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inkstains2010-07-20 05:46 pm
pipisafoat) wrote in inkstains2010-07-20 05:46 pm
Entry tags:
Tips & Tricks: Character Accessibility
Reminder: Week One entries are due Saturday at 5 pm GMT - blow the dust off that keyboard and get cracking!
I write both original and fanfiction. Usually, I only share fanfiction with other fans of the same show(s), but every now and then I write some fic for an unrelated writing contest like Inkstains. Even without that, I have some original characters who appear in more than one piece. There's always a fine line to walk with either of these situations, especially if you write in a more obscure fandom. Most people are going to at least recognize Harry Potter if you use him in a piece of fanfiction; they'll understand to expect magic. However, raise your hand if you would recognize Jake Foley. No hands up? Maybe one? It's a lot harder to bring a secret agent with nanobots in his body to people who have never seen the TV show Jake 2.0
How do you be sure your readers can relate to characters you're already familiar with?
As an added bonus, if you have a favorite original character of two, introduce us to them! Tell us about them and/or share your best piece with them in it.
I write both original and fanfiction. Usually, I only share fanfiction with other fans of the same show(s), but every now and then I write some fic for an unrelated writing contest like Inkstains. Even without that, I have some original characters who appear in more than one piece. There's always a fine line to walk with either of these situations, especially if you write in a more obscure fandom. Most people are going to at least recognize Harry Potter if you use him in a piece of fanfiction; they'll understand to expect magic. However, raise your hand if you would recognize Jake Foley. No hands up? Maybe one? It's a lot harder to bring a secret agent with nanobots in his body to people who have never seen the TV show Jake 2.0
How do you be sure your readers can relate to characters you're already familiar with?
As an added bonus, if you have a favorite original character of two, introduce us to them! Tell us about them and/or share your best piece with them in it.
no subject
I should really work on that. :)
Other than my BNP (Bar Named Psyche) characters, which I've written about over on LJ, there are a few who continue to rock my socks--even if I don't write about them much anymore.
Tsururu and Irin <3. I created a bunch of characters when my friend and I used to go back and forth and write stories. So these two really grew out of that. Irin is a young (I believe she was 8 at her introduction) girl empath who totes around with a quiet assassin. He's not much of a talker, but being that she can sense his emotions, she doesn't really mind. He was on a mission on her war-ridden planet when her family was killed. Irin was the first one to show Tsururu kindness and not be afraid of him. She's extremely cheerful, naive, and has the penchent for calling everyone she meets "brother" or "sister." Irin doesn't remember much about her past or sorrow, mainly because of Tsururu's nifty little power. He can steal away the impurities or "taint" in someone's soul. (This largely accounts for her eternally cheerful disposition even after the death of her family. She can't remember.) Upon meeting, she wears her hair in a high side ponytale (blond, complete with ribbon) and has on a pink dress. Irin has orange-brown eyes and is missing a front tooth, giving her an omg aw appeal. It's old, but here's a picture.
Tsururu is around 6'5" with shoulder length straight white hair. He wears a black piece of cloth over his eyes and utilizes two katanas for his assassin jobs. (Did I mention he was blind? It's a side effect of his power.) Tsururu is known for being disconnected from his emotions; it's why Irin fascinates him. He doesn't realize until he's compelled to save her that he's actually developed feelings for this girl. Tsururu is known as "Purger" (his code name for assasiny business) and is often described as being torn between the void and the manic personality-wise. He can be calm and collected most of the time, but if his charge has a lot of bloodlust and he uses his power...well, things tend to get messy. It's easy for Tsururu to lose control and hack up (quite brutally) his opponent, which is why he goes on all his missions alone. He is one of the hardest characters to write because I never know what he's thinking.
Being that Irin is emotion in excess and Tsururu has not enough, the two really get along well. Irin isn't overwhelmed by his emotional states (as she is by others), especially when she's coming into her powers--which, at first, emerge as "feelings of knowing."
These two operate in a symbiotic relationship of sorts. I really need to write them a proper introduction or even a snippet. I'm just not sure how they would do as standalone characters.