Do you get attached to characters?

When writing a story, do you get attached to the characters you're writing about? If you do, to what level? Do you get sad when your characters get sad, and happy when your characters are happy? Are you more attached to certain characters in your story than others?

How about when reading a story? Of course the story has to be well written, but how well written does it have to be? How easily attached to characters are you?

Just some questions to get that brain thinking. Discuss.

I would say that I do tend to get attached to the characters that I write about in my stories. It's only natural since they are like your puppets slaves children in your own little world lol. But seriously, in terms of the protagonist, you can't help but to feel bad when they are feeling bad or happy when they are feeling happy.

I would say, in regards to my current fic, of course I am attached to Ryo (the lead protagonist), but there are other characters I find myself extremely attached to. However, Domo, Ryo's Houndour, is probably my favorite character out of the entire fan-fiction. I enjoy writing about him even though he has no English dialogue. However, his actions reflect that of an ordinary dog in our world and he also is playful and instinctive in certain situations. Of course, his role will continue to expand later on in the work. He reminds me of my now deceased (rest in peace) rottweiler, so I find extreme enjoyment in writing scenes with Domo.

In other stories, I try to identify and connect with the protagonist as much as possible. The author of story can gauge my attention by allowing me to feel what the lead character is feeling: happiness, sorrow, pain, regret, etc. If an author does this successfully, I find no problem with connecting with him or her.

Even with antagonists, I enjoy connecting with them as well. I feel as if every character has a right to a back story as to why they are the way they are presently.

I do respond to my characters' emotions, feeling happy when they are and sad when they are. There are also times when I'm just proud of them for getting through a difficult task. But there is one character that I'm attached to, and I find it difficult to write about him all the time. It's exhausting to get through even a short story about him because the emotions are multiplied. He's only one character, though, and I have several other ones to write about.

When it comes to reading other characters, I don't really get attached that quickly. There might be one or two that I get attached to, but it's a rare thing and it's not like how it is with the characters I write about.

I have some attachment to characters, certainly. Miror B is one that I for instance find extremely fun to write about, because he's just that wacky and amusing in concept to begin with. It's not even so much as me writing about him as just knowing what would happen if you put him in a room with this situation or that other character.

Same goes for reading stories - you can certainly care for a character, worry about them when they go through trials and etc, but I'd say, for myself anyway, that it's easier to do that about a character you craft yourself, rather than one you read about.

I get attached to the characters I write about too. I mean, you put a lot of effort into them and what they do in different scenarios, it's kind of difficult not to like them. Then again, there are a couple characters I've written before that I wish would get run over by a truck. Which, I could make happen, but that's being a little unfair. I often feel my character's emotions as I'm writing about it, and depending on which scene I step away from, can affect my mood for the rest of the day.

When I read books, I find it very difficult to really start caring for the character. There are only a select few characters that I would really be sad if they all of a sudden died. I don't know why, but I just find it difficult to really care about characters in books.

A few of my original characters I get attached to.

Cato, Malik, Eirik, I'm attached to them quite a bit. And the things I do to these friends, I am a terrible person.

Though there are some characters I don't care much for. I killed off (SPOILER) Ralof because he got the ass end of a coin flip, poor guy.

TurtleKing said:

I would say, in regards to my current fic, of course I am attached to Ryo (the lead protagonist), but there are other characters I find myself extremely attached to. However, Domo, Ryo's Houndour, is probably my favorite character out of the entire fan-fiction. I enjoy writing about him even though he has no English dialogue. However, his actions reflect that of an ordinary dog in our world and he also is playful and instinctive in certain situations. Of course, his role will continue to expand later on in the work. He reminds me of my now deceased (rest in peace) rottweiler, so I find extreme enjoyment in writing scenes with Domo.

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That's fascinating, I'm interested to know more of this attachment. Since Domo has replaced your rottweiler (in a way), do you also make Ryo do things with him that you would usually do with your dog? Do they share any other characteristic?

I wouldn't say I get too attached to any of my characters, though I do like some more than others; I try to be neutral, because it is a story, and I want my stories to be as close to reality as I can make them (each time I improve, somewhat). I believe trampling the character's emotions with my own can greatly compromise the story. However, that is not to say I'm not rooting for them in the sidelines, and more often than I like, I tend to 'forget' to actually make bad things happen to them. I don't wish to bring them to situations where they can't possibly get out, I guess.

Shango said:

I wouldn't say I get too attached to any of my characters, though I do like some more than others; I try to be neutral, because it is a story, and I want my stories to be as close to reality as I can make them (each time I improve, somewhat). I believe trampling the character's emotions with my own can greatly compromise the story. However, that is not to say I'm not rooting for them in the sidelines, and more often than I like, I tend to 'forget' to actually make bad things happen to them. I don't wish to bring them to situations where they can't possibly get out, I guess.

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This is pretty much what I try to abide by. As much as I would like to make all my main character's problems disappear, I just can't do that. Oh well, I'll just be cheering from the sidelines as Shango put it. Although, I don't think I suffer from the lack of bad things happening to said characters. In fact, since my main character's wife died, his parents don't talk to him anymore, and now he's paralyzed from the waist down, I might be suffering from the complete opposite.

Shango said:

That's fascinating, I'm interested to know more of this attachment. Since Domo has replaced your rottweiler (in a way), do you also make Ryo do things with him that you would usually do with your dog? Do they share any other characteristic?

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I'm not speaking for TK, but I can answer this question for myself because I did the same thing once that he did. (And I'm planning on possibly doing it again.) I had a character catch a Poochyena with the same personality as my current dog. The relationship between human/Poochyena was exactly the same as mine is with my dog, right down to the way that they interact with one another. I was doing that on purpose, though. It was a conscious thought that the two would interact that way.

