Create a character you don't understand?

[scribesaga]

Now, one of the first thing one does while creating a story is to decide a character, its goals and personalities.
A very nice card was made by our fellow snake a few days ago which can help the process.

And, well, its a correct step, you really can't write without knowing how your character reacts when put in a situation. Or how others react when confronted by that person.

So, I was talking to a new author and I told them how one of their characters, that too the female lead look really plain and bland. When I asked them to give her some personality, they said that she is so mysterious that they themselves don't understand her.

So, I did told her to give her some more screentime nevertheless, have a shopping episode or something where we can see what kind of person she is.

But, this remained in my mind, is it possible?
I mean, I know its not possible for me, but is it possible to write a story without knowing your characters?

I'm a fan of Warhammer 40k. The most important character in the entire background, that has relevance in every story published, is the emperor himself. Every writer of that franchise has said they truly don't know where to begin when writing about him, the character is so beyond them they don't know where to start. they have written short stories about the emperor of mankind, but only through another persons perspective.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Now, one of the first thing one does while creating a story is to decide a character, its goals and personalities.
A very nice card was made by our fellow snake a few days ago which can help the process.

And, well, its a correct step, you really can't write without knowing how your character reacts when put in a situation. Or how others react when confronted by that person.

So, I was talking to a new author and I told them how one of their characters, that too the female lead look really plain and bland. When I asked them to give her some personality, they said that she is so mysterious that they themselves don't understand her.

So, I did told her to give her some more screentime nevertheless, have a shopping episode or something where we can see what kind of person she is.

But, this remained in my mind, is it possible?
I mean, I know its not possible for me, but is it possible to write a story without knowing your characters?

It is but they will be bland or inconsistent. Because you either dont portray them well or dont portray them as they should be all the time. I always know my characters first. In fact, my stories are driven specifically by their personalities and the choices they make.

For example, I've always said my most well known story can be hard to write. Why? Because my main character is just so wild. He is legitimately certifiably insane. And a drug addict. So he doesnt make normal choices all the time, and the sheer craziness of the choices can change the entire direction of the story I planned. I dont mind that, as it makes the story fun and chaotic, but it doesn't make it easy. .

Either way, you should know your characters. Its just harder to care about a character if you dont know them. And if the author doesnt know them himself, how will his readers?

 

[Deleted member 45782]

But, this remained in my mind, is it possible?
I mean, I know its not possible for me, but is it possible to write a story without knowing your characters?

No, not really.

As the author of the story, you are the creator of that world the character is in, and the creator of the character. So you'll probably know how and what you want to do to make a character as such. Its you the author who wrote and made the character unpredictable, that is still you writing the character to be unpredictable in certain ways. If the character has a sudden twist of personality, or their personalities don't match halfway through the plot all of a sudden, it may not always be them mysterious, it just how the writing of the character has become and tells a bit of either you're trying to purposefully write a mysterious/unpredictable character or maybe you might need to revisit the character development you had for that character again.

Only time see this is maybe if the writer hasn't fully fleshed out what the character is going to be like so some parts of the character they haven't colored in with all the details and personality and traits and such. Or, if they are a collab writer, and its a multitude of ideas and it may take a bit to find consistency of what to make of said character and plot. Perhaps if the character roleplays and tries to think of it as character brought to life, but feels like most time, since you're the author, you created the character, there's some level of stuff you know about your characters.

 

[Shard]

I believe there is a sort of middle ground. It is possible to create the world and guide the characters, but it is also possible for the characters to disagree with your desired direction and choose to act differently than you want. This has caused multiple major changes to my first attempt at writing, to the point that I've had to restart the first chapter multiple times because they continually decide my choices are not their choices. I know the character to a fair degree, but they continually surprise me by making choices I did not plan on.

I do not believe it possible to make a character that you are completely clueless about, but you can certainly end up with ones that you do not completely know and understand.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I'm still struggling to understand Laura. I think part of the problem is that I grew up with the best parents anyone could ask for, and part of her hidden backstory is that she cut off contact with her racist mom. She has made some tough choices, burned bridges. Perhaps it was necessary in some cases, but it became her go-to response.

 

[skillet]

I think it might be possible not to understand some characters in your story (at first, at least) but to write a story without understanding your main character(s)... would be really hard for me lol

It's hard enough as it is already trying to write knowing your main character! Imagine having to come up with a consistent way for your main character(s) to act, or coming up with explanations on the fly ._. might be easy at first to just write, but the longer the story goes, the harder it will probably be..... idk though haha this might just be me :D

 

[morhamza]

If I understand my characters, the story becomes less fun. The trick I use is to make sure there is continuity and the characters are at least consistent. But no, I don't understand them either.

 

[Snusmumriken]

I have two types of characters.

Type one are the nebulous kind. - They are usually actors that are currently in the background, and their actions are extremely broad due to how distant they are to the current plot. For these I usually skip appearance and personal opinions and quirks - I don't need them yet. At most I would write down a list of things they are working towards and, maybe, a list of things MC might do to offend them personally.

Type two is the personal kind. - These I have to know in person. But I never develop them completely on the spot. usually, I will assign them a bare minimum of info from the beginning. Their appearance, immediate goals, general character type, and basic behavioural patterns.
And then i let them loose.
I am a big proponent of "actions have consequences" and i let my characters develop themselves based on their actions. This way as the story progresses my characters would be able to grow more and more without me getting stuck with a premade character that is completely out of touch with the story.

 

[Ellieporter]

I've done this with my 1st novel: Blood Pact. I just had this crazy idea about it one day and started writing but I dont know shit about aristocracy and stuff ?

And I dont know how to proceed with it but I also dont want to place it on hiatus as well ?