One day in your character's shoes.

Vampire Sorcerer · Aug 10, 2011

Hi, it might sound weird, but when I wan't to get more comfortable with my characters, I try to step in the shoes of that character, and see the world the way he/she sees it. Try to think like him/her, just so I get to know them better. Does anyone do this too? What are your ways to get to know your characters?

jeffo20 · Aug 10, 2011

I just think about them and my story.

Darren Frey · Aug 10, 2011

I never really thought about it. I agree with Jefro because the charecter is not me so I would have no reason to picture myself in their situation.

HuntfortheWildborn · Aug 10, 2011

I've never thought of doing that! I'm definetly going to try it now though. Lol I'll let you know how it goes. Not today though, I need to be myself for my exam later on.... *laughs* My characters wouldn't know anything about romanticism

Switch-Phase · Aug 10, 2011

In a sense I do.. Everything I create is an extension of my psyche. In a way I feel like I'm getting to know buried aspects of myself that never developed into my full personality when I explore why certain characters feel the way they do.

That's not to say my characters are necessarily like me, or even share the same views all the time lol

Darkshore · Aug 10, 2011

I try to do this as I write, but I'm a first-person addict so I sort of need to.

CatharsisChild · Aug 10, 2011

Flight said:
In a sense I do.. Everything I create is an extension of my psyche. In a way I feel like I'm getting to know buried aspects of myself that never developed into my full personality when I explore why certain characters feel the way they do.

That's not to say my characters are necessarily like me, or even share the same views all the time lol

Seconded. Actually, my writing is more like self-therapy.

Switch-Phase · Aug 10, 2011

I always feel pleasantly tired after a long day of writing.. Like a good work out where I feel settled inside and closer to who I'm meant to be. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't write

Jamesaritchie · Aug 10, 2011

I frequently think, "What would I do in this or that situation." How else can I get it right?

When I'm not thinking this, I inevitably think, "What would the person this character is modeled after do in this situation."

soullesshuman · Aug 10, 2011

I try not to step in the shoes of my characters as if I were my characters. Instead I let them speak to me and I ride on their coattails of emotions, so to speak. When I write a cease to be a person and I merely become a way for my characters to tell their tale.

To be honest I would rather not be my characters at any time, the last time I did this was during a torture scene, and I made retching noises as my stomach tried to upheave multiple times throughout the scene. I want to vomit just thinking about it.

L.C. Blackwell · Aug 10, 2011

soullesshuman said:
I want to vomit just thinking about it.

Which is entirely appropriate, but I digress.

I'm not sure exactly what the OP means by "walking in a character's shoes"--but I find it fairly easy to go deeply into a character's mind, even with different ideological/religious/political and social backgrounds. I couldn't write multi-cultural fiction if I didn't. And I've been known to try things I want my characters to do--for example, swallow an herbal remedy--to see what it's like.

There's a degree of psychological affinity that many writers--I want to say most, but I don't want to speak for anybody else--develop with their characters, on at least some level. How deep it goes depends entirely on the writer.

gothicangel · Aug 10, 2011

I don't know if it is possible to live a day in the life of a Roman farmer, ex-legionary. :tongue

What I have done is immerse myself in the period through books and museums etc. I have also made a point of visiting the Roman and Pict sites that I use in the book.

chekzchevov · Aug 10, 2011

The thought is most definitely intriguing, and while I do practice that with some characters, I don't think I'd have the heart to play the part of my main. Just might go insane.

dgiharris · Aug 10, 2011

I try to do a form of method acting and internalization. I try to transport myself there into the story or scene and focus on the emotion and characterization.

I've always had a strong imagination and when I do this, its almost as real as any memory i've ever had.

Also, research helps as well. Not just book research but talking to people. I never miss the opportunity to talk to anyone interesting.

I had a talk with the bus driver the other day and he was telling me about the corporate bureaucracy he faced when a car rear ended the him (his bus).

I don't know when, but eventually I will use what he told me. Perhaps not the exact details, but the emotion and his "essence".

