"I could write better characters than this!" You think so?

[Amethyst Wind]

Like every self-righteous guy who's spent enough time looking at different media to notice the character trends, I've thought that, were I to write a story, my characters would be more interesting/believable/likeable than those we see over and over again.

I've just spent the past four days reading through a story which has shown me that that just isn't he case. Any and all characters I've ever penned have been just as bad, if not worse, than those I ended up being bored of, since all the 'interesting' aspects I added to my characters were gimmicks, skin-deep falsities that did nothing to make the character better than average.

I'm eternally grateful that I've seen this, and while I don't write very often, I'll try to keep in mind what I've learned for the future.

Anyone else had any experience like this, where you think you've got the grasp of media but it surprises you in a wonderful way?

(Keep it respectful, if you're gonna post specific examples of media then don't flame anyone else if you don't agree that their choice has been an inspiring one for them).

 

[skeliton112]

I used cliches in the limited amount of times that i have writen a story line (like when im making a oblivion/fallout 3 mod).

 

[Serenegoose]

I write, and people seem to think my characters are interesting. I'm confident in them - but I'm aware that I've a long way to go. Writing characters can be tough, and my worry is almost always that they'll end up 'sounding' the same as each other, but I don't think that's the case so far. So yes, I'm surprised when I read over something I've wrote, and see how far I've come - and I always strive to do better next time, no matter how pleased with myself I might be at the time.

 

[sms_117b]

Between my grilfriend, planning and myself we have come up with some good characters, also begun developing a world with lore, history, vices and different aspects of culture. 6 months of planning we havn't even started developing the major plot yet only a few sub-plots.

Creative writting is hard

 

[The Salty Vulcan]

I write, and people seem to think my characters are interesting. I'm confident in them - but I'm aware that I've a long way to go. Writing characters can be tough, and my worry is almost always that they'll end up 'sounding' the same as each other, but I don't think that's the case so far. So yes, I'm surprised when I read over something I've wrote, and see how far I've come - and I always strive to do better next time, no matter how pleased with myself I might be at the time.

My sentiments are this precisely.

 

[hittite]

In my head, all of my characters are completely unique and perfect. The problem is the development of that character and, you know, my permanent and crippling writer's block.

 

[Danzaivar]

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

You're 18.

 

[tomtom94]

Try creating anything which is actually genuinely better than that which exists already in the media, it's always a lot harder than you expect.

 

[Sorafrosty]

I am a writer too, and even though people who read what I write seem to like my characters, and like how they develop, I am never sure how if they are alright even so. This is usually because I feel that every single one of my characters have the same voice, sort of, when they speak... Even though I give them different traits and faults, I feel they sound the same... Sometimes, I read over what I have written, and I wonder how I could ever write in this style or that, and then I go editing Then again, I do feel that my characters have developed somewhat, and I am happy that my skills are getting better too...

 

[D_987]

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

Sure you can...[small]/sarcasm[/small]

Pretty much everyone believes themselves to be a decent writer; let's say hypothetically you have a number of successful books published, your characters might still be shallow cliches. You wrote said characters, therefore you understand them in a way the audience cannot, therefore whilst you may believe them to be deep, and memorable; it's highly likely they aren't.

 

[Serenegoose]

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

You're 18.

Dickens wrote the Pickwick papers at 24.

Jane Austen finished the first draft of Pride and Prejudice at 21.

Age isn't the only relevant detail, time spent mastering the art is important too.

 

[robotam]

I've always known that I'm not too great at designing stories or characters. Although I think every now and then, I come up with quite a good wee idea.

 

[Serenegoose]

I am a writer too, and even though people who read what I write seem to like my characters, and like how they develop, I am never sure how if they are alright even so. This is usually because I feel that every single one of my characters have the same voice, sort of, when they speak... Even though I give them different traits and faults, I feel they sound the same... Sometimes, I read over what I have written, and I wonder how I could ever write in this style or that, and then I go editing Then again, I do feel that my characters have developed somewhat, and I am happy that my skills are getting better too...

I think this might be a common theme, probably something to do with the fact that it's you that wrote them. Do you feel that all of them have an aspect of 'your' voice in there? That's what I feel, that like it or not, all my characters sound like aspects of me, whether or not this turns out to be the case is almost irrelevant.

 

[Nickolai77]

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

You're 18.

Steven King started writing at 19. The younger you start writing, the better you'd probably be later on in life.

 

[Serenegoose]

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

You're 18.

Steven King started writing at 19. The younger you start writing, the better you'd probably be later on in life.

This holds true with everything else.

How many professional athletes picked up their sport at 23?
How many painters just picked up a brush for the first time at 42?
How many musicians started playing in their thirties?

We get better at things through practise. The younger you are, the more of a headstart you have.

The only difference with creative pursuits is that in order to really 'say' something, a requisite level of experience is somewhat required. Obviously how much varies on what you're wanting to say and what kind of life you've lead, but you can't possibly generalise on that.

 

[Throwitawaynow]

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

You're 18.

Steven King started writing at 19. The younger you start writing, the better you'd probably be later on in life.

Unless you're really bad and always will be bad.

 

[SamuelT]

Que for the amateur aspiring novelists to go "I'm a writer! Can do better!"

I've realised that characters aren't a collection of traits a while ago. Looking back on my work they were pretty horrible. My characters were like you described yours, nothing else but bland plates with colours thrown on them.

Luckily I've rewritten a lot since then, no surprise that it's been way slower than it used to.