Researching Writers:

[Annabelle Coronova]

I'm doing a bit of personal research in this, but I had a few questions for you guys. If you could answer them, you'd be the best ever


Is/Are your character(s) at all like you? For either case, why did you decide on that?

For those who answered no, how difficult would you say it is to write experiences of someone quite unlike you?

How difficult is it for you to write about experiences you have yet or will never encounter? Explain if you can.

[Lani Hunter]

First off, my characters are nothing like me. Maybe a little bit in their personalities and senses of humor but otherwise we are completely different people.

It's not hard at all for me. Its almost like you're writing about a best friend that you have had forever. Its most fun when they start molding into something different than what you intended. Over time a character I make becomes their own person in a way, and instead of the 'how would I react' its more like 'how would Lani react?' Because the two of us would react very differently to the same situation it makes things interesting.

Well I think its safe to say that I don't have any special powers so this who thing is about writing about things that I have never experienced. Its not too hard, but its hard to explain. Such that, a character you make for these sites or in your own stories become alive in a way that you can't really explain. Its never about 'I make my character do this' or 'Oh dear I've never done this.' I guess it all comes down to practice. Reading helps a lot, when you read a situation you get a feel for it and how you would react and how your characters would react. And a lot of it initially is mimicry in my case. I mimicked my favorite authors until I found my own style and felt confident enough to do my own stories and original experiences and feel that I would be able to portray it accurately.

I don't know if that made sense but I hope it helped with your study

[Joshua Bernstein]

Yesssss! Talking about the writing process and being self-absorbed, my favorite

Is/Are your character(s) at all like you?

At all? Yes, most of my characters have something in common with me, be it a hobby or personality trait. As a general rule, however, there are more differences than similarities.

For either case, why did you decide on that?

Well, on Hammel all of my characters were requested by other players. I read the other players' applications and journal entries and extrapolated the personalities and likes and dislikes and histories of my characters from there. When writing entirely original characters I have a similar process: I start with a concept and then try and figure out what interests and personality would make sense with that concept. So sometimes bits and pieces will end up overlapping with me, but that's because it makes sense for us to share those bits and pieces.

There are a few traits I tend to reliably come back to despite not having them myself because they make RP interaction easier (for instance, extroversion! I'm an introvert, but introverted characters are more difficult to integrate) but also playing a character too similar to myself would just be boring. I do think that's a good way for newer writers to start out, however: after all, write what you know is classic advice for beginners for a reason.


For those who answered no, how difficult would you say it is to write experiences of someone quite unlike you? How difficult is it for you to write about experiences you have yet or will never encounter? Explain if you can.

I'm lumping these two questions together because the answers are more or less the same.

I have to agree with Izy here: I don't live in a world with powers, so that alone is something I can't experience.

But for characters who are from other cultures or who grew up in a different generation or have a different religion or even have a hobby I don't....I research. I usually do a lot of research when I first create them and take a bunch of notes. Then as the RP progresses I'll occasionally re-read those notes or do more research if a post requires it.

Also, I don't believe in "The universal X experience" and that's not what I'm interested in writing. I'm interested in writing about my character, as an individual. So I want to play up their individuality, not write them as part of a demographic. That means I play up inter-character interactions over cultural differences or hobbies, so all that research usually only comes up occasionally, and then usually as a passing comment. I mean, sure, they respond to situations in ways I wouldn't, but it's not like I'm unaware of all the different ways to respond to things. I'm not programed to do things one way so that I can't imagine anything else, you know? I watch other people, other options run through my mind, I absorb ideas from the books I read, etc etc.

And, again agreeing with Izy, my characters do frequently end up changing without a conscious decision on my part so it's not uncommon for me to not really think about how they're going to react until I sit down to write, and then I go "oh. So that's how you're going to react. How about that." For me, it's not at all like writing about a best friend, though. It's more like watching somebody else and then chronicling their life and seeing their thoughts projected and writing those, too. Haha, does that sound creepy or what?

Anyway, I hope that's been helpful for your research.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Oh yay! Writing talks!

Is/Are your character(s) at all like you? For either case, why did you decide on that?

They are, to some extent. Some more than others and some ended up being more like me than I’d initially intended to be. But, you know, one of the basic tenants of writing is write what you know. So it would follow that my characters do reflect some of my views, mannerisms and/or opinions. Even the ones I am a little embarrassed over… I made these decisions just because I’m way too boring to make a whole character around myself. xD

For those who answered no, how difficult would you say it is to write experiences of someone quite unlike you?

It can be a little difficult, to be honest. Although there are a lot of things that my characters and I have in common, there are a lot of things that some of my characters feel that I don’t agree with. One of the more disconcerting things that happened was to find out that one of my characters had the completely opposite opinion of me on issues that I feel strongly about. But after a while, my characters tend to take lives of their own and start making their own decisions. So, it is a little difficult, but it is vastly more interesting and once they become like little people instead of things on a page, they mostly make their own decisions. It’s a little like Dryope said, stalking some guy, but it’s a little like talking about a best friend or a family member. It’s a little strange.

