How close is your Fan Fiction, or other writing, to your own beliefs and experiences? Options

[Black Hand]

Anyone on this site who reads the Fan Fiction, can see the alternate and incredibly different worlds that emerge from playing Morrowind and Oblivion. Even just the starting sequence in Morrowind inspires radically different interpertations in these different stories.

So, the question I pose to my fellow writers, is the title.

how much of yourself is in your Character? Does he or she do the opposite of what you have learned, because you are curious as to what the outcome of the alternative is?

Or do you just truly roleplay and let the Character you designed react in his or her own way in this fantasy world?

For myself, my mode of thinking is heavily influenced by eastern philosophy, and fighting credos. For example, in Karate, (Which I was forced to endure as a young child) My Sensei would always ingrain in me the importance of focus, and not necessarily supressing emotion, but not letting it cloud your judgement during a sparring match.

Years later he is speaking through Goren Andarys, The Master of the Morag Tong in Ald'Ruhn whose trade is a monk, (Hand to hand being their major skill) and Sethyas velas, My Character, is a young learning individual, who can make dumb choices based on his emotion.......much like me.

Later on I would read the Art of War by Sun-Tzu and actually apply it in many areas of my life. (As well as my Fan Fic)

But's thats my example of it, so where do you guys stand?

[The Metal Mallet]

Hmmm, interesting topic Black Hand. It's a little weird for me to decide, because I had different reasoning for each of my characters that I focus on in my fic.

What I look for (in most cases) is for my characters to be as human as possible. At least for my Savlian character, I wanted him to be more of a grey character than a straight white character. He's done both good things and bad things in my fic, which is what I was going for with him.

With Simion, I mainly wanted to challenge myself and see if I could believably write a character that is mad. Hopefully my readers believe in his condition. He seems to be well-liked by some of my readers so I guess I'm doing a good job with him.

Then Hlodir and the Count are basically black characters, I didn't really do anything fancy with them, other than integrate some interesting things with them in the plot. I guess I more or less roleplay these guys. I still made sure that they experience human emotion though, just more of the darker feelings: anger, fear, ruthlessness, vainity, etc...

I think that some attributes of my characters reflect myself just because I tried to make them as human as possible. And since my life is the only human life I know significantly well, most of that is used for humanily qualities.

[Geonox]

pff I guess slightly me but most of the time the opposide. Most of my characters are not like me but I think it's fun to write characters like that. It's like another side of you. Lol like a split personality without having one or w/e

[Mazelure]

Most of my characters are related to me in some way witch isn't so good in the end. In my eyes a characeter most suffer in order to become stronger or to truly feel happiness or to just suffer some more so I kinda feel bad for those poor lads every once in a while. I also like to make the events of there life's to have concequences and also to add up to something big at the end of the story... also there has to be a moral to the story and most of the morals in my story are one's that I have learned in real life.

[Kiln]

I base characters off myself generally. I have morals but sometimes I believe that they must be broken in order to get something done. I try to use my wits and ability to stay calm to keep myself out of trouble and I'm good at thinking on my feet as well. I had a drinking problem before, just like some of my characters in my fan fictions...so yeah, my fan fiction characters are based off myself to an extent but I couldn't kill someone unless my life was threatened and there was no other alternative.

[Lord Revan]

Well, Revan is the imbodiment of all my believes and virtues. I value nobility, but with a little ruthess, calculating edge to it. I've gotten invoved with other sagas than TES, like.

Halo
Starcraft
StarWars
(and some other thing I can't recall)

I tend to emulate certain things and weave a small 'fantasy' universe with it and Revan's adventures on Nirm are just a small piece of my daydreams.

I like traits like disipline and being proffesional so I would like to be similar Revan.

[milanius]

How close it is, you ask, eh ?...
...you don't want to know, really.

[Zarrexaij]

Walter and I are pratically foils, like good and evil, and black and white. There are enough similarities that I can empathize from, but enough differences to make it challenging. Thus far, I have truly roleplayed him to become a living, breathing human instead of merely text or 1's and 0's. The most interesting thing, I find, about Walter is that, although we may have the same motivations, we don't have the same motives behind them.

[DoomedOne]

Well i don't really write fanfics but I'm writing constantly, and in my writing I rarely have just one character, and I don't draw myself to any of them. Of course, real life inspires my stroies. For instance, i have this one that I'm planning out a script for, which was inspired by my relationship problems, and so the main character, in relationships, acts very similar to me.

