The SolAARium: Discuss the craft of writing - Alphabetical Index in the 1st Post

[coz1]

My moderating days are over (Thank You, Blessed Christ!) but I'd just say that it is a wonderful thing to see this thread rejuvenated. And in doing so at this late date, there will be a new mix of figures to interact. It is wonderful (nirvana to me) seeing such excellent members pop back up after some long time of absence in AARland. It is also wonderful to see new folks engage. We can all play in this playground and I agree, it is a play ground. The only thing I would interject about it being a lonely process is that it is not. Experimental, yes. But not alone. Let us speak on the craft because that is what educates me and has for some time. I believe it is beneficial to any aspiring writAAR.

And yes, @filcat, you should have left your post to speak for itself.

 

[Rensslaer]

All right. I didn't catch it and no one else did apparently. And I still wouldn't have caught it except that @Lord Durham hinted elsewhere.

But Lord Durham's entire classroom post on p. 43 had ironically NO dialogue tags!

The whole conversation in the classroom we knew who was speaking because the dialogue told us who was speaking. It's brilliant!

As for Easter eggs, I know one of them is the teacher calling for Buehler (a line made famous in the movie Ferris Buehler's Day Off. Not sure about the other Easter egg.

Rensslaer

 

[coz1]

I must confess I did not see that on first (or second) blush either, Renss. It is made seamless likely because our good professor York addresses who is to speak next. I neat way to get around the issue.

 

[Lord Durham]

It's All About Character

Having recently read @coz1's The War of the Roses, and the fact his character King Henry was honoured in the Best Character Writer of the Week thread, I thought it would be a good time to revisit an early SolAARium discussion (like 20+ years ago) about, you guessed it: Character Creation.

The War of the Roses is an intriguing AAR featuring several memorable personages. What makes them so memorable is their uniqueness. Each is distinct when it comes to personality; their loves, desires, ambitions, hate, loyalty, motivations, duplicitousness and so many other traits that a Thesaurus would be in order, an act guaranteed to bring @Secret Master storming through the door waving his arms and shouting "No! No! Stop it! Stop it right now! We'll have none of that here!" .

As mentioned, the topic of character creation was discussed in great detail in the early days of the SolAARium (and I mean in great detail). However, I thought it worthwhile to ask the current collection of AAR writers how far they go about creating characters for their particular tales.

Note this isn't just geared toward those writing narratives, as characters can be used in history book and game play AARs, too.

Here are some thoughts to get started, though it's by no means a complete list:

• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?

• Do you use a character sheet?

• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?

• Do your characters drive the story?

• Or does the story drive the character?

• Does the AAR length influence the amount of narrative detail you go into (i.e. AARs that last a few years vs 350+)?

• How much research do you undertake when writing a historical personage, if any?

• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?

• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?

• Do you serialize your posts? (i.e. end with a cliffhanger?)

• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)

There's more discussion on the topic if you go to the index on the first post of this thread. You'll see just how active the SolAARium was in the early days. There's also a Character Sheet I put together for those interested.

Feel free to post your thoughts on any or all of these points, or please add your own. I'm curious how you all approach your AARs.

If this gains any traction, well, there's a whole slew of topics that can be introduced or revisited.

 

[Secret Master]

• Do you use a character sheet?

I'm actually looking forward to this answer.

20 years ago when we were first discussing these things, there weren't some tools available that we have now for writing. There are entire software packages designed around creating fictional worlds. I wonder if anyone uses that stuff.

 

[coz1]

Quite a compliment on my characters to prompt/revisit this topic. And I must say that much of what I have done/used/created was very much influenced by what was learned when this topic first came up (and subsequent discussions since.)

• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?

A little bit of both. I would say that I began WOTR with a number of them planned and some gained more traction than others. And I picked up a few on the way to add to the mix. Of course, they tend to get drowned out by the main RL characters.

• Do you use a character sheet?

I have note cards for each one of my characters, so yes. In fact I do so directly from the advice given earlier in this thread.

• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?

I would say slowly in many ways. One of the more intriguing things to me is having characters that were children/young and as they grew, character traits were added/learned. It's kind of fun. Some of it is planned bu some came about rather organically as I allowed them to be, well...them.

