I think everyone carries a piece of themselves in whatever character they are writing, so I figured I'd pose a casual question and see what happens:
What do you notice that you have in common with your character?
Is there a hobby or skill do you share, or do your interests align in some way?
Let us know in the comments!
Replies
For Spencer I have no clue..? I think he is what's left of my fantasy-based imagination as a kid. *shrug shrug*
The sweet tooth for one. There's the attachment to books and good alcohol, too, and just being passionate about skincare in general. Her running around more than half the time in several different places is relatable for me due to the nature of my work and my schedule, along with a few odd jobs here and there. But then I've been writing her story way before I started working as an adult, so in a way, I'd say it's more like an influence on my end?
Some of the people I've written with says that she got the sass from me, but I feel like she's way sassier and extroverted than I will ever be. The preparedness and micromanaging shit all at once is probably the closest thing I could think of, all the while neglecting other stuff that should matter lmao _(:°з」∠)_
In personality, Agnes can come off as cold and intimidating, but she's quiet and meticulous. She won't always say what's on her mind, but if it's a plan, she tries to think ten steps ahead. I'm not incredibly emotive and relatively quiet, so in my appearance and voice I do sometimes come off as cold, when it's not the case. I do plan out anything and everything I can just like Agnes, but I am much more vocal about them.
We both share the love of classical music, classic rock, and animals in general. We both hate vivid color in clothing and accessories, with primarily shades of grey in our wardrobes. We both consider New York City as a home point.
Kei/Jason spent a lot of years homeless living in an abandoned theatre where stray cats took up residence. I volunteer at a cat shelter weekly and raise money through my freelance work to donate. Kei has 30 theatre cats, I have 300 rental cats.
I also collect animal skulls which resonates with Jason's alter-ego as Kei and the memento mori aspects of his character.
Kei's an abrasive person because he doesn't always fear repercussions of what he might say, which I've been told similar things about myself. I think I bottled up most of my aggression into Kei, out of all of my characters? As he works through his baggage and quirks I think I learn something about myself.
What do I have in common with my character? Much like Catwoman I love cats big or small. I love to think outside the box when it comes to problems. I love to do things with my hands. I love a challenge like she does. She is also kinda of an outcast not really fitting in anywhere, which is just like me. I don't do normal society things like going to baby showers, the gym, or weddings etc. I hate that stuff. I don't like to hang with people in a big group. She likes to be alone most times, which is so me. She typically has an inner sense about people. And literally has just a few friends that she allows in her circle who really get to know her. Mostly those who are male or show more "male tendacies". Not because of any type of flirt relationship, but because for whatever reason men are just easier to get along with. Also I have natural long nails and long hair, just like my character and proud of it! :)
Dominic's love of classic rock is mine, but the record shop element was something I wanted to grow more interested in, I think and this character was a good outlet to connect it to.
His pace of living differs from mine, so I get to envision the idea even if I couldn't have it myself. I'm pretty sure all characters offer some chance at that type of a thing to make it worthwhile.
He wears rings with glamours for the purpose of his plotlines, and for a while now I have collected vintage rings that resonate with past characters I have had. The recent one I bought for Dom was hand-made and the 'stone' is made of blood sealed with resin.
He's snarky as all hell. I'm snarky as all hell. I'm sorry writers, but I let him inherit all of that.
This is such an interesting topic because I think it applies to all forms of art in a way. And projection upon characters is where it can truly become apparent. Sometimes we accentuate out own flaws, sometimes we give them attributes we'd like to have ourselves, sometimes we lift forward the good parts in us and sometimes we express our desires through the characters.
Many of the characters I've written carries big parts of who I am. Most notably, Virgil. Virgil draws from many of my own attributes. His favourite colours are burgundy, wine red, and black, same as mine. He has, what I call; an Odin complex - meaning he constantly read about subjects that crosses his path. Though our motivation for it differs, it's still based on my own thirst for knowledge. He also struggles with both expressing and feeling emotions and thus prefer the company of animals. His favourite animal is also cats, cus cats are the best animals obviously.
But in general, it's quite important for me to project into my characters because it's such a good way to both deal with and acknowledge your issues while simultaneously being an escape from reality. It also makes it easier to immerse yourself in the characters and the world they live in.