Kore 14 Share Posted January 30, 2020 It's a bit of a give and take for me. There are some things in my life that really shaped me and sometimes end up shaping my characters. Other times I play people or things that I've always wanted to experience but can't. I love being someone I'm not, but I feel like there is a genuine part of me in each of my characters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiewbles 15 Share Posted March 28, 2020 In playing a lot of supernatural themes, there is of course a lot of content that can't be taken from real life experiences. I do hang onto a lot of physical sensory stuff to use in writing - the way a mountain looks in the sunshine, what water feels like, the way an old building "slouches." I have also recently had a lot of little life changes in which I am able to name and describe feelings with more ease, and that is pretty rewarding to apply to character thoughts and development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liv 13 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I often give my characters traits or likes and dislikes that I have, and some of their experiences and skills may draw from mine. But at the end of the day, I don't want to roleplay as me, and part of the appeal in roleplaying (for me at least) is having your character experiencing things that you haven't necessarily gone through. 1 Come and join us in Ancient Rome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veino 26 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I don't draw on myself that much, but I will use skills and stuff that I've learned. Like, I've done a lot of backpacking and high altitude hiking/climbing, and other outdoor stuff. So especially with fantasy, I use my own skills to help add verisimilitude. Same with shooting skills, survival, and stuff like that. Aure entuluva! Day shall come again! - The Children of Hurin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
min 5 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Mhm... I've pulled from myself a lot, particularly the emotional aspects! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieMegs 107 Share Posted April 14, 2020 On 1/30/2020 at 3:27 PM, Kore said: I love being someone I'm not, but I feel like there is a genuine part of me in each of my characters. I feel the same way. I believe there is a bit of me in all of my characters, but they get to explore emotions and situations I may never be able to (or would want to, for that matter). I do pull from past experiences sometimes to try to make something feel more real. For instance, if I have a character who is experiencing a lot of anxiety, I'll use what I know/have felt in order to be more accurate with how I'm writing it. But most of the time I ask "how would -character name- handle this situation?". Since some of my characters have vastly different personalities than me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limn 1 Share Posted April 22, 2020 I definitely draw on RL experience, not always in terms of what a character may go through, but how they act and speak. I love to people watch, which sort of goes hand in hand with commuting on public transport as I end up with plenty of time on my hands to just ... observe? Gestures, habits, mannerisms. Characters with an accent are almost always grounded in people I know IRL with that accent. So, small details like that definitely influence my writing. Tackling larger issues really does depend on the issue itself - I've no experience of living out of a van, for example, or camping, but you can bet your bottom dollar I spent hours upon hours watching instructional videos and youtube blogs on tiny living, van conversions, van life etc because I wanted to make a character who did just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GERALT OF RIVIA 4 Share Posted October 28, 2021 I'm a paleontologist and I have written paleontology (usually different than what I study) characters before. Likewise, I write other fields of science like marine biologists or surgeons. But typically I write canon characters from fandoms, who I relate to on some level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miserable_Ghoul 3 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Every now and again I will use RL experiences to help aid cohesive dialogue. I think sometimes it adds a bit of genuine 'human' into your words--definitely adds to the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynncia 1 Share Posted May 5, 2023 It's more like I take different characteristics or funny moments to evolve the scenes and characters. Still, I try not to hold onto something or someone too closely, since that could end bad. For example, if you base a character off of a friend, when your friendship falls apart, I feel like that would also affect the character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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