• Do your characters drive the story?

• Or does the story drive the character?

A little bit of both. As I am writing about several real life events, the story makes characters end in a certain place/circumstance. Yet as it is a fictional version, I have had a great deal of fun taking off in new directions with certain characters that changed the story in a lot of ways.

• Does the AAR length influence the amount of narrative detail you go into (i.e. AARs that last a few years vs 350+)?

I have no idea what the AAR length should be. The AAR tells me.

• How much research do you undertake when writing a historical personage, if any?

By the time that I finally started WOTR, I had already read 4 or 5 books on it as well as many other articles or parts of other books. I have since read more. Each time, it changes a little bit how I approach each of the characters. I do indeed research much more before I hit a certain section or bring in a new character if they have a RL version. I think one of the more interesting moments arrived with Edward and something I read that changed what I had planned for him when I started. I believe it changed the story for the better. Every little tidbit can birth an entire new idea or path not yet considered.

• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?

This was a tricky one for me. Being an historical story, there are a number of events that were preordained and known ahead of time by many of the readers. It was how I approached them that allowed, I think, for the enjoyment of it. Yet I always planned to slowly change things up as the story goes to match somewhat the game I was playing alongside it. How best would these changes be represented or even believed in the world that is already known? It has to hold verisimilitude so once I know what is coming up, be it historical or completely made up, I do plan it out at least in my mind and then let the writing get me there.

I'd also say that I set benchmarks. I know I have a beginning and an end and so I outline with goal posts littered throughout. It is between those benchmarks that I have some fun writing on the fly.

• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?

See above on Edward, certainly. I would say the same for Exeter as well. And in a lot of ways, I'd say I rather let Richard and Henry tell me what they are thinking rather than forcing them to think what I want them to think.

• Do you serialize your posts? (i.e. end with a cliffhanger?)

Certainly not on par with the great @Storey, but I do sometimes. I definitely do try to hit the "big moment" points in the story and put a lot of emphasis and lead up to them.

• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)

Third person, but while I try to write each scene with a particular POV, I have a very bad habit into falling away from that midpoint.


It's a good discussion always and as I mention, much of what I am capable of today was learned within these hallowed halls and by the writAARs that posted here.

 

[Lord Durham]

I'm actually looking forward to this answer.

20 years ago when we were first discussing these things, there weren't some tools available that we have now for writing. There are entire software packages designed around creating fictional worlds. I wonder if anyone uses that stuff.

Things sure have come a long way. Several writers I know like using Scrivener when it comes to plotting their novel, screenplay, academic paper, what have you, though there's quite a few other programs like this on the market. Campfirewriting.com has a great set of World Building Tools, for those into crafting fictional worlds.

Thanks for those great answers, @coz1. I actually didn't expect answers bullet point by bullet point, but bonus!

It would be great to hear from other authAARs. Maybe get the word out. I know from past experience stickied threads tend to be ignored.

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, I'll give it a shot.

It's All About Character
• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?

Most of my characters exist in the game. Actually, the only two times where my characters didn't exist in the game were when I was doing background (for an AAR that never reached the game portion) and when I was concealing blatant cheating.

• Do you use a character sheet?

I have character sheets, but they really don't say much, and I barely reference them.

• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?

I prefer to allow my character's actions and thoughts to speak for them (*cough, cough* Count Herbert's massive arrogance *cough, cough*). Dialogue is also a useful tool for this, which is why my history book AARs tend to have less character than my narrative ones.

• Do your characters drive the story?

• Or does the story drive the character?

Are we talking narrative or history book here? In my narratives, my characters typically drive my stories, but I do sometimes plan out events that must happen. In that case, the story drives the characters to their inevitable destination... but that destination is typically one that their actions brought upon them in some way.

My history book AARs, by contrast, don't really have deliberate characterization. In those AARs, my characters exist to help convey events. Of course, I prefer roleplaying, so those events are (to some extent) influenced by characters (especially rulers). There was at least one tone shift caused by an unexpected death in Epirus Ascendant.

• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?

I use a combination. I prefer to play ahead, and I occasionally have vague outlines for my AARs. That ensures that I do plan for some events. The specifics are written on the fly, though, and they're most of the work.

• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?

I don't think that my characters have forced changes to the narrative, but I have grown enamored of my characters and schemed to write more about them twice. Both times, they appeared in a game that was part of a history book AAR that I was writing. Both times, I wanted to give them a narrative...

The first time this happened was back in Rise of the Romano-Mongols (in EU4). I was playing a game where I was roleplaying my ruler as ambitious... and then I got that event where the ruler goes mad. Also, my realm was suffering from a bunch of rebellions. I realized that I now had a ruler that was ambitious and insane simultaneously... He died, and his (competent) heir ascended the throne. He now had a realm about to collapse, so I had him attempt to salvage the situation. That failed, but I still liked the character. The mad ruler was Dristar, and his heir was Alp. That game was the origin of When The Night Gets Dark because I wanted to write from the POV of a mad emperor that much... and I wanted to write from the POV of his doomed heir.

The second time was when I was playing Imperator for Epirus Ascendant. First, my ruler got bad omens from the Delphic Oracle. Then, a character revolted against me and forced a civil war. I won the resultant conflict, and the event became important for that AAR's future. Even so, I thought that I liked the series of events that led to that revolt and imagined what brought my foe to that point. Eventually, I realized that I could write a good tragedy (complete with a character whose flaw -- whose pride -- brought about his downfall and interference from the Oracle at Delphi) on that sequence of events. I still want to write that AAR (The Tragedy of Olympiodorus Karsid), but we'll see if I have time for it.

• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)

I prefer third person.

 

[Lord Durham]

Well, I'll give it a shot.


I don't think that my characters have forced changes to the narrative, but I have grown enamored of my characters and schemed to write more about them twice. Both times, they appeared in a game that was part of a history book AAR that I was writing. Both times, I wanted to give them a narrative...

The first time this happened was back in Rise of the Romano-Mongols (in EU4). I was playing a game where I was roleplaying my ruler as ambitious... and then I got that event where the ruler goes mad. Also, my realm was suffering from a bunch of rebellions. I realized that I now had a ruler that was ambitious and insane simultaneously... He died, and his (competent) heir ascended the throne. He now had a realm about to collapse, so I had him attempt to salvage the situation. That failed, but I still liked the character. The mad ruler was Dristar, and his heir was Alp. That game was the origin of When The Night Gets Dark because I wanted to write from the POV of a mad emperor that much... and I wanted to write from the POV of his doomed heir.

The second time was when I was playing Imperator for Epirus Ascendant. First, my ruler got bad omens from the Delphic Oracle. Then, a character revolted against me and forced a civil war. I won the resultant conflict, and the event became important for that AAR's future. Even so, I thought that I liked the series of events that led to that revolt and imagined what brought my foe to that point. Eventually, I realized that I could write a good tragedy (complete with a character whose flaw -- whose pride -- brought about his downfall and interference from the Oracle at Delphi) on that sequence of events. I still want to write that AAR (The Tragedy of Olympiodorus Karsid), but we'll see if I have time for it.

Great answers, @HistoryDude. Appreciate it. I'm reading through your Rise of the Romano-Mongols AAR and finding it quite similar to my very first AAR about the Papacy. Becoming enamoured with certain characters to the point of revisiting them with a dedicated narrative AAR is a nice touch. That's one thing I've always enjoyed about EU and other Paradox games. It's those little events that make you want to explore, in greater detail, what makes these characters you created so interesting.

Spin-offs could be a topic worth discussing at some future point.

 

[Lord Durham]

I have no idea what the AAR length should be. The AAR tells me.

So The War of the Roses could last until 2077?

That's an interesting answer. I'm not sure I could do that. Personally I would play a game and then look for an interesting event or two to expand on.

By the time that I finally started WOTR, I had already read 4 or 5 books on it as well as many other articles or parts of other books. I have since read more. Each time, it changes a little bit how I approach each of the characters. I do indeed research much more before I hit a certain section or bring in a new character if they have a RL version. I think one of the more interesting moments arrived with Edward and something I read that changed what I had planned for him when I started. I believe it changed the story for the better. Every little tidbit can birth an entire new idea or path not yet considered.