I'm also inspired by the times so I like writing stories about people who go against the status quo, and find themselves in situations olike enemy of the state, and the fugitive. I follow a lot of the beliefs of people like martin luther king jr and Gandhi, and oftenly have a character that dies preaching similar things as a sort of Professor Xavier, deciding he'd rather follow his bliefs and accept his death in hopes it teaches a lesson to the protagonist.

[jack cloudy]

My characters generally portray thoughts that go on in my mind, not my actions. (I'm the calm, quiet type who can practically become invisible. I only need a spell for true invisibility.)

Luper is the part of my that refuses to take things for granted and also my belief that nothing is as perfect as some people want me to think. Some of my arrogance is also there, but Luper is far worse than me at that. He's also the rude part of me. (This part never gets to speak in real life. Unfortunately, my social position means I only get trouble from insulting people.)

Aureus Lucis is the part of me that believes that brains are better than big muscles. Yes, he's strong as a vampire but if you watch him in the Cursed Blood, you'll notice he relies more on spells. And he's got style, is polite and always (or almost always) calm. I'm the same, only I lack the style.

[Agent Griff]

This really is an interesting topic. Yes Arthago is pretty much based on me. I am pretty much like Arthago in real life, I don't talk very much, I always think before I act (and sometimes I think too much and forget acting) and I sometimes hesitate when it comes to doing the right thing. I am sometimes quite arrogant but rarely, and Arthago displays that well.

I also loose my temper and just flip out at times, like I did once when these guys were chasing me for some stupid reason. I am pretty fast when motivated so I advanced from the group of guys chasing me, but one of them caught up. I got mad because this guy was spitting at me while he was chasing me so I just turned around and jumped at him. He ran with his face into my feet and that left him lying on his back. I kicked him a few times then started running again, so that his friends wouldn't catch up. I also have a rather nasty habbit of using the enviroment as my weapon when I flip out (eg. taking my oponent by the head and knocking his head repeatedly agains a locker or a table) but these flip-outs happen rarely. Thankfully, because of these flip-outs I have gained quite a reputation but in general, I try to avoid conflicts, I don't like them. If you get me provoked though, well I don't back off from a fight.

[Ibis]

Dude ... Agent Griff, can I have you as a bodyguard? Oh wait, my hubby is kinda like you too temperwise but he will try to reason someone out of their violence if there is time before they strike. If there isn't, I'll join right in and help him boat-kick = don't believe in all this macho fighting fun is only for dudes bull. If you mess with my man you mess with me. But I am not a writer - just an artist.

I have been alternating between reading Trey of High Rock, Milanius' prologue to Derrick's Prologue to Oblivion and Black Hand's The Tale of Sethyas Velas. I just read which one I am in the mood for at the time. Great reading, good excitment. This is saving me bundles on paperbacks.

[minque]

Serene is partly me and partly the woman I´d like to be....hard to explain but those who read the story and also "know" me....will understand what I mean.

Oh and Ibis..as soon as I´ve installed Microsoft Office on this wretched comp I´ll write more about Serene...I do have the next part all lined out in my head..

[Ibis]

Ohhh yay! I was waiting 'til you got your computers up and running again before bugging you about Serene, Minky. But I am all caught up to date on her story and anxiously awaiting the next part.

BTW - where & how do you guys get copyrights on your stories? Cain has written some song lyrics that we'd like to get copyrighted, if there is an easy way to do it on the Internet. I noticed Serene is copyrighted & rightly so, that is a great story.

[jack cloudy]

Now that's an interesting question. I think I should copyright Luper Alkad if I know how. He's bound to stay and provide chaos for a while longer.

[The Metal Mallet]

People around town has been asking me whether I'm going to publish "Bloodlust" once I'm finished. So looking into copyright would probably be a good idea... So yea, hearing about that from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

[Kayla]

Sarelle has a little bit of me in her. She has my sense of honor, some of my mannerisms, and ideas, and some of her views on based on mine, however, if I were to ever meet Sarelle, I believe we would disagree on a few things.

My other characters, especially Lucien, Coventia, and Saprius have a bit of my friends in them. Some other characters that I may introduce in my newer story will be based on some of my closets friends.

The thing that is probably the most personal to me in my writing is my description. I always base description on things that I've seen, percieved, or experienced before.

[treydog]

Hmm... don't know how further I want to go into this- after all, my main character is a self-identified thief. Actually, Trey is somewhat like my younger self- impulsive, hot-tempered, melancholy, lonely. I hope his sense of honor is akin to mine- if I give my word, I will do what I said... I am far less confrontational- he says (or thinks of saying) the sort of things I keep to myself.