In fact, since my main character's wife died, his parents don't talk to him anymore, and now he's paralyzed from the waist down, I might be suffering from the complete opposite.

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That reminds me of a popular idea in fandom: "The more I like a character, the more I like to see them suffer."

Shango said:

That's fascinating, I'm interested to know more of this attachment. Since Domo has replaced your rottweiler (in a way), do you also make Ryo do things with him that you would usually do with your dog? Do they share any other characteristic?

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I wouldn't say that that was the case just yet since the story has just gotten started, but I don't think I plan on purposely doing it. Ryo's a different person than I am, but one thing we do share is that we both have a close bond with our canine friends. :)

I've heard other instances of people using a dog-like Pokemon (or even in books, in the case of it just being a dog) that represents the author's own pet. I think that's a pretty neat thing to do. Besides, you're using your own experiences in that case, and that is authentic and can show in the story as such, i.e. making it more relatable or believable.

I get attached to all my characters, it starts when I first think of them. Honestly, any character I make is going to have either just some sort of attachment, or be important to me for a certain reason. Like if I make a character based on a friend, or with the same fears as me, I will get attached much easier. And yes, I do feel their emotions as they feel them. Usually I have my characters have one thing either similar to myself or a friend. That can vary from having an object a friend of mine has, to having the same name, appearance, or personality as a friend. Characters to me are like real people, just ones only I and anyone who reads my stories know. Since writing, for me at least, is also a stress-reliever and a place to put my emotions, I suppose it makes it easier to be attached.

Slayr231 said:

When writing a story, do you get attached to the characters you're writing about? If you do, to what level? Do you get sad when your characters get sad, and happy when your characters are happy? Are you more attached to certain characters in your story than others?

How about when reading a story? Of course the story has to be well written, but how well written does it have to be? How easily attached to characters are you?

Just some questions to get that brain thinking. Discuss.

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For me, I always look for connections between the characters and myself, directly or indirectly. When it comes to me writing my own stories, I base my main characters off of myself, and then sculpt their friends/families/rivals by using mannerisms from people I know. So for me, I get connected to any of my characters that much more easily, because in a way, they are a part of me. Even the ones that I don't base off of me or people I know, I just feel connected to them in some way.

Sometimes my entire chapters will be focused around a particular mood I'm in, whether it be lonely, hopeless, jolly, joyful, etcetera.

The same principle can be said about characters from other peoples stories. I try to connect with them on a personal level. Let's use Harry Potter as a reference, I can connect on a personal level with Hagrid. No, I'm not bred between a giant and a wizard, but I am generally the tallest person in my immediate area, and at one point in my life was completely and utterly shunned for no apparent reason.

But when I am recognized, much like the jolly giant hybrid, I am generally one of the most kind-hearted individuals and most loyal to my friends.

In short, it's always about the connections I share with a character, based on my personal experiences or attitudes, that bonds me to characters.

For the many years I have been writing, I have gone through character after character, and really have tossed some in the trash as soon as they are created even in my head, not on paper.
I have about 2 characters that I really care about in this time-
Ronan Cobale-
A young smart man who has been cursed with a disease that though harmless, and more so helpful, changes his appearance and voice so much that people with the disease are almost as judged and misunderstood as African Americans in slave times.
23 (Kyle Livener)-
Part of a religious group called The Believers, who as stated, believe in a great second coming. But not of Christ or any other messiah, but the second coming of the big bang. A powerful force thought of for centuries by The Believers, but just now in the present has come to be true.

To develop a character, you have to KNOW that person. BE that person. And basically BELIEVE that your character is someone real.

It really does depend for me. Usually, the more I develop a character, the more I grow attached to them. However, this is not always the case; sometimes, I can spend hours, days, even upwards of weeks working on a character without really getting attached to then. I tried to figure out if it was because of something, say.. they weren't like me, so there was nothing to relate to, or perhaps they were a crappy person, or I just wasn't into their design as a whole. Yet none of these really proved to be true. It could be literally any type of character - it seemed to be totally random.

So I'm still trying to figure that whole thing out.

And as for other people's written works, it's based simply on whether or not I like the characters and/or story. If I am really into it, then I usually do feel for them; when they're happy, I find myself smiling softly to myself. When they're sad, I feel sympathy for them. When they're angry, I can usually understand their anger and empathize with them. etc etc.

When writing, I tend to get more attached to some characters. For example, in my current story, I'm more attached to Seth than Garland, but more attached to Garland than Irene (who a friend suggested I add). It's most likely because I can identify the most with Seth because we both have trouble understanding others and being understood in return.

When reading, I identify with characters who are kindhearted and sensitive, or who have dealt with the issues I've dealt with. Characters who are evil for no reason bother me.

I get attached to them. It's hard not to. The way I think of it, is that these characters are a part of the writer. The writers are the ones that bring them alive on paper and to the eyes of the readers. (I guess it's why I love acting too...)

I can't really get into a story if there's not that one character I can really love. Same for writing, but in that sense, I'm usually attached to all my characters in some way (of course, some more than others).
I don't really try to connect emotionally with characters; it just happens.

Very often do I find myself attached to the characters in my writing. In most cases, it's because I just like being able to write about them and their affairs; or rather, I enjoy writing with their personality, if that makes any sense. It's difficult for me to write about a character if I can't get into them--because otherwise, I don't feel the same sort of 'connection' that I would to a character that I'm attached to.