Open Thread: Oracle Hotline

[mithen]

--Which characters in your current WiP get along worst?

Haha, oh, probably the two sets of people currently pitted against each other in gladiatorial combat. :) This kind of question is almost always hard for me because my stories tend to be extremely tightly focused on the two main leads, and secondary characters don't tend to get a lot of development, so the leads are the characters that both get along the best and the worst, often at the same time. Which is a decent supplementary question: how big do your casts tend to be in your stories?

Comments

[me_ya_ri]

Huh, that's an interesting question. Because both of the main characters in my current novel are mentally ill. The people they interact with the the worst is themselves. Sabah has infinite patience with his many fans (he's a famous travel writer, doing guide books on day trips in Tokyo). He has none for himself and his depression. Ken is endlessly patient with his friends and Sabah but finds himself ridiculous, stupidly jealous of Sabah's fame and outright has to remind himself to be kind to himself despite knowing he has PTSD, OCD and major anxiety.

The supporting characters all help and are great to each other and to Sabah and Ken. It's really internal conflict where the worst behavior gets going. Fun but tough to write!

XD For your guys, yeah, this is a tough question, too! I mean, which is real conflict and which is scripted? ;)

Hmm, on the second one, I tend to try to keep it under six characters that I have repeated focus on in a novel. The main characters, maybe four supporting and that's mostly it. I will try to flesh out side characters while they're in the spotlight but that's just to make the world fleshed out. I don't let them take over the story (anymore--that was a learned skill, there!)

Hope your writing goes well this week! :D

[mithen]

Because both of the main characters in my current novel are mentally ill. The people they interact with the the worst is themselves.

Oooooh, ouch. I like this answer a lot.

I will try to flesh out side characters while they're in the spotlight but that's just to make the world fleshed out. I don't let them take over the story (anymore--that was a learned skill, there!)

It's tough, isn't it, that balance between making sure the supporting characters aren't cardboard cutouts and that they don't get so much detail they take over the story... But it's a fun challenge, too!

[bradygirl_12]

Hmm, it's Lex and Clark versus some unseen monster in my current WIP, so there's a pretty definite line. :)

Most of my stories tend to focus on the leads if it's a short piece. In my longer pieces I definitely like the supporting cast to shine, and I do make the effort to make sure they don't take over the narrative, but sometimes they're a very important part of it.

I am still polishing my first pro novel currently in production (for myself, ha, ha) and am getting ideas for a second novel! So I am in a pretty good space for writing at the moment.

[mithen]

Most of my stories tend to focus on the leads if it's a short piece. In my longer pieces I definitely like the supporting cast to shine, and I do make the effort to make sure they don't take over the narrative, but sometimes they're a very important part of it.

It's a big strength of your writing, I think! You always write the minor characters with such affection as they weave in and out of the story...

[navaan]

In my current WIP? :P Ehm... The wrong Steve getting along with the wrong Tony? XD Multiverse. Always fun.

Hmmm, my stories also focus on my pairing/main leads too, but in my longer stories my cast has been evolving. I never quite managed it again as I did in my one Noir BB that ended up not having one of the leads for most of the story and focused on Tony and all kinds of side characters instead though. ^^

[mithen]

I never quite managed it again as I did in my one Noir BB that ended up not having one of the leads for most of the story and focused on Tony and all kinds of side characters instead though. ^^

I feel Noir as a genre will tend to do that, too! Side characters get really interesting in a Noir world...

[luciferxdamien]

Haha. All of my characters I write regularly, pretty much don't get along so well. xD I love couples that bicker! For the two that get along the absolute least? Thor and Loki. lol As much as Loki tries to kill Thor and as angry as Thor is at Loki for it... they don't completely despise each other. Then you've got Bruce and Clark and Bruce just loves to argue his point and browbeat those around him. Clark is very tolerant. Poor Clark. lol

Ah, for a larger cast, it's Saitou getting along with just about anyone. He's grumpy and very set in his ways. And he... really doesn't care about anyone else's opinion of him, so he just says whatever he feels like saying. Saitou of course takes special delight in poking fun at Sanosuke and watching him get wound up.

For cast size, I mostly stick with the two main characters, unless it's a longer story, then more characters get pulled in. But, even then, most of the support characters are there to further the main characters and the supports don't get much development or screen time. xD My largest cast is a fic that involves the Shinsengumi, so yeah, a lot of characters! As that story goes on, however, there are less and less until Saitou is... kinda left on his own from the original cast. Lots of character changes as it goes from a fairly large set of characters down to mostly 3 in the final arc.

Writing has happened. Some days have been better than others and I'm looking forward to a break from writing as I am very, very brain tired. That being said, I decided to take a pinch hit for an exchange anyway and jump back into a... really depressing series. But! It was an idea I already had earlier this year so, at least I get to work on that now?

[mithen]

Some days have been better than others and I'm looking forward to a break from writing as I am very, very brain tired. That being said, I decided to take a pinch hit for an exchange anyway and jump back into a... really depressing series.

It's weird, but I often find writing really depressing stuff oddly relaxing. I don't know why that is! Something about indulging in imagining the worst...