I hear you. MrT and I used to brag (in a oneupmanship kind of way) about how much resource material we were gathering for our respective AARs. Man, I miss him.

 

[coz1]

So The War of the Roses could last until 2077?

That's an interesting answer. I'm not sure I could do that. Personally I would play a game and then look for an interesting event or two to expand on.

I doubt seriously that I will last until 2077.

I know the end point. I just have no idea how long it will be before I get there.

 

[Secret Master]

I doubt seriously that I will last until 2077.

You never know:

• Do you use a character sheet?

I wanted to point out that a long time ago, I used them. But I stopped when I realized the number of characters I was writing did not justify that much ancillary paperwork. And when I was doing it, I was literally using character sheets photocopied from my old Cyberpunk 2020 rule book from the 90s. (Lifepath was great; I don't care what anyone else said about it.)

If I were to write something bigger today with a ton of characters, I'd use the more complicated world building software with character sheets and whatnot. Otherwise, my writing would end up like this:

 

[Rensslaer]

@Lord Durham, this is an interesting prompt!

Most of my reply will center upon Fire Warms the Northern Lands (Prussia in the Victoria era), but I'll sometimes talk about my writing outside of AARLand as well.


• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?

For me, they're planned out as needed. I think what all I need for a scene, and fill in the slots to make the scene engaging.


• Do you use a character sheet?

Not for my AARs. For my novel writing, I do sometimes, depending how important (and/or complicated) they are.


• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?

Always gradually, unless (like in Fire Warms the Northern Lands) they're just a throwaway character to create the scene. But if I have to put alot of description in, alot of it ends up disguised as dialogue, or gets spread out through the scene.


• Do your characters drive the story?

Well... (thinks)... In my AARs the story drives the characters, but the characters drive the AAR, if that makes any sense. I tend to role-play my characters who are leading the country. If they have an aptitude or predilection for something, that drives the behavior of the game-country in the AAR.


• Or does the story drive the character?

In my novel writing it's back and forth. It's like I'm crabwalking the two together to achieve the desired result.


• Does the AAR length influence the amount of narrative detail you go into (i.e. AARs that last a few years vs 350+)?

Well... I didn't have the slightest idea how long Fire Warms the Northern Lands would be. It started off being quick paced, then as the characters took on a life of their own I wrapped the AAR around them and took more time. The 2nd 30-year period was twice as much material as the previous 30 years, and it doubled again for the last 24 years.


• How much research do you undertake when writing a historical personage, if any?

In many cases I'll find as much information, or as many different sources to compare, as I can. I'm mostly looking for personality, temperament, ideology, trying to figure out who the person would do in changed circumstances of the alternate history. Most of my characters are a mishmash of the information I've found, but sometimes I find a divergent or interesting description that I run with because I think it'll be interesting.


• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?

Usually I'll rely on the game to provide the major events. But there are times when I want a particular outcome because it'll be more realistic. For instance in Fire Warms the Northern Lands I crafted an event (which worked partly, and I had to fudge the rest) that collapsed the Austro-Hungarian Empire into its constituent states once it had surrendered too much of its German lands to Prussia/Germany. And then I had several scenes focused on the aftermath of the monarchy's collapse.


• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?

Definitely! I included a character named Pietr Van Rensselaer in one scene of Fire Warms, thinking he would probably be a throwaway character to add flavor. But it turned out he was useful, and he kept showing up. Another character that took on a life of his own was the historical Louis Napoleon, who is a truly fascinating person. Those two -- Rensselaer and Louis Napoleon -- ended up twisting their storylines together in many of the most interesting plotlines of the story. And I suppose young Waldemar grew into much more than I expected. Often the readers took a liking to a particular character and so I would lean into them.


• Do you serialize your posts? (i.e. end with a cliffhanger?)

Some of my posts are wrapups where I tie together all the loose ends. But my cliffhangers were almost legendary, accompanied by many groans and complaints by my readers.


• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)

@stnylan is the only writAAR I've seen succeed with First Person. @jak7139 did a good job with 2nd person. My writing is all third person or... there's a term for "like a movie" where you describe the characters from afar but sometimes have an omniscient storyteller. My novel writing, so far, has been third person exclusively, but Fire Warms (and presumably my related novel project) was more like a movie where you could see what all the characters did, and sometimes what characters were thinking.