Not to say this is the only way, its just what works for me.

Mel...

that redhead · Aug 11, 2011

My main character is a younger version of my son, so I'm around him all the time.

Mr Flibble · Aug 11, 2011

Vampire Sorcerer said:
I try to step in the shoes of that character, and see the world the way he/she sees it. Try to think like him/her,

I can't write any other way. So I don't think you're weird. However, I may not be the best template for 'not weird'

quicklime · Aug 11, 2011

i don't consciously do it, but I am a continual armchair headpeeeper and analyzer, so I tend to put a lot of thought into what would motivate my character to do what they do, or what sort of things my character would be likely to do and not do....

bearilou · Aug 11, 2011

I don't spend time in their shoes but I do spend a lot of time thinking about them and about how they feel/think/analyze the things happening to them.

I'm sure my uncle (who's doing some renovations on my mother's home) is convinced I'm not actually writing but daydreaming. :e2BIC:

soullesshuman · Aug 11, 2011

L.C. Blackwell said:
Which is entirely appropriate, but I digress.

It's unfortunate in the fact I was making retching noises while in a library. A few people were worried I was going to need the use of a toilet soon...

Question for all you shoe-walkers: When you walk in your character's shoes for long enough, do you find that some of their aspects rub off on you or vice versa?Eg. If your character aligns his/her glasses a lot, do you end up doing the same?

K.P. Iris · Aug 11, 2011

soullesshuman said:
Question for all you shoe-walkers: When you walk in your character's shoes for long enough, do you find that some of their aspects rub off on you or vice versa?Eg. If your character aligns his/her glasses a lot, do you end up doing the same?

While I certainly do enjoy thinking like my characters (easy to do, half the physical effort), I'm afraid I can't necessarily act out each character's emotions, actions, or whatever. Especially with some of my more eccentric ones I create. Like my one character who solves all of her problems by bulldozing through them...literally sometimes. There's also the fact that a lot of characters I create tend to have super heroic abilities.

So physical restrictions aside, if I were to just behave like some of my more normal characters I wouldn't be surprised if odd daily routines just rubbed off on me. My normal characters tend to have traits that have been taken from me or are similar to how I behave. Although, it would be nice to solve some of my problems by bursting through walls like Superman or the Kool-Aid man.

WriteMinded · Aug 11, 2011

Vampire Sorcerer said:
Hi, it might sound weird, but when I wan't to get more comfortable with my characters, I try to step in the shoes of that character, and see the world the way he/she sees it. Try to think like him/her, just so I get to know them better. Does anyone do this too? What are your ways to get to know your characters?

I'm trying to stick to a close third POV, so I try to see, hear, think, from inside the MC's skin.

soullesshuman said:
It's unfortunate in the fact I was making retching noises while in a library. A few people were worried I was going to need the use of a toilet soon...

My husband caught me in the act of attempting the rattling laugh that one of my characters affects.

soullesshuman said:
Question for all you shoe-walkers: When you walk in your character's shoes for long enough, do you find that some of their aspects rub off on you or vice versa?Eg. If your character aligns his/her glasses a lot, do you end up doing the same?

I'm starting to talk more like my MC. I really have to finish this book. I'm also beginning to prefer the way the British use certain words. Like, I've learned to despise the word, gotten. How clunky awful is that? Gotten. Ugh!

One day in your character's shoes.

Vampire Sorcerer

jeffo20

Tyrant King

Darren Frey

HuntfortheWildborn

Switch-Phase

Darkshore

Stranger

CatharsisChild

Switch-Phase

Jamesaritchie

soullesshuman

Through a Child's Eyes

L.C. Blackwell

Keeper of Fort Blanket

gothicangel

Toughen up.

chekzchevov

soup

dgiharris

Disgruntled Scientist

that redhead

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

quicklime

all out of fucks to give

bearilou

DenturePunk writer

soullesshuman

Through a Child's Eyes

K.P. Iris

Just call me Iris.

WriteMinded

Derailed