Do you continue with your unforgettable characters?

My only repeat character went from a short story to a novel. Only the short was published, though. Yet.

I've never used a repeat character yet but I was thinking of extending a short story into a novel.

Characters

I only repeat character use in short stories if an editor asks. I'd really rather not.

So far, none of my characters has turned up in any other of my stories. I love them all to death, even the nasty ones, but once the story's done, so are they.

It's Deja Vu all over again...

I have several different stories that I am working on. So in each I have 'original' characters, but I am slowly developing a single timeline through them all. I'm not sure if I like the idea yet, but I may have characters from a seperate story line appear in another story as a background charater. My timeline so far goes something like this;

Start at 1996 to present (three story saga - Habitat) [#1].

A "20 minutes in the future" war story concept [#2] with a 'soft' connection to #1.

A future 'Star Trekky' thingy epoch [#3] that can be related to the #1 & #2 events.

A fantasy thingy [#4] that may cross over to the #3 concept by a space exploration of a new planet in #3.

The common thread being an alternate universe concept of "how our world could be" thing that begins in a alternate history of 1996.

In total I can envision over twenty independent story concepts following this line with several characters and/or family names living on in other story lines. One is finished, several are close, many are simple premises. All are worthy of developing - in my humble opinion.

I feel like this is something like Asimov's 'Foundation' saga. Not intentionally connected, but growing together. The main point being that I think crossing over characters can work if the story concept allows for it. I wouldn't want to just drop in a character because I 'like' them. I have a couple of story concepts that have nothing to do with the above timeline. So characters in those stories wouldn't (maybe shouldn't) cross over. I probably think this is possible with some of my characters because I am an avid comic book reader, in which this is a common occurance with characters.

As of the moment, no, I have not had any reccurrent characters, but I would love to do/experiment with serials.

I do have one story that is leaning that direction at the moment, and so if I can pull it off and have it be solid, I'll be happy.

I started with one short story and expanded it to seven stories planning to end it there. I thought I had the perfect clencher to end the series.

When I read it to one of my writing friends, (a person I trust completely) that person felt I'd set up a situation which could not end with that story so I've added five more stories since. It's working well and and though each short story is complete in itself, each one sets up the next one. I've enjoyed working on the series immensely and I don't see any end in sight.

Edited to add: These stories all use the same characters with new people and animalsonly only being added when it's absolutely necessary.

Chandler had an unnamed character who then got four or five different names in various stories, before finally settling into "Philip Marlowe."

The problem with reusing the same character over & over is you've got all that baggage & backstory to drag along.

Then again, I can think of worse fates than to get a hundred angry letters from disappointed fans who noticed that my shamus's standard poodle has suddenly become a pitbull. Hey, at least they're reading, & therefore (hopefully) paying me money.

None of my characters have reappeared in new stories yet, but I love it when a writer can do that well. Charles de Lint and Kage Baker are good examples. I hope that as I write more, I'll develop characters who are memorable enough to revisit.

Anthony Ravenscroft said:

The problem with reusing the same character over & over is you've got all that baggage & backstory to drag along.

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This is a key point to remember. If you reuse characters from earlier stories they will have bagage that may conflict with the story you're trying to tell which a new character wouldn't have.

My recommendation: do it if it works for the story.

I do have recurring characters, a whole family of them actually. Carter Cole is probably the most prevalent but Weren Cole has been making a come back in my stories recently. I like the idea. . . loaned from Steinbeck and Salinger (at least my inspiration behind it). I could tell you everything you would ever want to know about this family. . . I feel it breeds familiarity with my topics and breadth of knowledge or history that adds depth to my stories.

Oh, it is fun too. Never forget that writing can also be fun.

I have a number of characters I revisit with some frequency. I have two collections forming, in fact, that feature many of the same characters. A few of those have found their way into a novel as well.

My background is environmental theatre, so I spent a long time with several characters in my day to day working life. I got to know them intimately, and as the gig included a loose storyline every day, I became used to having my characters go off in different directions yet still be who they were.

The way I find new characters is by using prompts with some regularity. Another site I visit has daily prompts I like to use, and yet another has two timed prompted flashes a week. I find this sort of tool invaluable. And I've been known to take one or more of my familiar characters and use the prompts to set them off into a new story.

So yeah, I totally have a cast of characters I revisit. I enjoy placing them in new situations and seeing what they do!

I've never repeated a character, but I've got one from a flash fiction piece: A 90 year old zombie killer. She just won't go away. I may end up using her again if the chance presents itself.

Soccer Mom said:

I've never repeated a character, but I've got one from a flash fiction piece: A 90 year old zombie killer. She just won't go away. I may end up using her again if the chance presents itself.

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I always figured you for a zombie killer

Come a little closer and say that, sonny-boy.

I am not a zombie. . .lady.

:sniffs: Ya smell dead to me.

That is just wrong, okay?