Rensslaer

 

[jak7139]

@jak7139 did a good job with 2nd person.

You know, I didn't know this part of the forum existed. So thank you @Rensslaer for tagging me. Honestly looks very interesting and I think I'll give @Lord Durham 's question a shot.

• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?

I think a mix of both? It depends on how you define "ahead of time". For the AAR's I've done, the non-historical characters were purposely created when the story was being drafted and the premise being developed. So, those characters were there from the story's beginning. But they were also spontaneous in that they were put in the story to fill a specific role. Only in the process of writing did these characters develop and become something more.

• Do you use a character sheet?

I like to keep notes on key character traits and personalities. But I've never tried having a stat sheet. I prefer to develop my characters as I write. The exception for this is probably anything CK-related, since all the characters have a list of stats built-in. It's helpful to have, but I don't really do it that often.

• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?

For more personality/skill-based traits I try to have characters do things that showcase their traits during the story. So if a character has knowledge on a subject, have that knowledge come in use later in the story for the character to do something. For what the character looks like, I tend to have a description right when they're introduced of what their appearance is. Although I am trying hard to break this habit and have the descriptions come up in more natural ways. Same with location descriptions.

• Do your characters drive the story?

Yes, definitely. For more gameplay-focused AAR's this might be less true, since they stick mostly to the player's decisions. However, even then the player could be role-playing certain traits of their country's ruler or doing some challenge-run that changes the way AAR unfolds.

• Does the AAR length influence the amount of narrative detail you go into (i.e. AARs that last a few years vs 350+)?

I think it's not really the length that matters, but more what story the author wants to tell. If they want to tell the epic struggles and schemes of a dynasty trying to gain power in medieval Europe, then the author can choose how much detail to go into: Is this something like a soap opera or Hamlet where we need to know about the characters personally? Or is this a historian going over the rise and fall of a dynasty, interspersed maybe with comments from their academic colleagues and students?

• How much research do you undertake when writing a historical personage, if any?

I did some research for Machinations of the Medici on the various historical characters, but nothing in-depth. Like, for Lorenzo, I just wanted a brief overview of what happened in his OTL reign to give a basis for the ATL version seen in the AAR. Some of the stuff was used (like Piero's gout) and some stuff was briefly mentioned but not really touched upon (like the Pazzi conspiracy). I also wanted a sense of everybody's age while Lorenzo was still alive, just to see if Cosimo living that long was possible. I decided it was not, so added in the temporary immortality serum as a solution to explain that.

• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?

I mostly write on the fly, but have a rough outline for how I want the story to begin and end. Everything that happens between those two points, besides certain key moments included in the outline, is caused mostly by the characters doing things to get to that point.

• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?

This has happened for both my narrative AAR's. Vulkov, from Boris and Brian, was initially a one-off joke character. But seeing as he was a member of Tsar Boris' cabinet, I kept him around for the various council meeting scenes. Eventually, he went off on campaign with Hadzipetkov, which is where he transformed from a side character to one of the main cast. The Hadzipetkov/Vulkov scenes really fleshed both their characters out and were a nice foil in contrast to the titular duo. Then Vulkov played a very key role in the finale.

For Machinations of the Medici, Lorenzo was just supposed to stay in his armchair and recount the downfall of Florence and his family to the protagonist. Aldo would've come in from time to time and added some snippet, but that was it. But Lorenzo's guilt and depression caused him to leap up from that armchair and drag the protag out into the catacombs. Once that happened, I had to change a lot of what had been written and where I had wanted the story to go. But I think this AAR is better for it.

• Do you serialize your posts? (i.e. end with a cliffhanger?)

For AAR's, I try to keep my posts at less than 1000 words. That means cutting up the chapters into chunks so the reader doesn't get burnt out. But being cut up in this way does lead to unintentional cliffhangers as I try to find a good spot to end each post.

• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)

I prefer first or third person since they are easiest to write in. TPO is also fine, but I like leaving the audience in suspense and with the same information the characters have. Second person is the hardest to write, which is why I'm surprised I did a whole AAR that way. While writing it, I kept accidentally switching between past and present tense and had to go back and revise.

