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Your charactors reflecting on you as the author?
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I know the problem. I kill one likeable character in the middle of RftS, and one of my beta readers was so annoyed that she actually hit me.
Argh! R. that's not good!! :( Author abuse?? ;(
L. profanity just offends some people.
But in today's world there are plenty of people who try to get offended.
Don't sweat it.
Joel; I often feel sad that we seem to live in a world where scenes of graphic violence but a beautiful loving act is seen as something sordid.
I think things are slowly changing though.
Love & light.
I think plots and dialogue show who you are more than your characters. Writing a pedophile doesn't make you a pedophile, for example, but writing a plot that glorifies and excuses pedophilia says a lot about you vs writing a plot that rejects it. You can write a strong female character or a weak female character, but how the plot reacts to that strength and weakness, and the message you send with it, says a lot more about the author than the character themselves.
My characters are a reflection of what I would like to be.
My stories can be quite disgusting, including violence against animals (a scientist experiments teleportation on rats). Personally, I adore animals; I have two cats and they're family. I couldn't even hurt them if I tried. But when my fiancée read my book, she continually looked at me all surprised. Once, she looked up from the book and said: "Sometimes I have this feeling that I don't know you at all."I, of course, tell her that it's just the character acting out his ways, but for a moment in my mind I feel all weird, like I have this dark side in me that would take over if I let it.
She's writing stories herself, so she understands the whole "going into character" charade, but what she said really took me off guard for a minute and I still think about it today.
C.L. wrote: "I think plots and dialogue show who you are more than your characters. Writing a pedophile doesn't make you a pedophile, for example, but writing a plot that glorifies and excuses pedophilia says a..."I think that's a really good way of putting it.
This is something I struggle with at times because I guess books do sometimes function as teaching tools. Sometimes I want to write dark themes and characters, but wonder how people will judge me for it. At the same time, even if I have the plot reflect what I really think, there's also that concern of coming off as preachy.
For instance, I'm personally anti-drugs but I'll write characters that are heavy drug users. I offset this by showing the consequence of the action as well as maybe showing the character makes risky choices generally.
But what if you consider your work of fiction a work of art? Maybe you don't clearly state or depict a consequence for an act that you personally disagree with. Is that a bad thing? What if it is merely a reflection of the way the real world operates at times? Or what if it's a scenario you would like to leave open to interpretation by the reader?
What if Walter White of Breaking Bad got away with everything in the end. And lived a wonderful life and no one ever found out about anything? Would we condemn the writers for glorifying his character? Or would we accept that sometimes people do bad stuff and nothing happens to them, even though it's unfortunate?
Hoping I'm not getting too philosophical.
Melissa wrote: "C.L. wrote: "I think plots and dialogue show who you are more than your characters. Writing a pedophile doesn't make you a pedophile, for example, but writing a plot that glorifies and excuses pedo..."Good points and thoughts. A lot of times I tend to write in a slice of life style. Writing about the world as it is rather than what I want it to be. Sometimes I think it is very important to lay out a story with no bias or agenda for the reader to determine the morals and ethics of it. It is a big reason people read and don't use visual media. They want their own brains to create the scenes and looks of the characters. Taking that a step farther and let their minds ponder the story.
It is why I gravitate toward true life adventures in my reading. My first book is my own memoir co-written with my parents.
Okay great Mellissa, now you got me rambling! Ha.
Yeah, I'm not a devil worshiper by any means, extreme opposite, ha! But I'm in all my characters, even in little bits. I might have gotten out of writing paranormal and into contemporary romance so I didn't have to answer questions anymore in interviews about where did I get my research, tee-hee. Google can be a good friend! Along with imagination and watching all those horror movies growing up. Rosemary's Baby inspired that book. It's cool how a writer's mind works!
How can the characters not reflect the author a little? They were created by the author. Friends who have read my book tell me they can tell I created the characters...like that's a criticism. But people who don't know me personally won't have that insight. I am trying, however, in my current new writings, to distance myself as much as I consciously can!
