=CHAR= What Is Your Perferred Personality Type?


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12/29/2009 0:38:09

Goldstein
Member

If you are going to write a story, what is the personality you will give your hero? Seriousness? Sarcasm? Cold, calculating? Or maybe you like the optimistic hero/heroine. Whatever it is, list it here, and tell everyone the reasons you picked it!

As this is a discussion on characterization, I think the tag =CHAR= would fit it spot on. Changed the tag. Discuss on! =) -fabula

< Message edited by Goldstein -- 12/31/2009 12:23:52 >

Post #: 1

12/30/2009 3:15:28

alexmacf
Member

My main is pretty pragmatic, but she's also an empath. Her natural empathy magic (very mild magical abilities, mind. She doesn't even realize she's got them) gets in the way of her more Machiavellian philosophies and saves her from being completely ruthless. She's a very good person, a Neutral Good. She's sarcastic a lot, and will have a fairly coarse tongue when I get a friend who isn't afraid to swear to edit all those words in.
My second main is a complete empath, with a very large helping of common sense, but he's impulsive. Jason's empathy abilities are some of the most powerful in the 'verse. He acts on impulse, without thinking, a lot, but when he's got his head on straight, he makes even more sense than Thalia (the female main, described in the first paragraph) and he quickly stops himself when he realizes he's getting himself or others into danger. He's playful and teasing a lot of the time, but he's serious when need be.

They're supposed to balance each other out. One's dark and quite nearly ruthless, the other is light and overly merciful. As they go through the story, they start to rub off on each other, while keeping themselves themselves. She's still a dark, quiet, nearly-anti heroine, and he's still the Robin to her Batman (except not the sidekick part, bit more a twice-Tsundere Battle Couple), but they even out a little bit. I haven't even started writing, and I know these folks like they were kin. What's wrong with me?

Post #: 2

12/30/2009 5:01:02

Crimzon5
Member

*looks at Fabula's edit* Tsk... Imma gonna tell Elosix on you... discuss on was his line!

I like round characters, those who are changed in the story. Each character has a strong trait... as well as a weak one. I mean, one cannot lean to one side completely without tumbling due to imbalance.

My characters have at least one trait, which is... just uhh... what's the word... AH! normal. However, I plan on making them have their traits in such a way that it leads to weakness as well without the said personality being excessive.

I'll take 2 examples here:

One is Cyro Fideas. He is one of two twins (opposite gender). An accident injured his dominant arm, and while he can still write with it, it's impossible for him to wield heavy things such as a sword -- that's why he focuses on wind magic instead. He calm, poetic, and a bit conservative, as opposing to his twin sister (irony?). But then, let's say something happens that inverts those two personalities. His old personaliy lacks conviction as well, and because of the trauma, he came to believe that his old personality is weak, making him rough unlike before.

There's another character who'll be flat in terms of personality. Krey Noelle, despite being a brigade captain and a well-known knight, he is quite liberal. He treats his squires differently (letting them work in combat which isn't part of a squire's duty as well and making them do chores like getting a bottle of wine, instead of fetching his armor). He is also one of the demigods that aren't racist (in a sense of divinity percentage). He rarely follows the system if there is any, and does thing in a simple way instead using the proper "form." His personality may be just right for him, and it does lead him to advantages / comfort; however, there are time when it won't. One particular example is that his pyromancy is extremely limited because he chooses not to memorize the words of certain fire spells.

< Message edited by Crimzon5 -- 12/30/2009 8:21:31 >

Post #: 3

12/30/2009 5:59:46

alexmacf
Member

In stories with loads and loads of characters (yes, I linked the evil site! Mwhahahahaha!), you need flatness. You don't need Bartender 2's entire life story. I naturally write loads and loads of characters, because otherwise the world seems empty, and so most of my "characters" are extras with two or three lines, and therefore flat. Thought I'd throw that out there.

Post #: 4

12/30/2009 8:22:40

Crimzon5
Member

^Heh, usually, extra's don't say long enough to become round... though it is possible.

Post #: 5

12/30/2009 15:26:37

Alixander Fey
Member

The thing I've noticed most about my current "main" charater--Jace Trelling--is this: He's human. He makes mistakes. He yells at his wife. He makes wrong decisions that get his soldiers killed. He worries. He can see the future but often his foresight is flawed.

