Connections to Characters

[Sapheron]

Well, this is going to seem silly. Basically, my story isn't a happy ever after ending type thing. No, instead everything is blood, sweat and tears, and no one is happy (at least not living happily anyway), and so all is bad.

The problem comes in that it makes me sad when I think about it, because I've got it all so dammed perfect in my head and I like all my characters and I don't want it to happen, but for the sake of the plot, the characters own opinions and mindsets, and my wallet (I've still not given up hope of being published) I have to use this ending.

So, I know no one can help this (unless I'm meant to go to a psychologist about mooping over an unwritten book), but I was wondering if anyone else had made connections with their characters like this?

[Talysia]

I make connections with my characters all the time. As I've created them, I get to know their personalities and such, so naturally I care what happens to them. You aren't the only one, Sapheron!

[Duchessprozac]

I have certainly grown attached to me characters although I doubt I would have much trouble killing some of them off as I am a cruel and heartless bitch (not really) but it would be hard to kill of a character that I have grown attached to over time but I would find my my emotions at losing them would aid in writing how my other characters deal with the loss.

[Aes]

Growing attached to characters is exactly why I felt the need to put some of my old, discarded ones to use (gave up on the story 10 years ago!) once more.

Are you sure an ending that will leave some readers feeling sick (assuming you're going to kill them off, or something like that) after they finish reading is the best option?

[torontophil]

(just a short disclaimer. I'm new here, and astonished I've never found this forum before. From history to politics to fantasy this forum combines pretty much ecerything Ilove. I hope I'll be welcomed and get to know everyone. now, enough hijacking)

I think forming connections to your characters is necessary. Think about it - as a reader, the best characters are those you form emotional connections with. This is most easily attained when the author has formed connections with his characters, making the characters more genuine.

cheers,

[Sapheron]

Welcome to chronicles, torontophil, and yes, I think you're right.

Aes, I'm afraid it is the best option, without any doubt and I do need to do it.

[flynx]

Originally Posted by Sapheron

everything is blood, sweat and tears, and no one is happy (at least not living happily anyway), and so all is bad.

I'd re-think. If I were a publisher I wouldn't want to print a book without at least hope. I don't think people want to read about incessant doom and gloom, they want to be entertained sure, they may even want to be frightened (though I've never understood why) but I think at the end of the day they want, if not happy then, at least hopeful endings. Just a thought.

[Coolhand]

I think some writer or other summed it up best when they advised writers to "empathise but not sympathise" with thier characters. Or was it the other way around?
Anyhoo, the point behind this being that you must find them interesting, understand where they're comming from and maybe grow attached to them. But always be prepared to hurl dirty great rocks at them for the purpose of drama, otherwise you'll write boring ficition.

[Sapheron]

Ah thats the thing. I'm going to do that, and I know I will, it just makes me sad to do it.

Flynx... yes I agree with your points there. Hope is wanted and needed in a book, and happy endings are the norm. The thing is, the very ending is sort of happy. It's just most of the ending that is sad. In fact, even the happy bit is happy in a sad sort of way (gallant sacrifice type thing, not that that's what happens).

As for hope though... I could quite easily work in a little of that, due to the idea, albeit a slightly cliched one, of a better place to go to afterwards.

[Teresa Edgerton]

The only way to see if the ending really works is to write the book. Things may change as you write, and the ending you envision now may make less sense. Or so much sense that it no longer makes you sad.

Years ago, I was planning to kill a secondary (but far from minor) character that I really liked. I felt so badly about this, I tried to make it up to him by giving him much more to do earlier in the story. The result was that I eventually realized that taking him through to end and then killing him would leave too many plot threads dangling. It would look like I had taken the easy way out rather than resolve his story (when, of course, he was actually cannon fodder to begin with). I had to send him out into the world to face his personal destiny straight-on, rather than leave him around to be slaughtered later. But what about later in the story, where I had intended to use his tragic demise to goad the other characters into certain actions? I found that I simply had to dig deeper into their personalities and relationships instead of using his death as a handy plot device.

[jenna]

Of course I am attached to my characters! If I weren't I wouldn't want to spend time writing about them, would I? I am hard-nosed about killing them off or putting them through hell though. Mostly hard-nosed anyway! I sometimes think about not killing them off, but that doesn't last long. A book about war would be pretty funny if no one died. (Unless it was some kind of zombie war. Hmmm. *runs to story idea folder*)

[torontophil]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

The only way to see if the ending really works is to write the book.

Sage words there. Attachment is good, but you need to be able to put them through things you never would want to go through yourself. But really, the only way to determine if it works is to do it and see where it goes/how it works. If it does, great, if not, then theres always the editing process to figure out if you have made a bad decision because you were hesitant to kill a character or the like. I myself have had characters start in majour roles, only to have them later become very minor, because it works better.

[digs]

Hopefully your readers will be just as attached to the characters as you are! If you've invested something emotionally in your writing, then your audience probably will as well. I quite like a story that ends up in tragedy, but maybe you could hide a little grain of hope in there somewhere? That way, even if no one else picks up on it, you'll always know that there was a chance things could get better for your characters.

[jackokent]

I don't feel I've written properly unless I've become attached to the characters or at least have an opinion on them. The worst thing I think you can do is not care one way or the other.

I tend to go so far as think I am in love with some of my main characters. My latest book I was going to kill someone off at the end and just couldn't do it. I had to do a re-write.

[Myth]

I wish my characters would co-operate, they're all rebellious and so I end up writing something completely different to what I proposed in the very beginning.

Often I get attached to my characters, I guess it happens to everyone. You should try writing the end in various stages, that way you'll find a suitable conclusion, I've done it often and the results are quite surprising.