I finished my long ballad. Its really very depressing, since its about a guy who drowns himself in a well after his brother-in-law takes his land in payment for a debt. There's a ghost in it too. I'm considering submitting it to the college magazine. But then again, a lot of ballads were about depressing subjects.

Lady Haleth, that sounds interesting! I like writing historical fiction myself (not only am I a Narniaweb nut, I'm also a history nut )
Question: Do you tend to write about more male or female characters (main characters?) I find that even though I'm female I write more male characters...odd.

Elanor, Lady Haleth, that's awesome that you finished. Don't you just love that adrenaline rush when you get to the end and you want to finish no matter how late it is? I can certainly attest.

What gender characters? I definately have to say I focus on male characters. Part of it is that I am male. But another part of it stems from the nature of my story. There just wasn't really a place to put a major female character. I tried to include one, but it ended up giving the impression that I put her in there just for the sake of having a female character there. It simply wasn't working. So I shelved her and saved her for my sequel, where she does have a better role. And now that I have gotten so much experience in writing in general, I can take the time I need to develop strong female characters instead of just making them up on the fly.

I like writing historical fiction myself (not only am I a Narniaweb nut, I'm also a history nut )
Question: Do you tend to write about more male or female characters (main characters?) I find that even though I'm female I write more male characters...odd.

Historical Fiction is awesome!!!! I've written a bit of it myself .History is something that my whole family (with the exeception of my mother) is a huge fan of
About characters: I usually write about females . Being a girl it is somehow easier for me. Males will usually have a very important role in my story but the main character will usually be a girl. I find it a bit hard to 'think male' as I put it . I'll bring up certain situations in my stories, and it is quite easy for me to see how a girl will react but I can't quite imagine what a boy would do. I do have a story or two where the main character is a boy but for the most part I write about girls. (Sometimes I feel a bit ashamed that I write mainly about girls, although I am not exactly sure why )

Glad to find another history nerd Wild Rose! What are your favorite time periods? I like Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, and the early middle ages best (although I love all time periods really.)

Don't be ashamed to write about girls! I think that in most books (modern books) I don't really find a variety of female characters. I tend to find females that are reallly fiesty or very needy. There are exceptions though. I really love Lucy for this reason. She doesn't fit either of those stereotypes.

FencerforJesus, I agree that sometimes its hard to fit women into a story sometimes. Especially in some historical settings.

I agree that its a bit hard to write males as a girl. There is always the fear that they will end up thinking/sounding/acting like a female. However I'm really interested in gender studies so writing about male characters helps me try to figure out boys .

Good lucy wth your writing everyone

I have several characters in my first book, three are female the other three are male (the seventh character is a male, but he is a creature). I like a variety of different characters to write about, which is why I think I tend to write about either gender.
In my story I wanted to reveal more about each character as the story goes along, I want the reader to find out things about each of the characters as the characters themselves do.
It can be hard to weave in several different stories togther, I thought I would go back and see how Tolkien weaved the stories of the nine members of the Fellowship.

I am so happy because I finally got some writing done yesterday...and I finally cut the scene with the enchanted islands because I just couldn't get it right and decided the story would be better off without it.
I tend to write mostly male characters for some reason...my current story is the first time I have ever written from a female perspective. Oh, and the thing about 'basing characters on yourself'? The characters who are most like me are all guys.

I tend to write about female characters because it's a tad bit easier. I can just draw from my preferences or my feelings. But I find it a lot more fun to write in the persepective of a male. I think since I'm female, it gives me a chance to look at things differently. I'm currently writing in a male perspective. I just hope that I get it right and my male character doesn't end up sounding too much like a female.

I think all characters come from a part of you or something you have experienced. All my characters have a tiny piece of me in them.

It is quite often that authors include part of themselves in thier characters. But there are two dangers. One is the Molly Sue character. That is when the author puts too much of themselves in their character. Many beginning authors, including myself, have been guilty of writing a Molly Sue character. The other issue with using yourself as part of your characters is running out of unique characters. In reality, the only way to really be able to come up with unique characters is to have experience. You have to meet people and you have to read. By reading, you learn about other people's experiences.

