Making Brainchildren Work

Backstory: The Stuff People Usually Will Never get to Know

2010-01-14T01:02:00.004-05:00

Ah, backstory. It's all that junk that happened to the characters to get to get them to where they are today, the events, objects houses and acquaintances they've made over the years before the plot even starts. It's all that good stuff we love to know, and it makes for really great short stories.

But as comics go, more often than not you'll never get to learn the full backstory of most of the characters. Unless it's pertinent to the plot or otherwise warranted, you only get to know the character as they are during the story. You don't get to know where they came from, what formed them, where they've lived, or anything of that nature. None of that will ever be relevant in your stories.

For now, though, we're going to completely ignore that little fact and forge on in the name of interesting little short stories and characters with substance. We'll assume you haven't thought much into your character's backstory, just to make this easier. Also, we'll use Remy as an example, seeing as how I've been working on his story a lot lately.

Backstory, more or less, shows up in little blips as you go. Thing is, you've got to flesh out those blips and connect them so they make sense. Say,

for example, you know what your character's job is, but not exactly what said job entails. So doodle up something like this:

Aside from the awesome shoulder-armor bits, I've listed just what Remy does, along with some other things. Right from here, I've got a pile of ideas for stories. I could go on about one of the jobs he's done, or where he got that sweet armor. That could be an epic one (actually, he saved his money for two months and had a contact of his hold them but HEY).

Well now we've got all that established, but how did Remy get such a weird job in the first place? THAT is backstory. This job he has as a paranormal something-or-other isn't a normal one, that's for sure. It's part of a sort of underground, actually. So now we need to know how he became a part of this underground, and we keep going backwards from there.

To sum it up, this is basically the process we've used:

o1: Flesh out an aspect of the character.

o2: Go back to elementary school. Who, what, where, when, why, and how are your friends. Your best friends ever who will help you learn everything. Ask those things about #o1.

o3: Lather, rinse, repeat; until you get to the end.

o4: Go back to #o1, using a different aspect, and repeat ad nauseam.

Easy, yes? It helps to keep notebooks for this sort of thing, or sketchbooks if you like pictures to help your words or vice-versa. Write lots, preferably as often as you can, and before you know it, your character will have a nice, full, backstory. Then you can branch short stories off of that, see how this character connects to others, and be well on your way to building up an entire world o people with epic backstories that no one will ever read. Yay!

And Then Some Crap Happened

2009-11-11T00:58:00.002-05:00

Things will probably happen once I get done with this weekend. I have a portfolio review day thing at the Center for Cartoon Studies, and I've been doing crap to get ready for that for like two weeks now. Once that's over and done with, I'll probably maybe actually do something for this poor decrepit blog-type attempt at not failing at life.

Next Thing Is...

2009-10-15T01:08:00.002-04:00

Right! So, I found myself a solution to that infernal tie in votes. Since I'm currently developing about 3 new characters, I'll do the visual end of character development. This'll include junk from the terrible early sketch stage, random nonsensical personality bits that'll make no sense later on (even to yourself), stupid scrapped ideas, and what the Hell was I thinking when I decided that, to the first decent inked and/or colored bit, preemptive dialogue that will sound awful in a few weeks, solid personality bits, and possibly even some interaction with other characters. Gasp!

You'll get this maybe next week, seeing as how I'm going to NH with some friends this weekend.

Why am I writing this as though people actually read it? The two people NH is happening with are the two people who might maybe read it. Uhm?

On Personality & Character Traits

2009-09-12T02:52:00.000-04:00

Alright! It's 3am and I'm nowhere near tired yet, so I'm going to babble at you for a while on something I love: Personality development. Even though I sort of fail at it sometimes, I think I've at least got a handle on the basics enough to write a character who is his/her own person. Through these things, I'll probably end up referencing my own characters. If you're curious, I do have that nifty character roster that there's a link to in the first post. Let's go!