 

[Lord Durham]

These are great answers, @Rensslaer and @jak7139. Very thoughtful and concise. There's lots to digest, but one thing standing out are the characters who forced the narrative to change to some degree or another. That seems like a common trend.

Hopefully we can get more responses.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?

Both.

• Do you use a character sheet?

Sometimes. It depends on how well I recall them.

• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?

Unsure.

• Do your characters drive the story?

It really depends on the character. Some are more laid back, some are pushy...

I very much follow "throw a situation at the character and see what happens" approach, as I've found I don't really know the character until I start writing them.

• Or does the story drive the character?

As above.

• Does the AAR length influence the amount of narrative detail you go into (i.e. AARs that last a few years vs 350+)?

Definitely.

• How much research do you undertake when writing a historical personage, if any?

The game of writing fiiction has the reader win by spotting mistakes and the writer win by not making them. Good research is therefore essential for contexts where mistakes are easy.

• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?

Both. Life2.0 for example, is scripted in that I have an outline and even the fates of some characters planned. But on the whole it's written on the fly with emergent narrative as the characters interact with the world.

• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?

It's easier to list the characters who stayed on script. That's all part of the fun of writing though.

• Do you serialize your posts? (i.e. end with a cliffhanger?)

I do do sequential pieces. But cliffhangers... No, not really as my perception is that I'm pretty terrible at them.

• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)

First or third person. I think I'm better at the first though.

 

[Macavity116]

Hello all. I'm Macavity116, longtime lurker, first time poster on this particular thread.

I felt sufficiently motivated to take a crack at LD's Character discussion after an unexpected Character Writer of the Week nomination, so here we are.

Full disclaimer: I've said time and again in my Stellaris Stories, I have no expectations for my works. I'm just out to tell a story and have fun along the way. I do not, never have, and never will claim to be good or skilled at this whole writing thing.

I thought it worthwhile to ask the current collection of AAR writers how far they go about creating characters for their particular tales.

• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?
First question, already hard to answer. After 14 AARs on this site, only one historical character has ever played a major role in my stories: Russian politician Irina Khakamada. She was quietly removed from the story and replaced by an original character due to real-life events changing the way I thought about her.

Out of approximately 500 named characters across all of my stories, (yes, seriously) roughly 450 are my own creations, while the rest were borrowed from the video games I borrowed story elements from.

Typically, I create the majority of named characters before I start writing, making up only minor characters on the fly as needed. It should be noted that the now-concluded Stormbreaker Universe is greatly inflating the number of premade characters, owing to the fact that the majority of the cast (Almost 375 characters) was created between 2005 and 2011.


• Do you use a character sheet?
For me, character sheets are only reserved for main protagonists, and the formatting of said sheets will change depending on the story. I have shared a grand total of four (4) character sheets on the forums. Readers can see the official character sheets for Cali D'Kara and Moka J'Bassim in Year of Hell, while character sheets for Trig Shepminter and Tenna Annora are visible in Song of the Solitaire. Sharing character sheets has become a new habit for me and will likely continue in my newest story, The Broken Gates.


• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?
A little of both, with the exact balance shifting depending on which of my stories you're looking at. My recent stories relied on Info Dumps, as did The Stormbreakers. (Although the info dump for that story was placed in a different thread entirely) Plot relevant details about character traits are always hidden from info dumps and public-facing character sheets.


• Do your characters drive the story? Or does the story drive the character?
To say my characters drive the story is a vast understatement. I do lay out a plan for the overall plot and set goals for the characters to achieve, but I am very much the type of author who allows his characters to "run amok as though they've got free will."


• Does the AAR length influence the amount of narrative detail you go into (i.e. AARs that last a few years vs 350+)?
Well, yes... but not in the sense you've suggested in the question. All but two of my stories cover a period of time lasting less than one year. In terms of time covered from start to finish, my longest AAR is After Everything, which runs a total of 2 years and 6 months in-game.

Over the past four years, I have been slowly imposing limits on how long my stories can be, this includes a self-imposed cap on how many words a single chapter can contain. I've been doing this because of a steady stream of complaints regarding how long my first three AARs became. As my stories get shorter, I've had to change the way my characters are depicted in order to get the same level of information across.