How difficult is it for you to write about experiences you have yet or will never encounter? Explain if you can.

A little difficult, really. I’m an obsessive researcher; I love it, and it’s so much fun. So when I have a character who has a profession or an interest that I don’t know anything about, I happily roll about in the research and it takes far too long. This is because I love research and I like being accurate. It’s something that I think enhances my storytelling as a whole.

I hope this helps!

[Kousuke Nanohara]

I'm kind of a newbie here, but I've written and RPed before so I'll indulge my desire to talk about myself hopefully contribute to the conversation.

Is/Are your character(s) at all like you? For either case, why did you decide on that?

Try as I might, all of them end up having something to do with me... some more than others. I think it'd be impossible to write someone that's completely different than me, but at the same time none of them are carbon copies. The degree of similarity changes.

It primarily depends on the RP/story/whatever context. At times, writing a character with x trait in common with me in a fictional context can be fun, if not self-centered and escapist. On the flip side, writing characters that are different is an enjoyable challenge. I also tend to write traits that I find captivating in some way.

For those who answered no, how difficult would you say it is to write experiences of someone quite unlike you?

I generally agree with the others in saying that it can be pretty hard, but that difficulty can be surmounted with research. Establishing a good foundation (information, character history and personality, planning out the environment, things along that line) and settling into it makes it easier to write over time, I think. It's not too hard to judge how a character will think or react if you know all the details. I think a worry can arise here, in writing a stereotype, but then balancing all that research with characters' individualities and those little quirks and inconsistencies that always seem to arise helps out.

How difficult is it for you to write about experiences you have yet or will never encounter? Explain if you can.

It depends. There's always a degree of difficulty there, for some more than others. It usually goes back to the need to research. But! There a few things I'm very hesitant about writing, even with that research.

For instance, there are a select few topics that I consider not only my realm of experience, but outside of my realm of understanding. My brain just doesn't go there, and likely never will. It's a bit like describing blue when you've been colorblind all your life. I don't want to get too personal but something like that comes up every now and then.

Also, there are certain subjects that I believe not only deserve but demand a level of respect so I don't take writing them lightly. I've never been a victim of sexual assault, but I realize it's a very sensitive topic and will do my very best to portray a character that has with realism and respect.

So... I don't completely avoid writing things like that, but... they can be exceedingly difficult for me!

Best of luck on your research~!

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Are you referring only to Hammel? If so, I'll confine this entirely to Sean.

Is/Are your character(s) at all like you? For either case, why did you decide on that?

For the most part no. They aren't completely unlike me either, in that they aren't my exact opposites because I don't play outside of my comfort realm (e.g. While I do anti-heroes, I don't do true villains. I've done them before, and I don't enjoy it which makes having fun in role play extremely difficult.) Some of my characters share a quirk of mine or a friend's, all different but entirely because quirks make characters whole and there are enough in my experience to go around.

I decided on that because I play ironies and archetypes. Sean is a bundle of ironies. He's a mentor figure who is a reflection of his own mentor, but with additional baggage. He's a family man with no family. He's a man whose telepathy helps him in everyday life and made him a better person, and yet has caused most of the grief in his life.

For those who answered no, how difficult would you say it is to write experiences of someone quite unlike you?

It isn't that hard for me. I like to do research, and the personality and life histories I write out for my characters are ever-growing. The experiences they face always have some reason for existing and always get measured against my character's personality. I know how Sean would react to almost any situation. The fact that he doesn't react in the same way I do only means I get to write out the differences and relish it, and that there's a bit of a lag between my immediate reaction and his immediate reaction. To me it's the knowledge and familiarity with the character that matters, not my own gut reactions.

How difficult is it for you to write about experiences you have yet or will never encounter? Explain if you can.

It depends on the experience. My primary concerns in writing are internal consistency and logical outcome. As Izy and Dryope have mentioned, we don't live in a universe with superpowers. However, I spend most of my spare time thinking about what life would be like if I did live in a world with superpowers and so I'm willing to put the Hammel setting closer to my personal experience than perhaps some others would. But I like to analyze, as well as research as I mentioned above, and so it becomes more of a puzzle than anything else. Not difficult, but interesting.

This all has to remain within my comfort limits, though, and so some things become non-issues. Some of what might be more difficult (or is far more difficult) never gets written on my end. I know my limits; I like to stick to them.

And sometimes it's the experiences I know best that I'm least likely to what to write. For instance, my experience with school or work aren't anything I write (I don't make characters with my job), but Sean's experience with work and school are some of my favorites to write.

I hope this helps. Have you tried RPG-Directory? They love questionnaires and you might widen your pool of answers.