L. wrote: "One of my characters used profanity. When a friend of mine told me how disappointed he was in me that I would use such language I said, "It wasn't me, it was Johnny Lee." (the name of the character..."Yes, not all writing appeals to all readers. As I was writing my book, I was thinking that I needed to keep it quiet from certain judgmental relatives and others because they just wouldn't understand that separation between my characters and myself. But they insist on reading it because I wrote it, and their preconceived notions of acceptable things that should be written about lead them to express disapproval and confusion over someone they think they know writing the kinds of things they wouldn't write about themselves. It's frustrating. Told them not to read it.
Jane wrote: "The human race is downright peculiar, but that's what makes it fun. The strangest objection I've ever had was the woman who berated me for writing a character who doesn't like cats.Go figure... "
LOL! Cat lovers can be pretty ferocious! :) That's hilarious and totally throws things into perspective. We can't make everyone happy. Period. Thank you.
Zita wrote: "How can the characters not reflect the author a little? They were created by the author. Friends who have read my book tell me they can tell I created the characters...like that's a criticism. But ..."I agree they do reflect us to a certain degree. Authors will always carry the same voice in all their work. Readers should hopefully be able to tell our voice from another author's, not necessarily meaning we are that character. When I first started writing, my lead character was way too much like me, and that's not what I wanted. I re-wrote it and separated myself from her. I needed to learn how to create a character separate from me, and that's where the hard work comes in. I love when characters take on their own traits and personalities, even if it's not something I'd necessarily believe in. But I do put some of my values into them, like my leading men never cheat, will not sleep with a married woman, and treats the leading woman with respect. That is my belief and can't write them any other way. I know young women read these stories and feel sort of a responsibility, but other than that, it's pretty much all them. :)
I'm pretty sure my main three characters are my Id, Ego and Super Ego. Not intentional, but now I don't need a couch session, just send in my book to the psychiatrist . . .
Considering that I think about my novels more than I, a twenty-three-year-old man, thinks about sex, I'd say it wouldn't be possible to make non-reflective characters of my personality. It's a fun house, every mirror skewing us in a different light, and it's all beautiful.
I had a misogynistic older middle-aged man character in a short story recently, and I was interrogated about it, and had to explain that OF COURSE I didn't agree with what he was doing or thinking, the WHOLE POINT OF THE STORY was that he was being an unreasonable arsehole. It's weird when you are writing something that has "bad people" in it, and readers think it's based on you - and slightly terrifying if you're writing (as I tend to do) about people and things that are taboo and/or morally questionable. I love exploring (in my writing) the areas of life that I find repugnant or challenging, so it's scary to think people will associate that stuff with me personally, rather than with me the writer/philosopher... but I'm still gunna do it. :P
Joel wrote: "I am sure a lot of you have had this happen to you and I expected it but it still came as a shock. Judging you by the actions of your characters.In my first novel Lost coast Rocket I had a shocked..."
Actually I love this bit. :) I've had a reader come up to me and say "Wow, your characters are mean, but I know you're not like that..." ... and I'm just sitting there with a Cheshire cat grin thinking 'Little do you know...my precioussss.'
My main characters have a lot of me in them - at the same time, I often try to make them a little different in one way or another, to differentiate. I do borrow from my life, using people I've known as archetypes. It helps with realism.Once I had someone be upset that one of my characters was the product of a rape. Her question was why did I do that to people in my story, when I had control over everything that happened? At the time my answer was a little lame, like "these things happen," or some such. Now I think more deeply about it and realize that all aspects of life need representation. Maybe someone who had that kind of background could feel stronger by seeing someone else succeeding who'd had that happen to them.
On a side note, my dad asked me to help edit a novel recently. It had a few fairly graphic male/male erotic scenes. He was a little embarrassed about asking me to help, and said I didn't have to, but I agreed because I knew no other editor would give his work the same sensitive treatment I would. It turned out to be a pretty good story, and after a while it was just like helping any other writer, I got over my embarrassment. Of course, it helps that I'm 37. If I were in my 20s still, I'd have freaked.
The human race is downright peculiar, but that's what makes it fun. The strangest objection I've ever had was the woman who berated me for writing a character who doesn't like cats.
Go figure...