Personality is, basically, what makes you different enough from other people that we don't all act the same. As humans, we all have the same base instincts and drives, though in some people they're more developed or underdeveloped. Right there is where personality starts to happen. It's quite easy to differentiate between someone who's mostly concerned about where their next meal is coming from and someone who wants 400 babies.

Humans have evolved past caring about nothing but food and sex, though. There are other things we care about, too, and that's where most major personality traits come from. When I say "traits", I'm talking about those habitual things you do and the way you act, think, and feel. Wikipedia actually has a nice article on trait theory, if you're interested.

These traits define who we are, as people. And characters, as people, are built around their traits. All you need are a few core traits, and everything else will stem from them. We'll take, for an example, a character I'm working on solidifying right now. The story she's in takes place in a post-apocalyptic kind of place, but for convenience's sake, we'll pretend she's in the present. It's so much easier that way.

She goes by the name Risnaan Toutál*, and is a massive wad of pure snark. That's a trait right there; she's snarky. She's also coldly logical, straightforward, confrontational, and awkwardly easy to trust. Which, for a diplomat is a good thing. The confrontational snark, however, is not. And that, my friend, is what makes things interesting.

Just from knowing her core traits; snarky, logical, blunt, confrontational, and trustworthy, you can probably assume quite a few other things about her. Like she probably has a boatload of self-confidence, and usually wins arguments. It's also likely she has very few friends, because you'd have to be very laid-back to deal with someone like her. And she's got to have some redeeming qualities, else she wouldn't be so easy to trust. Things like that tend to develop through writing the character and having them interact with other people, which is a whole 'nother post altogether.

Oddly enough, Rizzie's the main character of her story. It's gonna be weird to have such an abrasive character fill that position; the MC is usually an easy person for the reader to relate to. It's important to remember that people will always subconsciously try to relate to a character; if said character is a rude jerk, readers probably won't relate well. Keep in mind what role your character will be filling before you turn your MC into a sociopath no one will connect to (unless that's your plan, you crafty little thing).

I think it goes without saying that the best way to really get to know your character, per se, is to write them. Once you have your core personality traits set, figure out your character's physical appearance (though I've done this backwards; that's fine, too), background, mannerisms, quirks, and other such important things I'll have to go over, then drop them into a random situation and see what happens. Put them in situations with other characters and let them bounce off each other. Your goal here is to establish a believable person and become so comfortable with them that you could effortlessly write them in any situation.

It's all a long process of trial and error, so keep plugging away at it and you're bound to get somewhere. Ask questions and such if you want to (I love questions.). SO! Now I've gotta figure out the next topic for this mess... but first comes sleep. Goodnight and good luck!

*I was so excited when I figured out accent marks. Alt-E on a Mac!

**Probably some will be old and scary; I sort of have a character in mind for that one.

Yeah, I totally quoted Ed Murrow.

A Name Meme

2009-09-06T23:40:00.003-04:00

Well, I saw this meme floating around on DA and had to do it. Names are really important when it comes to writing; they can convey a number of things. I had a whole section of this horrible character book I made devoted to name and character origins. So, here you go:

Write out the names of your characters and explain
1) how you thought of their name
2) what made you create the character in the first place
3) how the character has changed over time (if they have changed)
4) any random fun fact about that character
(throwing in one of my own) 5) a song that fits the character