Beyond that, to the core of his being, he's... haha. He is serious, he is sarcastic, and he is cold and calculating. But there's something more to him--an empathy. He's a hero, and I wouldn't call him "grey." But he's not white. That's for sure. There's no one word to sum him up.

The "second" main character is the same way. Too round to be stuffed into one word.

I have several enemies, and each of them has one or two outstanding characteristics. In general I develop my heros more than my villians. The emperor is obsessed with himself, Palaam hates to lose, Tonya wants to dominate everything. But, I have a villian who doesn't die, and becomes important later in the timeline, so I develop him a lot more.

Hmmm... I don't write much from the perspective of the bad guys. I did it early in the book so you understood what World Coordinators could do. But beyond that I really only show snipets. I think I have... three whole scenes with the Emperor. Lol.

So, in short, I develop heros more than villians. Heros I try to balance, vilians, give one important characteristic. The supporting characters (like the main character's father, the weapon's scientist, the leader of the main character's personal commandos) I also try to give them one outstanding characteristic, while developing their lives more. So for Derek who is a picture of the True Believer, I add things here and there. If you focused on him you could track his life in little comments throughout the story: his budding faith in Jace, his marriage, his loyalty to Haven. Things like that.

For the "loads and loads of characters" feel, I usually don't name them. I talk about senators, but I give their place of origin and not name. The rebel captains are simply that--captains. The Talent elders are just called Elders. The doctor who treats Vanessa is just called the doctor. so on and so forth. If you're not relevant to the story you usuallly don't get a name.

Post #: 6

12/31/2009 1:16:39

The Extinguisher
Member

My characters are usually over-the-top filled with problems. Personality, emotional, addictive, whatever. I hate my characters some times.

I think I have only one character I didn't make into a complete mess or a complete monster; she was naive and idealistic and died.

Post #: 7

12/31/2009 13:33:46

Alixander Fey
Member

Hahaha.... I like that Extinguisher!

Post #: 8

1/2/2010 13:12:23

Firefly
Lore-ian

I try to make my characters both human and larger-than-life. Frankly, no one wants to read about the everyday Joe, just like no one wants to read about a bizarre character no one can relate to. Another vital element for me is to not shove my characters into boxes; I'm perfectly fine with the audience picking their own characters to like, and I don't go out my way to "show" how the hero is oh-so-great or how the villain is oh-so-monstrous. My heroes can commit horrible deeds--and it is my job, as the author, to not gloss over that. If there's one thing I hate, it's a hero that is blatantly wrong, but the author doesn't seem to realize it. My heroes are very flawed, and I do my best to portray them honestly. Flaws are flaws, and I refuse to give my heroes omniscent morality.

On the other hand, this means I'm perfectly willing to let my villains show deep, genuine compassion. And I'm okay with it (for the most part) if a reader sees the villain as the true hero. My characters are mainly grey, and even those who are truly black or white are often victims of their circumstances.

I don't exactly have a personality template for my heroes or my villains. They do tend to lean on the dark side though; there are few if any completely heroic characters in my stories. I do have two common types of anti-heroes, though. One is the jerk anti-hero, who is genuinely heroic but possesses some blatant character flaws (bad temper, being impractical, ect.). Another is the more extreme anti-hero, verging on Byronic hero. This hero would possess serious flaws that affect his ability to make the right choices (even at vital moments), and may be close to a villain in terms of personality (such as being very selfish or ruthless). However, he or she is usually kept from being an outright villain because there are much, much worse threats in the world.

I have all sorts of characters, but the common ones include the bad-tempered hero(ine), the avenger, or the once-nice person who has gone through so much hardship that they turn very... bitter. I also like deconstructing the idiot hero by placing him/her in a world where being book dumb often means you get manipulated by the entire cast.

When I have loads and loads of characters, it usually means the story is lengthened. If a character merits it, even if they're minor, I will give them a detailed backstory, development, and personality. Especially since they'll bug me to death if I just made them a flat character.

