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!