Tuesday, February 21, 2017

why my fictional characters are doomed to failure

I don't remember when, but since childhood I guess I've liked to make up stories. I've been reading cheap-story novels (as in shallow lovey-doveys) for a long time (although now I've committed my sins and slowly turn into heavier materials, as in literature -see my rant upon trying to understand it here) and the girl main characters (usually I read the girls ones) usually inspire me. Some novels made me want to jump into the stories, and I even sort of try being in the character as I live reality (and I failed hard, surely, as these novels are very unrealistic).

Post finishing a novel or watched a great romantic movie, I would start making up fictional character (I usually start with a girl) and draw its 'perfectly imperfect' life. But I could never finish any of my draft (just some silly paragraphs, to say it right). None other because 1) As a writer, you're supposed to torture your characters, and I create my characters too perfectly that nothing could harm their well-beings, 2) I could not bear the fact that my character has a huge flaw. Then I realized, I didn't create these characters I type, backspace, then delete for good in order to tell a story. 

For all these years I've been creating [female] characters as a manifestation of people I wish to become. I didn't create them too perfectly, as in popular, angelic, smart, well-mannered, have many adored talents, plays piano, sporty, and all sorts in one person; that is I know for sure is nearly impossible even in novels. I tend to create a physically pretty (not out-of-the-world beautiful or superstar charismatic, just fond and charming), smart, and confident females. They are busy bees, have a great social life, and financially well off (not heiresses). You know, that girl in high school who's adored by many boys, surprisingly very nice, and excels both academically and non-academically. To top it off, she reads some interesting books (not cheap romances). Even girls would fall for her. 

That's the girl I always wanted to be. and so far I've been creating fictional characters, in a hope that it would inspire me to make myself be one, but... no, I just watch or read something new, wipe the old fictional role model, then create a new one; a new goal

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Maira Gall