@Extinguisher
Funny. Most of my idealists end up as the main villains. I find that placing an idealist through truly horrible situations results in the most complex villain a monstrous world can have.

Post #: 9

1/2/2010 23:01:02

Abiogenist
Member

A primary element of my characters is that this one character needs to have an opposite effect with this another character.

From there, I shape them into well-rounded characters by adding more personality, more background history, more personal secrets, more likes and dislikes, and etc.

With both characters having an opposition, conflict is made. And when they do find a ground where they agree with each other, there's character development. It's hitting two birds with one stone.

Post #: 10

1/6/2010 22:55:08

Ganden
Member

In my main story, I find that actual descriptive words for character description fall short. So I came up with a system to describe the protagonist, and indeed all the rest of he characters.

Protagonist: The protagonist in my story is myself operating at 100%, all the time. To put it another way, whereas I have moments that I perform excellently by my standards, he always performs at that excellence. He is not perfect, but he is what you might call myself perfected in my imperfections.

The rest of my characters are defined in relation to the protagonist first (In both plot and device), and then in personality second. It is not perfectly accurate, but I find it works better for me than having a list of traits.

-Tolan

_____________________________

We have enough people who tell it like it is;
we need more people who tell it like it should be.
--My motto for life.

MQ	Post #: 11

1/7/2010 11:28:29

The Extinguisher
Member

quote:

Funny. Most of my idealists end up as the main villains. I find that placing an idealist through truly horrible situations results in the most complex villain a monstrous world can have.

I have, for the most part, given up on writing any extended narrative, but of the villains I have taken time to develop, one was a pragmatist who saw things in terms of who he could manipulate and who he needed to kill, and the other was a complete sociopath that was probably the most subtle character I've created.

I think pragmatism makes a much more efficient monster.

Post #: 12

1/7/2010 23:56:35

demolitiondragon
Constructively Friendly!

"Chaotic" is my personal favourite. It keeps people guessing and gives the character freedom to do the most random things with very little need for explanation as it's part of their personality. ^_^ It opens up a lot of opportunities for fun and a hundred new avenues where the story could go. The way they see the world(s) is different and interesting, as well as the way they think.

Post #: 13

4/6/2010 14:24:47

UrufuHiken
Creative!

I like to use many personalities/personas:

The witty and sarcastic, laid-back seeming character with a dark secret and is always truly living in fear of himself and of what he is truly capable of - Faolan (from Crescent War)

The sometimes dark and depressing but otherwise apathetic character who hates himself for what he is - Ravin (from Crescent War)

The just to a fault and vengeance seeking character who's ideal idealism can sometimes blind him to the truth - Luca (from Crescent War)

The smart and kind, but stubborn or strong willed character that takes her strength from pushing her friends onward. - Arin (Crescent War)

The self-serving but not to a fault character who often complains but always comes through in the end - Ronin (... Crescent War)

The calm, cool and calculating character who analyzes and assesses everyone he meets while still managing not to be judgmental - Marick (... also from Crescent War...)

The laid back, take as it is and just enjoy life while you can character - Gin (I swear this is the last one from Crescent War I will do.)

- and so on and so forth. Etc, etc.

I suppose my favorite form of character personalities would be the strong-willed, wise and non-judgmental type who is equally unafraid of talking out their problems as slashing them down with a sword. The one who does the best they can with what they got while not being afraid to dirty their hands...... (Okay, I lied) - Michael (also, yet again, from Crescent War.)

I have got to stop referencing I story that I am no longer updating on site....

Post #: 14

4/6/2010 18:03:30

Reaper Sigma
Member

Depends on the story. My character's personality matches the mood of the story, most times. My most used personalities:

Cold, secluded, and thick skinned. But inside, emotions are in turmoil.-Dene Duskwing(from Duskwing)

Cruel, evil, yet just.-Alas Darkwing(From Darkwing)

Good-hearted and always smiling, but knows what must be done and will do it, no matter what.- (Luem Dawnwing, which I will probably use in a story called Dawnwing.)

Post #: 15

4/9/2010 17:34:36

Alexandria Serthes
Member

I like trouble makers. They're enjoyable, get into everything, usually wind up failing as much as they succeed, and are generally extremely human types.

AQW

Post #: 16

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