Do you ever write characters before a story? (literature.cafe)

submitted 10 months ago by Lacanoodle@literature.cafe to c/writing_lounge@literature.cafe

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Recently I just wrote a characters physical appearance and started jotting down points about the character, I've done a few of these before but never have I started off with the appearance.

The initial note I wrote: A Greyhound-like character with a sleek and slender build, long, narrow face, pointed ears, deep chest, wearing a short, smooth coat, graceful gait, athletic movements.

I normally write with a theme in mind not a character, so the characters I write often feel forced into the story.

I'd love to hear what you feel makes a character apt for a story and what order you tend to build a story in.

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[-] cerement@slrpnk.net 4 points 10 months ago

there’s arguments that Tolkien designed whole languages before he wrote his books – that the stories of Lord of the Rings were just showcases for Quenya and Sindarin and Khuzdul …

there’s plenty of precedence for designing the pieces before the whole (“bottom up approach”) – rather than trying to fit your characters into a story, try to let the story grow around the character …

[-] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

I am no writer, but I can tell you characters come first for me, and also this seems like a logical starting point to create a story. After all everyone's story depends on their character and those around them.

[-] RandomDent@literature.cafe 3 points 10 months ago

I definitely do that! I have several characters floating around in my head right now that don't have a story to go into yet.

[-] Lacanoodle@literature.cafe 0 points 10 months ago

Ever create character profiles?

[-] RandomDent@literature.cafe 2 points 10 months ago

No, not really. They're all in kind of different states of completeness, if that makes any sense. Some don't have names or faces yet, that sort of thing. But I tend to just leave them alone until I need them, then they start to become more concrete depending on the story.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago

Not me, but Roger Zelazny would sometimes write an entire story about a minor character so that when it came time to put them in a book he'd know exactly how they'd act in a particular situation.

[-] Lacanoodle@literature.cafe 2 points 10 months ago

I've been given that advice too! Didn't know he did that tho, that's cool.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

This is my personal trick to get going. I pick an actor to play the character to start the ball rolling.

"Danny Devito walks into a bar..." is an completely different story than "Clint Eastwood walks into a bar..."

[-] Lacanoodle@literature.cafe 2 points 10 months ago

Yessss I only recently did smth similar with jeff goldblum

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago

If you know someone who is creative, it makes a great game. One person names two actors who have never appeared together, the other has to come up with a scenario. Actors can be any age they appeared on screen. Best pair I ever got was Gary Coleman and Tom Hiddleston

[-] ThatExpatGirl@literature.cafe 2 points 10 months ago

My characters always come first -- well, that and the world they inhabit, as I work mainly in fantasy. Character and world are so intertwined for me, after all, we're all a result of our contexts and background.

[-] Lacanoodle@literature.cafe 1 points 10 months ago

World building is so much fun! I'd love to read some of your work.

this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2023

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