• How much research do you undertake when writing a historical personage, if any?
As mentioned above, only one historical personage has ever appeared in my stories. However, I do engage in utterly massive levels of research to create my stories. Nearly every battle, war, and military action in my stories is loosely inspired by a real-life counterpart.


• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?
Again, this one is a little of both. All of my stories are planned out far in advance. The stories comprising the Stormbreaker Universe were first laid down in the Obama years, while the more recent stories get about six to seven months "in the oven" before they are brought to the Forums. Song of the Solitaire, my most recent completed story, was in preparation for almost seven months before the first post.

However, my planning usually consists of the inciting event, climax, and ending. The exact path between those three is never set in stone and I do allow myself to modify the "route" as the story progresses.


• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?
How much time do you have?

No. Seriously.

This exact scenario has occurred thrice. Once by popular demand, and twice more as part of an ongoing story I am currently writing.

Akira Jaqueline Robinson was the central villain of the Stormbreaker Universe. I created her in the early 2010's. (sometime around 2012-2015) When I adapted her story into the AARs that make up the Stormbreaker Universe, Akira gained unexpected popularity. People enjoyed the time travelling supervillain and wanted to see more of her, so I obliged, going as far as to write an origin story just for her using scraps of a story my sister and I made up when we were middle schoolers.

But Akira's story pales in comparison to the story I am currently writing. I have fallen in love with the concept of metafiction. Breaking the fourth wall, becoming aware of the audience and the writer, things like that. Stellaris gave me the opportunity to explore this concept even further. In-game, there is an Easter Egg which involves an alien race discovering the fact that they are, in fact, living in the simulated reality of a video game. I took this little story nugget and created The Great Lie, which is an alternate ending to Year of Hell - a Stellaris War Story. During the events of The Great Lie, lead protagonist Cali D'Kara discovers that she is, in fact, a fictional character in a story and smashes through the Fourth Wall to confront me directly.

My current story, The Broken Gates, is a direct follow-up to The Great Lie and represents my ultimate experiment with the concept of "allowing characters to run amok as though they've got free will."


• Do you serialize your posts? (i.e. end with a cliffhanger?)
Not as badly as I used to. Back in the days of Faith in Chaos, nearly every chapter ended with a cliffhangar. I was briefly infamous for this in Stellaris AARLand.

In the current day, I use cliffhangers more sparingly. Just one week ago, I did the unthinkable and ended a whole AAR on a cliffhanger, something I've never attempted before. Song of the Solitaire's ending leads directly into The Broken Gates. The jury is still out on whether or not this was a good idea.


• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)
In the past, I've used First Person, Third Person, and Third Person omniscient. The Stormbreakers actually switches back and forth between first and third person multiple times throughout the story, owing to the presence of multiple POV protagonists. In general, I do prefer using Third Person.

While writing this, I did wonder if there was a connection between my preference for third person and my preference for writing female protagonists... but on closer inspection, I don't think there is one. One of my female leads, Mira Mihaka, has been written in both first and third person, and both were equally fun to write.





And that is... in so many words, my own thoughts and experiences with character writing. Thank you all for listening.

 

[Lord Durham]

Thanks for the detailed answers, @CBR JGWRR and @Macavity116. I appreciate you both taking the time. The trend of having characters take on a life of their own continues .

It's fascinating how everyone approaches their AAR. Planning events vs. writing 'on the fly' both have their proponents. The tendency to mix the two also appears to be a common theme. Does it come down to circumstances, or maybe approach, and does it tend to happen more often in first person vs. third? Arguments could be made for both.

Thanks again.

Anyone else?

 

[Lord Durham]

I want to point out this is not a closed shop. I encourage anyone to comment and/or debate these results. Add your own thoughts. That's what the SolAARium is all about. Participation.

 

[El Pip]

Obviously I realise that the SolAARium is really all about narrative writers getting together to get all literary about their work, so before someone starts mentioning post-structuralism and new historicism I feel it is vital I drag the tone down by talking about characters in comedy AARs.

