Young Writers Society

I've never been that attached. Heck, I've rarely cried even from the works of published authers. The closest I can remember being to tears was getting a little misty eyed. I've been deeply moved by a work, just not in the form of tears.

As to my own characters, I don't get that sad about it. Sure, I admitt that I sometimes feel sorry and feel for them, but I look forward to the end and admire how they've changed. I kinda feel proud of them. I've already got the ending of my novel planned out, the entire final scene, and there's nothing that's going to change it. That's easier than it sounds since it's an epilogue. I plan to have an emotional impact for that scene that both ties everything up and make it so the reader can't help but smile.

I want my characters to live, and life is unfair, unsympathetic, and painful. Awful things are going to happen to everybody, in every way one can think of and more. But good things happen as well, things that bring joy and meaning to our lives. And we grow from our pains, hopefully. I love to see my characters grow, to watch them live. To me, they're not just characters in a story, they're people that I feel I could meet as real people, that if I was capable of meeting them, I would find a person there whom I could interact with like anybody else in the real world. I feel pride at how they overcome life's obstacles, like there was the possibility that while I was writing they wouldn't make it. At times they fail, but in the end they get back up, even if it takes them awhile to do so. At least the characters I've made thus far. I just love watching them grow and change, through good times and bad. A character may die, or lives may be forever ruined, but still, I have pride in what my characters have accomplished, the sacrifices they've made, the people they've become, and I can't help but feel that all things considered, in the end, it's a happy ending, and I'll close the book with a smile on my face as well as my heart.

(Boy, talk about letting my emotions speak, but man, I can hardly describe the joy I get when creating a developing a character.)

Wow...

Okay. So I cried during two chapters of FREAK -- that is, Chapter 20 and Chapter 50, not necessarily because it was sad (well... okay, Chapter 20 is pretty sad) but because the characters' reactioins to the conflict are so perfect and heartbreaking and tragic that... gah!

I don't know. We love weepy stories.

I know what you mean! I get so attatched to my character that I make them the victim/perfection/everythign I wish I was and end up with a character that has a perfect life and nothing could possibly be interesting in it!!!!
Humph, sometimes youjust gotta let the character suffer.........

But they become so real, they'll end up leading the story for me. In one thing I wrote, I planned for no romance anywhere! but the characters fell in love anyway...I like when they can lead there own lives, it makes my job easier.

Those are the best types; the ones that pave the way for the writer. Unfortunately, any desires I want are quickly dismissed and it's obvious who's running the show - "figments" of our imagination!

I remember once, back in March of 2006, I had three of my characters sitting in a tavern, drinking. I tried to force a young 21 year old (Samuel) into be drunk. Instead, my plans were foiled. Paul Revere ended up comatoast - AKA, fell unconcious from drinking two mugs of ale, LOL!

Man, historical fiction in that sense is LOADS of fun, and absolutely hilarious from my end. I'm sure I have all those "Americans" who participated in one form or another, rolling in their graves! Ah, whoops!

In addition to those surprises from a historical stance with non-fiction characters, fictional characters have become a whole new ride! Believe me, if they're developed, you don't need outlines continuously. I can't tell anyone enough how many times I'm left slack-jawed.

A member on this board suggested that I write a character's background, to improve their overall profile. This character (Martha) has been a thorn in my side for nearly a year, and a couple of weeks ago, I sat down and dabbled with her charactistics more. Uh... *coughs*... Within forty-five minutes, I quickly learned the poor woman has been patiently waiting a whole year to spill her guts! LOL! And not just Martha herself but her past-protective/over-sensative husband had been itching to do the same!

So, because of that little discovery, the husband and wife have now left me in a four week Writer's Block!!! LMAO! I don't know what to do, or say, but I'm patiently waiting for them to speak the hell up before the turn of the century! Right now, I think everyone's on vaca, like me very shortly, LOL! Go figure...

I'm really starting to like my MC of SOW, she is really fun to write.

Almost never, because I write in a different type of writing. I don't stick to one character for, say, 5 or 6 chapters. I usually do 2-3 chapters.

How is that possible, Lycan? Do you just switch points of view or something?

I've been finding that since I've started this journal thing for Fineena I've become a LOT more attached to her. I don't want her Pa to die...but he has to! He just has to. Oh, I hate hurting my characters! *wails*

I get pretty attached to my characters myself, and have a hard time of letting them go whether it's if they are being killed or are having to leave the story for some other reason. But usually if they don't die, they come back up again because I miss them too much. Call me weird.

I get very attached to my characters actually, I have written about the same character,Phiona, for the last nine years.

keep writing guys, and =) happy reading (=

I usually get attached to my characters, at least to most of them. Personally I prefer the bad guys; I tend to kill off the good ones and keep the bad ones right till the end.
-And what of edings?

I never get to those, lol.

I do, though I'ld rather not get into to much detail. I will say this though, when I make a character they are real to me.

yeah i always get really attached to my characters, and when there is something horrible going on in their life (which i've inflicted no less), it is so heartbreaking.
I don't know how people stay detached when writing, because i always end up with my characters becoming almost like a part of me. And if you're writing a really emotional scene (especially if it's in first person), you have to let that person's emotions flood over you, otherwise you can't really write something that is believeable.
That's what i find anyway.

I tend to get very attached to my characters. In one story I was working on I first planned to have an important character killed but a while later I just couldn't because I cared about him far too much. And then I kept switching back and forth because I just couldn't decide whether to kill him off or not. In the end I didn't kill him because it would have been absolutely heart wrenching for me.

I had that with one of my characters and in the end it was horrible because in the end to kill her off to get to the next point in the story.

It was horrible, but it had to be done else the story would have stayed stuck in a rut

I'm totally relating to you guys! I even feel that way about books I love, especially Gone with the Wind. I just couldn't believe Rhett left her-couldn't believe it. Even though Scarlett completely deserved it, I had gotten so attached to her that I didn't want Rhett to leave her!

*sighs* Those romantic books just kill ya...