I have several characters that have no part of me. But they have a lot of others whom I have met. You can still use part of you in your characters, but sometimes you need a character that you simply can't relate to from yourself. So look to your experiences and look at the people around you. Mix and match characteristics, and at times, include your own. Before I finally got a story that actually had any sort of decency, it was when I went out of the way to take myself out of the story. I still used my experiences to develop the story, but I sought to minimize my personal characteristics from my main characters. So take that into consideration with your characters. You can still use you, but beware of those dangers.

I definitely agree that your characters are like you. Unconsciously, it happens!! It's only natural.
But yeah, don't let too much of you get in every one. Or it gets tedious.

I actually draw more for my story then write. I'll get a very strong picture in my head of a scene and I just have to draw it.
I’ve drawn portraits for all of my main characters, and I have been working on (for two years) a book full of all the creatures that inhabit my world.
Drawing something out really helps me describe something when writing.

Wow, you pretty much just described me! I love drawing my characters! There are lots of creatures in my world, and they all end up as doodles all over my notes. I've actually drawn characters first and then thought, "Oh, he's cool-looking. I will add him to my story." And then if I'm having trouble with a scene, I'll draw it first and then describe what I drew.

That brings me to an interesting question - how does everything imagine their writing? I mean, I always "see" my scenes played out in my head like a movie. But I have a friend who see" everything in comic-book form. Or maybe they're just words to you?

Elanor, you finished? That's great! I really should write more short stories, maybe a scene from a different character's point of view. That would be fun. Hmms.

Question: Do you tend to write about more male or female characters (main characters?) I find that even though I'm female I write more male characters...odd.

Yeah, tell me about it! I'm guilty of having way more male characters than female ones. I do have one strong female character who is with my protagonist throughout the entire story, is the "leader" that the rest look up to, is comfort in times of trouble, and a fierce ally in battle. The only problem? She's not human. Oh well. I just hope I can make all my male characters manly enough.

Being part of you doesn't mean they are exactly like you. Your characters have to come from you. Your experiences, friendships, views on life, your mind, etc. I'm not talking about only your personality. Even villians can be based on you: what you hate about the world, others, yourself, your fears, and even evils you kind of sympathize with.

What I meant was your characters have their roots in you because you created them. I agree that characters that are exactly like you can turn into Mary-sues (not always but it's common.)

mean, I always "see" my scenes played out in my head like a movie

Same for me. The only problem is since movies and books are different formats, one may not get the desired effect in print as it would on film.

I do agree on that regard. I was refering to more character than experience, your mind, as a whole. We see a piece of God in absolutely everything he created. The same is true for us. In regards to villains, my main villain is based on a personal experience in which I came face to face with real evil. The very nature of your story line is from your mind. Many times, the stories people write are based on the concept of 'what would I do in this situation? in this world?' ect. Other stories are based on characters that the author seeks to emulate. So, yes, all of our stories, not just our characters are taken from who we are, what we have experienced, and what we wish to be.

My scenes definatley play out like movies. It is an action based novel and some comments about my book describe it as a screenplay. But I am going to make my sequel more character based. Still, since action and battle are a driving theme of my novel, it will need to play like a movie.

Oh I don't have that problem of a "Molly Sue" character. When I write, I tend to have characters of who I want myself to be. Not of who I really am. When I write, it's time for me to be someone else, and not boring old me.

FencerforJesus says,
In reality, the only way to really be able to come up with unique characters is to have experience. You have to meet people and you have to read. By reading, you learn about other people's experiences.

That's why I feel like I won't be able to write a decent book until I'm a tad bit older and I've seen the world. Right now I feel like I haven't seen enough of the world to write in a broader sense. Sometimes I feel that I can only write in the perspective of a 15 year old (or younger) girl because that's the only perspective I know so far.