Recurring character

So far all of my characters have been new from novel to novel. Though since novel #1 is likely unpublishable, for novel #4 I've been stealing themes from it. New setting, new characters, but it explores similar emotional journeys as novel #1. Who knows, I may steal a character for a walk-on part somewhere (esp. if their novel goes nowhere).

I haven't written anyone so far that needs to appear in a second book.

I started off writing fantasy years ago, but the book I wrote wasn't exactly of the greatest quality. Now I have a completely different world that I write about, but some of the characters from the old fantasy jumped ship. I had one bad guy in particular who just seemed too good not to use, so he's got a part in this story.

My new fantasy book is character-rather than plot based, in that it follows the story of one man. I'm hoping to take him on into a few more books as well when I've written this one. I am intending to use this world for several stories, which might not necessarily be linked, other than in terms of geography, but there is then a possibility of characters crossing over.

I'm about to recycle two unpublished historical books to make a new story, and it was mostly the characters I loved in those two so they'll be kept. My other story, Amduat, has reworked elements from another old story I started to write about Ancient Egypt too. This version though actually seems to be working for a change.

The only characters who've appeared in more than one novel do so because it's a sequel or part of a series. I haven't recycled anyone from one novel to the next. I suppose all of my characters become ingrained in their respective books. It's difficult for me to contemplate using one outside of his or her story.

I do, however, have plans to use an original character from an online RPG in a future novel.

I've used an original character from one of my fan fics as a minor character in one of mine.

And I trashed my second novel after realizing the protag seemed to be the antag of my first. It annoyed me too much to have such similar characters - especially in such opposite roles.

popmuze said:

I don't necessarily mean the same characters. I just mean character traits, like what his relationship with his parents is, whether he's suave around women or not, his fear of heights, his love of bagels.

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In that case...

Now that I think about it, the heroines of my last three novels are all orphans (in the sense that both parents are dead at the time of the book's action, not necessarily orphaned at a young age) and they have no siblings.

Huh.

For characters in general, I've created a story that is a six-parter, so several of the characters from the first are still around in the sixth. When I thought my second story was abandoned, I took the major char from it and transplanted him into the first, but moved him back when his story was started back up.

As for character traits, I tend to really stick to certain things quite frequently. I love woman with red hair and men with long black hair, for starters. All three of my stories start off with the female char being a young (10, 15 and 16) and the males are always non-human who like to dress in black and fight with swords... The main protagonists also seem to have a position of power at stake (king, prince, savior, ect) I swear I think that one day repetition may be my downfall....

With Cursed Blood, I wrote a sequal using most of my characters. I killed off one and added a couple more in the second one. It was written by request from people who enjoyed the first one. I think it ended up being a better story lol.

I have an unplished series where I use the same characters too. I've never taken characters out of one book and put them into another book though. I try to create new characters, new themes, and way new ideas for each story I write except it was a series or a sequal. So far its just those two. I'm thinking about writing a new series for Stolen Identity, but all the books will be different with new characters and themes. It would be the Identity series if I choose to do it with the second being Mistaken Identity and so on. This second book is still in the thinking process because I don't even know how that one will even begin yet. The characters haven't really been born yet either so that's putting a damper on things.

I know that King does do something similar with all his books. I watched a bioagraphy show about him once. All his characters are connected one way or another, mostly by the town. They either have been there once and they were from this town. Its cool if you think about it. Of course, he only writes in one genre that I know about even with his other pen name.

If you have unplublished books and you feel the characters would fit better in another story, why not try it? I think a good writer has to experiment a little to find the right way to tell his/her story. If it means taking one story apart to create a new one, then that is what needs to be done. I'm in the process of doing just that in one of my stories. I came on here and asked for everyone's opinion, listened, and decided a few pages later that everyone was right. I am now rewriting this story and taking out all the sex because now it won't fit. But I still like the romance idea of it so that will stay.

Amber

My first main character, in my Rome novel, is a big world-weary middle-aged Roman soldier who's done his time and is now doing his last deed.

My character in my next novel is a skinny nineteen year old kid from Kansas who has never left home, is embarassed that he can read, and is running scared from the draft.

The main character in my third novel, if ever I get around to writing it, is sixty-something writer with the best years of his career, and his life, behind him, trying to save both his marriage and his health.

I like variety. I like meeting new people each time.

