has fake friends, I’ve experienced that before.

Also Lesli looks quite a lot like me. Also in my story there a common theme of characters looking back at there childhood like it was the best slice of their life. I’ve felt like that a lot, like I was never going to have that kind of fun again. Like, them just kinda realizing life is harder and different now, they are different, and that’s ok. They can still have fun.

Oh and also (I said nearly every character didn’t I? 😂) My oc Layson adopts my oc Maylee. I think that is somehow connected to my life too. Like I just wanted to write Layson caring about Maylee alot even though she’s adopted.

Anyways I’d love to hear about your characters, feel free to elaborate on your if you want, but I get it if it gets too personal 😂

"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."

[GodlyFantasy12]

@freedomwriter76 I’ve done the same thing with all of mine 😊

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[Anonymous]

@mineralizedwritings. Thanks! I’m glad y’all love the topic! 🙂

Wow! No, don’t apologize! I love seeing how you’ve incorporated your own life into your stories. And really, all of those things will be relatable to a lot of young adults that read your books! Honestly, I really think God will use your book to help a lot of people that are struggling from things like divorced parents. ❤️❤️❤️

It’s hard for me to write Lesli’s dad, because it very directly correlates to my life. My current solution is partial reconciliation with a apology from her dad, but just in order to recognize the pain of it, later she has a nightmare that she never made up with her dad and was really lonely. Don’t worry, she’s got friends to help her. But I would hate for it to come off as “People do bad stuff, just forgive forget, and move on in 2 seconds! Lets pretend nothing happened here!”

Oh, that’s a hard one! 😅 And I’m still figuring things like that out, but I do have an example from one of my stories. Forgive me if I get too far ahead of myself. We’re all figuring stuff out! 😀

And that character is Jakob, one of my five brothers from one of my WWII WIP’s. He and his brothers were abused, and throughout the book, he has intense, and I mean, INTENSE, hatred of his stepmother and stepbrothers, who abused him and his brothers.

But…at some point in the book…he forgives them. But does that mean he forgets what they did? No, it doesn’t. But he’s forgiven them for it.

Same thing for my MC Leon, whose wife is killed. He forgives my other MC who was at least partially responsible, and they become friends. But that doesn’t mean Leon didn’t forget what happened to his wife or what Riker did, because how could he forget something like that?

A real-life example is Louis Zamperini, a WWII hero who was a POW in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. (Whose story is amazing, but just be careful if you’re sensitive to certain things. 😊) He was badly, badly abused in the camp, specifically by one of the guards, nicknamed The Bird. When Louis came home from the war, he had an intense hatred of The Bird and even planned on flying to Japan just to kill him. But when he met God, all of his hatred was gone. He even went to Japan years later to forgive his captors, although he never got to meet The Bird, he still forgave him. But Louis still remembered his experience, else we wouldn’t ever learn about his story.

Personally, and someone correct me if this is very wrong, but I think there’s a big difference between forgiving someone and forgetting what they did. You can forgive someone without forgetting about what they did. But rather than hating them for what they did, you forgive them for it. But I think though we need to forgive, if we just forget, that can lead to even more problems.

And what I mean by that is if we just forgive, forget, and move on, the same problems can repeat, and someone can find themself in a constant loop of being hurt over and over again because they’ve just learned to “Oh, forgive, forget, and move on.” 

It’s okay to be careful and to have boundaries.

And I think another thing we need to show in our writing, especially as Christian writers, is that pain is okay to feel. I feel like so much Christian writing just has happy, everything-goes, always-forgiving characters that are just always so hopeful and happy. But being angry and sad and grieved, etc, is okay. It’s part of what makes us Human and made in the image of God. Because God has emotions. The shortest verse of the Bible is John 11:35, which says: “Jesus wept.” Now if that isn’t one example of God having emotions, I don’t know what is! So I think it’s important, maybe especially in Lesli’s case, to show that though maybe she’s forgiven, that doesn’t mean all the hurt is suddenly taken away. Pain like that can take a long time to heal, and it’s okay to feel that way.

And someone, please correct me if any of that seemed wrong or unscriptural.

Anyways I’d love to hear about your characters, feel free to elaborate on your if you want, but I get it if it gets too personal 😂

Mostly, I’m like Riker. Not with life experiences or really anything like that, but his struggles have been mine. Guilt, low-self-esteem, feeling unworthy of love, all those things are things I’ve felt and dealt with for a while now. And all four of the characters I’ve mentioned sort of deal with those things in their own ways. 🙂

But Riker has all of them. XD

[Anonymous]

@godlyfantasy12. Cool!

So glad to hear I’m not alone. XDXDXD

[MineralizedWritings]

@freedomwriter76

Ok, thanks for the advice! I definitely show the pain of it in my story, one of my best pieces of descriptive writing is Lesli sobbing. But yeah, it’s also the idea of cutting ties with family. When is it appropriate, when is it necessary, and when is it too extreme. I don’t want kids to later think they should just move away from hurtful family, but at the same time, sometimes that’s for the best.

And what I mean by that is if we just forgive, forget, and move on, the same problems can repeat, and someone can find themself in a constant loop of being hurt over and over again because they’ve just learned to “Oh, forgive, forget, and move on.”