Note this isn't just geared toward those writing narratives, as characters can be used in history book and game play AARs, too

I realise categories aren't that strict and that works can span multiple types, but characters in a gameplay AAR does seem a very recherché choice. I'd be interested how that works out in practice, I feel one or other side would fall away because they are quite different. I suppose you could alternate? Character scene to make decisions and then some gameplay, that could be interesting.

Here are some thoughts to get started, though it's by no means a complete list:

• Do you plot non-historical characters ahead of time? Or create them on the fly?

Almost always on the fly. They are generally just one note characters that exist to set up a gag or, if absolutely unavoidable, advance the plot.

• Do you use a character sheet?

Sort of? For the main characters there are notes of things that could be funny later, jokes that I can see the shape of but can't get the words right. Or fully formed lines waiting for the right moment.

But the strokes of the characters are broad enough that there's not too much to remember so I don't need detailed sheets for them.

• Do you introduce character traits slowly, or all at once (less is more vs. info dump)?

Info dump normally, because Paradox "historical" characters are normally so stupidly divergent from reality that you can play it for laughs. The Omani Cabinet of Corpses springs to mind, as does the Hot Shots/Dad's Army cross-over in Nepal.

• Do your characters drive the story?
• Or does the story drive the character?

The jokes drives the story. Or more precisely the story is a vehicle for the jokes, which I think is a subtle but important difference. Fo me the story isn't really important, it's how you set up the next set piece or run of gags. If you dial it down you drift into a comedic narrative, which I think is a different beast from a pure comedy AAR.

But to address the question on it's terms, I would say it is the story driving the characters. How they react to strange outside events is a rich vein to mine, so I don't want to give them much control of events or ability to actually change things. For that reason I think comedy with a large and powerful nation is slightly harder, the characters can influence events and indeed the broader story. Which opens up more opportunities but also closes some down, while providing the distraction of those broader events.

• Does the AAR length influence the amount of narrative detail you go into (i.e. AARs that last a few years vs 350+)?

I've not personally done a centuries long work but I'd assume it would have to. I think of @phargle and Knud Knytling. It was a string of separate tales (as he termed it), all connected and references/call-backs were used, but each had it's own style. Just to maintain authorial interest I think you have to mix things up, which probably would entail a change in the level of detail.

• How much research do you undertake when writing a historical personage, if any?

Much more than ever appears of screen. For the 'poking fun at Paradox research' jokes it's enough to know what someone's actual job/politics/if they were alive, but that can also be useful for other things. An air force general looking at non-existent air force does not go far, an air force general who was scared of flying/died years earlier in a plane crash/was actually a peanut farmer, that has more potential.

On the other side, I don't really look at personality of the personage, they are going to do what the jokes require. A very well known person will follow the popular image of their personality, or an exagerated version or the complete opposite if that is funnier. But an obscure character who most readers aren't going to know, they get what suits the jokes. That said I do try and make them consistent after that, if the chief scientist had a trait in one scene he will generally keep it, if only because it makes later scenes easier as part of any joke is already set up.

• Do you plan or script the events ahead of crafting your AAR, or write it 'on the fly'?

Lines, gags and stupid scenes are planned ahead of time and there is a base narrative plotted out pulled from the game. But the nerves of the scene, the bits that connect up the set piecs and lines and generally move things along, that's all on the fly.

• Have any of your characters taken on a life of their own and forced unforeseen changes to the narrative?

A couple of charcters have grown on me more than I expected, the carpet loving Gejaz Fritz from Slovakia ended up being a much larger character than I thought. There was always a good line he could have and he could flip between voice-of-reason and part-of-the-madhouse as required without it breaking character.

• Do you serialize your posts? (i.e. end with a cliffhanger?)

Not really, making too much of the plot would just be a distaction from the main purpose of the work. That and when the work is called Inevitable Defeat there is not much room to work in high stakes cliffhangers.

• Do you prefer First Person (I, me, my), Second Person (you, your), Third Person (he/she, his/her) or Third Person Omniscient (same as TP but with full knowledge of events)

Third Person I think, might occasionally slip into TPO for some of the captions. FP works well for the individual character telling you their mad story, probably not directly telling jokes but relaying scenes and setpieices which are funny. Seems a tad limiting though I've also seen it done well. Not quite sure how Second Person would work here, though I'd be interested to see an example.