We have moved to new forum software and posting here is closed!

PLEASE BOOKMARK THE NEW FORUMS

Posted By: stereobandito Mar 01, 2005 - 12:08 pm

Not long ago, I couldn't think of any characters to put in my story... now, I'm swamped!

It seems almost impossible to come up with the right combination of characters... Maybe it's just late here, and I'm tired, but I feel as if my head is swirling with a fantastic whirlpool of colo(u)rful ideas. I have around four or five characters I DEFINITELY want to include, but I need to select a few more from those I already have in my mind to get the perfect combination of approximately seven good, interesting characters.

My question is, do you guys ever suffer a similar problem? If so, how do you respond?

Thanks...

Posted By: Magus Mar 01, 2005 - 02:41 pm

Yeah. I'm developing this idea of mine that basically consists of two consecutive epics. And of those there are two different ideas for books that would tell the origions of the characters that make there way into my idea. Recently it got to the point where I was worried that with all of them I'd lose the quality and simplicity you attain with not so many... I think that my roup of main protagonists is, in the main epic, 7. In the second it gets to 7 as well... but a different seven (only 3 are the same).

Basically I work through it all. I sit down and think how it all will work. I figure out what set of occurances would put them together, or even if they would be willing to work together. I like to be grissly realistic, if they don't work well together then they aren't kept together just because I want them to be.

There's more things I do as well... but my head hurts now from tennis (Mainly getting smacked in the face with a medicine ball). So I'll post more later.

So what kind of characters do you have, if you don't mind my asking. We might be able to help more with more information, but no more then you're comfortable with revealing.

Posted By: Forever Zero Mar 01, 2005 - 03:12 pm

My epic is organized pretty well. I have a main set of characters my main character meets (Probably around 8 of them), but later on he finds out what's going on "behind the scenes" of the world, and there's another set of characters he meets there (Like, 7 more). It makes a pretty big cast, but considering the magnitude of my story, it works out.

Posted By: Magus Mar 01, 2005 - 05:26 pm

Yeah, I was just talking to a friend of mine today who says that when she writes she doesn't know anything that's going to happen beyond the next stroke of her pen. Here I plan everything out in extreme detail before I even finalize that I'll do it.

(It is finalized, by the way... at least to the point where I know I'm doing it.)

Posted By: stereobandito Mar 02, 2005 - 10:58 am

First off, thankyou for responding.

Ugh, it's a highly messed up situation. Ideas keep seeming good, and then they'll seem terrible, and then good again. I suppose what I really need is somewhere good to start... somewhere to get my bearings and really get down to work on this. And I'd like to start here

OK my story is an epic Sci-Fi. Every time I try to explain it, it sounds bad, and there is too much to explain, so all I will say is... I need around seven characters which will form an elite group of extraordinary agents.

We have an Indian Mercenary Pilot (not sure what sort of ship he'll be piloting, I need to decide my future vision for the world of 2300) who was recruited by Pakistan, captured by India and sent to a mining establishment on Mars. He led a short rebellion and was eventually sentenced to death before being released in order to "co-lead" this team of agents. <- Naturally, he is currently my favourite character which is why I have decided to list him here, but there are three others I have for definite.

What I need is two or three more characters, somehow extraordinary, whether it be their talents or somehow strange in looks, members of another race? machines? I just don't know.

I like the idea of the use of psychic powers. I had an idea for a blind character who uses his mind to see... but whether this leads to him being a crack shot with a sniper rifle or crossbow, or gifted with the talent of pyrokenesis.

I just don't know where to lead this... any advice is welcome

Thanks!

Posted By: Magus Mar 02, 2005 - 02:49 pm

What about a telepath? It would make one good spy methinks.