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Help With An Original Character


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some readers of my original fiction 'Solstice' have been asking about a character of mine 'Draven'. The problem is, I don't really have any answers. I started to write Solstice for nanowrimo and he wasn't even going to exist (he's the antagonist). Really, I don't know what Draven is all about and I need a little help for some character soul searching.

Name of character: Draven Santiago

Race of character: Portuguese

Age of character: unknown (he's a supernatural character, and he deserves some mystery, we just know that he looks young and he has a younger, forty something year old brother who is human and a human mother)

Height of character: 6 4

Weight of character: Don't know, he's thin, but strong, not bulky, but not scrawny either

Brief background of character: Draven is the older brother of my main character, Inigo's father. No one knows what he does for a living, but he is clearly evil. Crows follow him wherever he goes and he makes other people go insane. He is interested in Inigo because he realizes that he is not quite human either, though why this is significant will be explained later in the story.

Character's position or job: we don't know. Currently he seems to be trying to find werewolves, but why will not be discovered until a little later on

Strengths/Skills: Evil and insanity follows him like pus in an open wound. He can find people like a bloodhound and is unusually strong. As it will be discovered later in the story, he can control the dead.

Are these skills typical of the fandom? If not, why?: It's an original fiction, but it is based in the horror genre. Draven has something to do with crows, which folklore says are connected with the dead.

Weaknesses/Bad habits: Draven is arrogant about his power. He considers himself a sort of demi god and counts on people respecting and fearing him, so when someone stands up to him, he gets angry. He submits very little effort to control his power, so a lot of people are infected unnecessarily and he has delusions (but are they really delusions?) of grandeur.

Distinctive features, if any: He has black eyes that reflect neither images nor light, no smell, and a flat voice that has no accent. At touch, he instills a strange terror and when Inigo touches his hand for the first time, he cannot breathe. Draven is very tall with pale skin, which is startling because he was born in Brazil.

Are these features unique in the fandom? If so, why?: Because of Draven's connection to crows, I chose him to have black hair and eyes. I wanted to show that he is unique by not having anything in common with his darker skinned, brown haired relatives. I also wanted to show that there is something unsettling about him, hence his non reflective eyes. There is something clearly wrong with that, but it is not clear.

Connections to canon characters (if any): It's an original fiction

How does your character get on with those around him/her?: He is a seperate entity. He seems to control his brother and mother, or at least they look up to him enough that they would never go against him. He treats Inigo like a very important tool and he hates Inigo's mother, because though she is afraid of him, she will do anything to protect her child and does not trust Draven. Draven seems to have total contempt for humans and views them as weak playthings.

What does the other characters think of your character when they met her/him?: Inigo is terrified and sickened by him, though he doesn't know why. When people are around him, they eventually go insane, though werewolves and other creatures are more immune to it than humans. Inigo notices that when he looks into Draven's eyes, it feels like he is dying and that his insides are trying to crawl out of him.

Someone asked me what Draven is; a demon, a god, a spirit, and I really don't know, I just know he is evil and that my cousin refers to him as 'H.P. Lovecraft's evil twin.' While he is evil, it is more a classic evil than a comic book evil. He isn't evil just because he can be, he does have a reason, and he isn't about to be telling the heroes his plans and give them time to escape. He's more of the type to sneak up behind you and slit your throat than gloat about victory, he has more important things to do.

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Hi Shini:

I don't think (honestly) that anyone can tell you what YOUR character that you created is. You know? As to "does this follow the fandom", the fandom of what? It's an original story, so what world you write and create is your world, you know?

Everyones characters will be different because they created them, if you are not sure what your character is, then perhaps as your write the story more, it will be revealed to you as an author.

What I mean is, I have occasionally just had in my mind something along the lines of this dialog..

"OK, character A has this physical description or traits, this is his purpose in my story" but I may not have him fleshed out. As I write more of the story, more details or ideas may come to me...

"Character A thinks this way because of what happened to him or her during their childhood, or who their parents are, or someone summoned them or whatever..."

But I honestly don't think someone can tell you what your characters are because we did not create them.

If a character is NOT working for you, driving you nuts and not going anywhere...Make some changes and see what happens. I and other authors have done this before as well...

"Character A, just isn't fitting in here, lets change his/her physical appearence or try this.."

Occasionally I've "axed" a character, done away with them completely and written a new one in, because the story is going nowhere. The nice thing about writing "Original stories" is you are God of your world and characters. You set the parameters, you can determine what they can or cannot do. Sometimes, they (the characters) don't NEED a specific background or explanation at all...I have read some stories where the protagonist or antagonist is a mystery completely, and that can work too, if not totally unplausable.

Good luck!

Warmly,

Kanashii

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  • 4 weeks later...

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