Post by Erin on Sept 15, 2011 8:42:44 GMT -5
I have severe problems in character development. I have been trying to write many different stories for several years now. I am good at developing concepts (or at least taking previously used ideas in science fiction and adding my own twists and turns to them) and for the most part I can write decently. The problem for me is trying to come up with a good main character, and it usually has to do with determining the character's gender, sexuality, and whether or not he or she even has to have a love interest. I might throw in some, but for the most part I really want to write adventures about the characters having fun and finding themselves. The point of my stories is to resolve some sort of conflict or oppressing villian, not necessarily pairing people up.
It's not that I have anything against it, but I'm neutral about the whole thing. It seems like every single work of fiction HAS to have some sort of romance sub plot with the canon characters, and in the end more often than not writers/ audiences will get more distracted with that than the plot's conflict that has to be resolved. The thing is that I often don't know how to do pairings of any sort, and when I do the story becomes just a mushy love one and it becomes difficult to focus on anything else.
I'm also afraid of what gender/ sexuality to make my characters. I often feel like there should be more girl heroes, but I'm always afraid that a. I'll end up pulling a self-insert Mary Sue like Meyer did in Twilight (that's my opinion).
b. There are more people interested in men than women, so I'm afraid, even though there aren't enough girl heroes and I think there should be more, that people will not be interested.
I also only know how to use younger boys as the main characters at most, but I don't know how to make a good adult male main character.
Even when I try to make the character as different from me as possible, there is always something that I have in common with him/her, and I'm afraid that will end up making a self-insert, too. Sometimes I even try to give them different ethnicities or hair colors or something, too, but either way, I always get tired of my characters and stop writing or have to start over.
And no matter what character I make, I am afraid that people will not like them if I do not make them stick to some sort of stereotype. Like, if I want to write about someone who is African American, I'm not focused on what a "black" or "white" person is "supposed to act like". They just come out the way I picture them. But I'm afraid that if they are not bound to a stereotype that people will not want to read it, but I don't even know what makes a "racial stereotype".
I'm stuck @.@
It's not that I have anything against it, but I'm neutral about the whole thing. It seems like every single work of fiction HAS to have some sort of romance sub plot with the canon characters, and in the end more often than not writers/ audiences will get more distracted with that than the plot's conflict that has to be resolved. The thing is that I often don't know how to do pairings of any sort, and when I do the story becomes just a mushy love one and it becomes difficult to focus on anything else.
I'm also afraid of what gender/ sexuality to make my characters. I often feel like there should be more girl heroes, but I'm always afraid that a. I'll end up pulling a self-insert Mary Sue like Meyer did in Twilight (that's my opinion).
b. There are more people interested in men than women, so I'm afraid, even though there aren't enough girl heroes and I think there should be more, that people will not be interested.
I also only know how to use younger boys as the main characters at most, but I don't know how to make a good adult male main character.
Even when I try to make the character as different from me as possible, there is always something that I have in common with him/her, and I'm afraid that will end up making a self-insert, too. Sometimes I even try to give them different ethnicities or hair colors or something, too, but either way, I always get tired of my characters and stop writing or have to start over.
And no matter what character I make, I am afraid that people will not like them if I do not make them stick to some sort of stereotype. Like, if I want to write about someone who is African American, I'm not focused on what a "black" or "white" person is "supposed to act like". They just come out the way I picture them. But I'm afraid that if they are not bound to a stereotype that people will not want to read it, but I don't even know what makes a "racial stereotype".
I'm stuck @.@