Although, like John Irving, I notice the same character turning up in a new novel with a new name. It fascinates me.

I live in fear of what I call the Anne McCafferey syndrome. I love her talent, I really do, but after a handful of her novels you realize the characters are ALL THE SAME. They have different names, different situations, and maybe a different haircolor, but that's it. With very few exceptions.

I do love to write series work, with a first and two sequels, but with each new series I try very hard to come up with new and interesting quirks, personalities, looks, jobs, demeanors, even baggage. Some are brave, some less so, some are down right scared to death but find themselves in situations regardless. One has a drug problem, another is part alien, this other one is a scientist while another is a cop. One smokes, the others don't. One has daddy issues, none of the others do.

I'm sure, since they're all written by ME, that there are similarities I can't see or avoid - but I do try.

MidnightMuse said:

I live in fear of what I call the Anne McCafferey syndrome. I love her talent, I really do, but after a handful of her novels you realize the characters are ALL THE SAME. They have different names, different situations, and maybe a different haircolor, but that's it. With very few exceptions.

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and they're all happy! ALL THE TIME! ALWAYS ******ING HAPPY!

*huff huff*

I'm okay now.

And beautiful. Don't forget they're all friggin' BEAUTIFUL.

*huff*

My only recurring character was Samael the Satan because I love that guy. He's so useable and squishy. I used him twice. First, he was a minor character, just a catalyst really, but I liked playing with him so much I made him a major character in project the second. My current project has no such character in it.

I seem to always have main female characters with very iffy relationships with their moms, which is funny, because I actually have a great relationship with both my parents.

But I don't recycle characters (at least not that I'm aware of). I don't think it's a problem (usually) to reuse characters as long as book #1 is definitely not going to get published, but I totally agree with MidnightMuse that it is very offputting when you read book after book by the same author, and ALL THE CHARACTERS SEEM THE SAME. Especially if they are beautiful. And happy. Two qualities that should never be combined.

maddythemad said:

I seem to always have main female characters with very iffy relationships with their moms, which is funny, because I actually have a great relationship with both my parents.

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I have a character having a huge issue with his mother. The same issue I have with my mother? Coincidence? No. Therapy!! LOL

Current character has a good relationship with her mother, only she's 1500 miles away.

I do notice a lot of my characters seem to have severe problems with their families, particularly their parents, which is an uncomfortable reminder of writing blatantly imitating life. *sigh*

sneakers145 said:

I have a character having a huge issue with his mother. The same issue I have with my mother? Coincidence? No. Therapy!! LOL

Current character has a good relationship with her mother, only she's 1500 miles away.

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vfury said:

I do notice a lot of my characters seem to have severe problems with their families, particularly their parents, which is an uncomfortable reminder of writing blatantly imitating life. *sigh*

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On the flip side, my character has severe problems with his dad, to put it mildly...and in real life, my dad and I get along quite nicely. Just so we all know there can be a flip side to it.

PeeDee said:

On the flip side, my character has severe problems with his dad, to put it mildly...and in real life, my dad and I get along quite nicely. Just so we all know there can be a flip side to it.

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Yay for flip sides!

Pretty much every character that was in book 1 is in this book.

My characters have similar qualities, my MCs, but they're different from each other, yea. Aello from WIP 1 is...really naive and confused the whole time. She doesn't know much about herself.

Then Kallianessa, from WIP 2, is very young and curious to start, but...she grows up pretty quickly.

Medea, also WIP 2, is completely screwed up and trying to forget her past, which is bad stuff that she herself did not bad stuff that someone else did to her.

All first person POV characters. Like I said, they have some common threads, and Kallianessa's and Medea's...goals and motivations really interlock, but nah they're different people, and none of them are me even though parts of me are in them.

I swear I will never get rid of the arrogant, intelligent, and annoyingly aloof character. He might be a sidekick, he might be hiding in the wings, he might be someone who sells tea and then comes back into the plot for no discernible reason apart from spookily being in the right place at the right time.

I might as well use that genetic strain....

I really love characters that carry over from book to book.

I can only carry characters over if I'm writing a book in the same world. I can't file the numbers off and re-use; I build my books around characters and they're integral to the story, so putting in another story's character is kind of like putting ingredients from a cake recipe into a fish stew...

Usually I change many things from novel to novel, but sometimes some characters has cameos if the story happens in the same world