TnT: Varied Characterization

[pipisafoat]

Congratulations again to pippin for winning the 4th contest!

Your topic for the first Challenge Contest, Tear Down The Wall, will be open until 5 pm GMT Saturday - stretch yourself into something new in 500 words or less!

Don't forget about your assignments, editors, which can be found at this link along with a question for the community as a whole.

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One of the greatest challenges for an author is to write believable characters who are from a variety of backgrounds and not just a cookie cutter of themselves, or of the self you wish you were. Depending on the story, this can mean characters of a different time period, geographic location, culture, socioeconomic background, race, gender, or even height and weight - you wouldn't believe the number of people who fail to take into account that a 4'9" character simply can't reach the spices over the stove without a stool or someone else's help.

Think about all the character-fails you've seen. Don't share them except in the most general of terms, and don't link them to any specific author, but rather think about what knowledge you have that the author didn't that made you recognize them as fails. Share that knowledge here to help other authors do it right next time! If there's a type of character you've not seen enough of in other people's works in general, let us know about their characteristics and how to present them believably and without offense.

As always, please remember to keep a respectful tone here, to authors who have been misinformed as well as other community members sharing their insights with you.

Comments

[thblackflame]

I suppose it's all in how you look at it. I find myself concerned about it because so much of my writing that I go back and look at now--including my original works--have sues in them because until the last few years I was always writing myself as the main character and it made me a very bad writer.

It also may be that for so very long I was surrounded by people who called themselves writers yet never took any steps to refine their skills so I saw so much of it.

I'm sorry to be long winded. The long explanations are intended for anyone who isn't aware of the history, but I realize going back and reading it now is sounds like I'm lecturing. ^^;;; Sorry about that.

[ex_pippin880]

Ah, hmm, I just want to preface what I'm about to say with :: I don't mean this in a mean fashion, I just want to give you the perspective of an outsider (to fanfiction and fandom and stuff).

The focus on "Mary Sues are bad", rather than "one-dimensional characters would be better were they two- or three-dimensional" comes off as misogynist (and this is not a you-are-misogynist thing, this is a you-are-in-a-misogynist-world-and-unfortunately-unconsciously-pick-up-misogyny thing). The fact that most Sues are Marys and not Stus, and the fact that the people most likely to write Mary Sues are women, means that it can be fuelled by, and further turn into, "women (characters/writers) are bad".

The idea that a teenage girl who writes about a self-insert or really awesome girl character who redeems Snape or bones Legolas or who has a rainbow lightsaber is inherently bad and wrong and needs to grow out of that sort of thing (and is inherently badder and wronger than a published guy writing about awesome guy characters who are the most amazing special chosen ones who can do no wrong in this universe, or a guy who RPs/games a totally awesome min/maxer character who crits all the bosses and gets all the girls)...

That's... That's an idea that, if people keep throwing it around, makes the real world a slightly more unpleasant place for women. It's an idea that's had a demonstrable effect of people being more willing to damn female characters than male characters for much less.


People don't have to write seriously and with the determination to always get better and to with the urge to get published if they don't want to. If they want to write about themselves having fun in a wonderful book they've just read because there aren't many wonderful books with awesome girls having awesome adventures then that's okay, you know?

Don't worry so much about what you used to write, or what other people write, and just focus on what you're going to write. *fistbump*

[thblackflame]

lol. You are quite right. Thanks. ^_______^

[silverflight8]

*applause*
(I have nothing else constructive to say.)

[azuire]

and this is not a you-are-misogynist thing, this is a you-are-in-a-misogynist-world-and-unfortunately-unconsciously-pick-up-misogyny thing). I've stopped criticising Twilight in public because of this. So much of the hate is rooted in "it's a book for women". D:

[ex_pippin880]

I would say it's a book against</> women, but mileages, I suppose.

[msmcknittington]

really awesome girl character who redeems Snape

You know, I would read the hell out of this, especially if she was a well-realized OC who bore no resemblance to Lily.