Have you ever... (game!)

Nogetsune

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No, but I have dreams about the characters and worlds of my stories all the time, and sometimes they are inspiring enough that they make it into said stories.

Have you ever planned out a character, only to write them and find out they have a trait that you didn't plan to give them, or one you did but didn't plan to make as pronounced as it was when you actually started writing from their POV?
 

RolandWrites

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Have you ever planned out a character, only to write them and find out they have a trait that you didn't plan to give them, or one you did but didn't plan to make as pronounced as it was when you actually started writing from their POV?


This actually happens to me frequently. I think it's pretty awesome, actually, when that happens, because it often takes the story in new and exciting places.

Have you ever completely rewritten your book after removing a main character?
 

The Second Moon

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I was going to take out an important character, but I changed my mine, so no, I don't know what's that like.

Have you ever liked a side character better then the MC?
 

Nogetsune

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No, but something similar happens a ton where I like the villain far, far more than the MC. This has happened so much that I basically said "fuck it" to trying to write from the "hero's" perspective and always write from an evil/corrupt POV now. So much in fact that the antagonists I end up writing for the kind of protagonists I prefer end up actually being far more sympathetic/morally justified individuals than my extremely self-centered, super-wealthy, and often very shallow protagonists, though my protagonists won't let you know that.

Do you have any major influences on your writing (I.E. other authors, TV shows, non-book genres (such as comic books, anime/manga, action movies etc...), music etc...)? If so, what are they?
 

GreenGrape

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I find it really difficult not to get influenced by wherever I’m currently reading or watching. I have to make an effort to spot things before I go too far down a certain path. I think that’s just the nature of the world we live in today!

Have you ever despised a character so much that you’ve written them out of your novel? Or would you keep a character you despise to spice things up?
 

The Second Moon

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I've cut many charterers out. When you dislike them they're easy to cut out.

Have you ever written a story just for fun (not fan fic)?
 

RhysBC

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Have you ever written a story just for fun (not fan fic)?

In a way, yes. I illustrate too, and began what was purely a desire to draw a few images to send to agents in the hope of being hired to illustrate a children's book.

I found that after the first couple of sketches I was making little notes at the side. These notes became paragraphs then soon I had written pretty much a full treatment of a story from the ideas spurred on by my original doodlings.

That became a completed book without a single illustration to see, aside from the cover artwork.



Have you ever written a piece and then changed the gender of the main character... just to see how that would play out?
 

Chris P

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I've changed the gender, but only because it felt more right to have a female narrator than a male (first person). So instead of doing it to see what happened, what happened made me do it.


Have you ever written something on a dare (even if only a dare to yourself)? What was the result?
 

gem1122

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Have you ever had an idea for a story that's been lurking in your mind, but still hasn't been written, months or even years after you first thought of it?

Yes. I have dozens of stories and novels and screenplays and bits of scene rattling around in my brain all the time. Many of them are several years old.

Have you ever treated yourself for finishing a story?

Heck yeah! All the time. In fact, I treat myself for finishing a paragraph. My rate of production is a bit... er... slow, needless to say.

Have you ever created a cover for your WIP in hopes it would motivate you to finish? Did it work?
 

The Second Moon

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Have you ever created a cover for your WIP in hopes it would motivate you to finish? Did it work?

I never thought about that, but now I really want to do it. It sounds cool.

Have you ever liked the characters in your story, but not the story world?
 
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rinnika

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Have you ever liked the characters in your story, but not the story world?

I think so yes, mostly because I tend to build the world for my characters or fall in love with the characters first. I find though that dedicating some time to the story world and it's background, various nuances etc makes me like the world more. If I just can't gel with it, I'll find a way to change it. I've made the mistake in an earlier story of mine where I neglected the world and it makes the whole process drag like Hell haha

Have you ever written a story with the key features (such as character gender, obstacle...) dictated randomly, for example, by the numbers on a dice?
 

bleacher1099

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Oh yes. A new employee at my work said she was an avid reader. We started talking books and I asked her if she had ever read any Kelley Armstrong books (as she's a Canadian author and I was curious) and she went on and on about how she did in fact and it was horrible. No plot, dialogue was weak and it took her over a month to finish it. Stranded in an airport, I went to a sale rack of books, found Bitten, sat down and read it it in two days! She became one of my fav writers, and her Bitten stories were recently made into a mini-series (which was a bit lame, I'll admit) on Space. I read all her work now and don't talk books anymore with the co-worker!

:e2zipped:

Have you ever compared a new love prospect to a MC from a book you loved?
 

RolandWrites

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No, but I do have my book loves. They would be very hard to live up to though, and most of them are dashing, rouge-like antihero types that I wouldn't actually want to date. ;)

Have you ever taken the characters from your story and written them in unrelated stories (maybe something silly, maybe fanfic of a different world, whatever)?
 

The Second Moon

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Have you ever taken the characters from your story and written them in unrelated stories (maybe something silly, maybe fanfic of a different world, whatever)?


I used to write big save the world adventure type stories, but I loved my characters doing normal things so much, I just write about them doing normal, silly stuff.

Have you ever found yourself saying or thinking made-up words from your story world?
 

JenWantsCoffee

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[B said:
Have you ever ended up going through three or four different names to find the perfect one?[/B]

Yes! My MC's name has changed at least 4 times since I've started writing this book. I think this last one is finally sticking though. Didn't have this issue with any of my other characters.

Have you ever started an image collection or Pinterest board related to clothes your MC would wear or things they would like/have in their room, etc.?
 

Deadeyemouse

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Not recently, but that is because the book I'm writing now is based on people in my life. However, I use to do forum & IRC roleplays of various genres and had a large photobucket of character art that inspired many of those characters. I kind of miss that simple sort of play via writing.

Have you ever based a character in a story on someone in your actual life enough that they read it and made the connection?
 

gem1122

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Yup. I'd say several folks would recognize themselves as characters. But these are people I'm not in contact with anymore.

Have you ever written a story based on one of your dreams?
 

The Second Moon

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All the time. Usually the dream is just a snippet and I add on or change things when I wake up.

Have you ever had a pet "help" you with your story? (Examples: a cat sitting on your keyboard or a pet making so much noise you couldn't concentrate)
 

PFFlyer

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I did an MFA in writing and kept getting stuck two-thirds of the way through writing short stories. One of my teachers said, "That's when you go out and walk the dog." Our dog had recently gone on to doggie paradise so I went out for a walk by myself. It didn't work. My teacher said, "No, if you go out by yourself the problem with the story is going to follow you. You need the dog to chase the story out of your mind." Not long after that we were dog-sitting and I tried it. The story was done by dinnertime.

Have you ever had a dream about being in a scene with your characters?
 

aryheron

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I have! I dreamed the entire final battle sequence, fighting side by side with my main characters. When I woke up I wrote down as many details as I could and then I made the necessary changes (we all know how weird dreams can be...) and and voila! Battle scene!

Have you ever based any of your characters on a crush?