Ok yeah, thanks for addressing that. That’s one of the things I think was in the back of my mind in my story, is I either want definitive apology and forgiveness, or definite cut ties. Or, something in the middle, but the character removes themselves from the situation to avoid further pain.

Thanks for your insite! It’s good to have a second opinion, because I need a balance. I don’t want it to come out in bitterness… if you get what I’m saying.

Lol, poor Riker! Let me guess, is he like the traumatized adorable boi of your story?

I’ve got this one character like that 🤣

"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."

[Anonymous]

@mineralizedwritings. You are very welcome! I hope I helped at least a little! XD

I definitely show the pain of it in my story, one of my best pieces of descriptive writing is Lesli sobbing.

Glad to hear it! And the emotional scenes are always my best writing too, hehe. xD

But yeah, it’s also the idea of cutting ties with family. When is it appropriate, when is it necessary, and when is it too extreme. I don’t want kids to later think they should just move away from hurtful family, but at the same time, sometimes that’s for the best.

I truly love that. And it’s true! There’s some family I don’t spend a lot of time with for multiple reasons, and I think it’s sometimes really important to get away, or at least not spend time with them a lot. Not to completely push everyone in your life away, but again, boundaries!

Ok yeah, thanks for addressing that. That’s one of the things I think was in the back of my mind in my story, is I either want definitive apology and forgiveness, or definite cut ties. Or, something in the middle, but the character removes themselves from the situation to avoid further pain.

You’re welcome! I’m glad it made sense! And sometimes removing ourselves needs to be done! Not in every circumstance and not from everyone in our lives, but certainly, removing yourself from certain situations can be a very good thing.

Thanks for your insite! It’s good to have a second opinion, because I need a balance. I don’t want it to come out in bitterness… if you get what I’m saying.

You’re so welcome!!! I try to help however I can! I totally get what you’re saying! I’ve had some writing in the past come out pretty bitter. 😅

Lol, poor Riker! Let me guess, is he like the traumatized adorable boi of your story?

Lol, yes, girl. In every shape and form. XD My poor baby.

I’ve got this one character like that 🤣

I think almost every writer does…XDXDXDXD

[MineralizedWritings]

@freedomwriter76

You are very welcome! I hope I helped at least a little! XD

Yeah it did! I guess I wasn’t sure if I was on the right track.

Glad to hear it! And the emotional scenes are always my best writing too, hehe. xD

🤣😂 Lol yes! I honestly love writing emotional stuff.

Lol, yes, girl. In every shape and form. XD My poor baby.

😭😭😭

I think almost every writer does…XDXDXDXD

TRUE! XD

When I first started my story, my sister was asking me if my MC was a boi.. and I was like, hm i don’t think so. Well lol guess what happened when I tried to draw him for the first time?

I COULDN’T STOP ADDING CURLS TO HIS HAIR!!

Like, I just couldn’t.

I’m sure my sister was just like… yeah right he seems like one to me… 🤣

Oh, and he ended up with glasses too. I just accepted it at some point 😂

 

"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."

[Keilah H.]

@freedomwriter76 Yes, actually. Even though the majority of my characters aren’t exactly mine in the first place, I still manage to put some of myself in them…..

Take the velociraptor Blue from Jurassic World. Most of the stories my brother and I make give her sentience and a personality. Which I heavily based off of myself…..she’s a bit creative, pretty smart (most of the time), sorta snappy unfortunately….also a bit stubborn…..seems to favor the Star Wars universe even though she’s not from it*…Also a little annoyed with her friend Rinzler (sorta a ruder version of my brother) but does in fact care about him.

Wow, it’s hard for me to describe myself, even if it’s not explicitly me I’m describing.

(*Actually, getting off topic, I read an article saying there’s a theory out there that Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park could potentially be in the same universe due to how many easter eggs the three series share.)

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[Keilah H.]

@mineralizedwritings @freedomwriter76 I’ve got a lot of “traumatized bois”…although “adorable” doesn’t exactly describe some of them……

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[MineralizedWritings]

@keilah-h

Lol 🤣

"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."

[Anonymous]

@freedomwriter76

Oh my word. You are definitely not the only one.

Mostly what I do is project my own trauma onto my characters. *hides*

Also I’ve noticed that all my stories have redemption as a main theme, and many of my characters struggle to realize that God has forgiven them their past sins and they are no longer that same person. Like, they think they’re horrible and deserve horrible things because of what they’ve done in the past, even though they’ve repented and been transformed in Christ. Russell is one example of this. I think I write about this stuff so often because I have experienced this very thing in my life, and although, for example, Russell’s past sins are different from mine, I relate so very deeply to how he struggles with self-hatred and forgiving himself and believing that God has forgiven him. It’s been really healing for me, too, writing about how he comes to realize that Christ truly has forgiven him and he’s not the same person who committed those sins. <3

[Anonymous]

@keilah-h. I do that with characters that aren’t mine too. XD (*cough cough* Steve Rogers *cough cough* XD)

And that would probably make sense about them being in the same universe, tbh.

And lol, that’s funny. XD Not adorable…XDXDXDXD

[Author]

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