Rifeas "Rif" Kibre
o1: As with the rest of the alien names, I came up with it off the top of my head. It was just "Rif" at first, but there was this serious 3-letter-name trend going on, and Rif sounds like a nickname anyway. I kept tacking random letter combinations onto the end of Rif until I got one that sounded cool. Kibre was the last name of.. the defense attorney, I think, from Law & Order: Trial by Jury. I liked how it sounded. That spinoff didn't last too long.
o2: I was doodling in math one day way back in 8th grade, and came up with this long-haired crazy bipolar guy. Then when I got home, I made up some stupid story about him and threw in a stupid-looking robot thing and a prototype-Anita. It sucked, but that's where Rif came from.
o3: Oh man. In the beginning of time, Rif was this weirdo paranoid/bipolar/DID sort of thing with green pants, a Stepford smile, and an obsession with the paranormal. Eventually, he developed a liking for turtlenecks and jeans, and his hair changed lengths 3 or 4 dozen times. He dropped the bipolar/DID part and just became a wicked paranoid guy obsessed with the paranormal. Then his hair length changed another dozen or so times, and he ditched the turtlenecks for off-white thermal shirts.
o4: Due to some sort of electrical accident that was his cousin's fault, Rif's right arm spasms occasionally. Being a paranoid freak, he thinks his arm is attacking him and has contemplated just cutting the thing off.
05: Peacebone - Animal Collective. It's so upbeat and makes absolutely no sense. It fits him perfectly. Also, Come Together, A Most Peculiar Man, and New Soul fit him pretty well.

Resden "Res" Kibre
o1: Res was, originally, the name of some other character who died. I still liked the name, though, and had to reuse it. again with the 3-letter-name problem, I tacked on some letters. Later on I found out Resden is actually a real surname, but it'd feel weird to change it now.
o2: The story was changing, and needed some more aliens to make plot happen, so Rif got a brother. I think they had a different last name at first, but Hell if I can remember it.
o3: Res really hasn't changed very much. He got more mature, and once the story settled on using psychology to make it go, he developed this ability to read people like books subconsciously.
o4: Living on Earth has made him develop a fascination with cheesy sci-fi movies and cooking. Cooking EVERYTHING.
o5: Mother Nature's Son - The Beatles. Res would have made the best hippie. So laid-back. Also, My Little Town and Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town.

Anita Felix
o1: I think I heard it on TV while I was drawing her at one point. Her last name changed a whole bunch of times, and I couldn't find a good one. It actually took me a few years to find one, and that was only after I'd come up with another character, Sicarius Felix, and decided she was his sister. I think Felix means "lucky" in latin?
o2: She was there from the very beginning, like Rif. Originally she was an FBI agent sent to capture Rif after the whole stupid Area 51 crap that died.
o3: She's changed quite a bit, actually. At first, she was this easily excitable, trigger-happy thing bent on dragging Rif back to the FBI or something. Once the story took a more down-to-earth turn, FBI was a bit much, and she became a regular police officer. Gradually, she grew some more hair and ditched that stupid denim jacket. She's mellowed out considerably and doesn't flip out at the slightest provocation, and besides Res, is probably the most levelheaded person in the Kibre household.
o4: She thinks on her feet and acts quickly, which can make her seem brash and violent when she's actually already thought everything through.
o5: Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress - The Hollies. If you reversed the roles of the FBI guy and the lady in the song, there you go. I... don't have many songs for her. Wow. New Soul works here, too.

Nuse Kibre
o1: Threw some letters together again. This ones got some pronunciation issues; its News, not Noose.
o2: The kid's here for comedic relief. Mostly. I figured Res couldn't be travelling space alone, so we stuck the crazy cousin in there for good measure.
o3: Nuse is completely and totally different from when he first pooped out of my head. He started off as this batshit insane kid for no good reason. Then he turned into this creepy goth... thing. Then he disappeared for a while, and came back as this terminally chipper insane kid with a penchant for wanton destruction. then there was a series of minor changes, and he became the happy, (mostly) innocent, goth/emo in fashion only, weirdo kid who manages to get boulders onto the roof of Rif's house. Don't ask.
o4: He gets in the walls if you don't watch him constantly. For serious.
o5: Chores - Animal Collective. Fast and annoying. Also, Minority. this kid needs some more songs.

Remy LaRue
o1: Stereotypical French name. I had a last name first, it was Savoy or something, and it needed a first name. Again, it probably came from TV. Eventually, I decided that LaRue (or Leroux) sounded better. The spelling changed a couple times, then settled on LaRue, and all was good.
o2: Another doodle in a math notebook, this time in 10th grade. I figured an information dealer was a good thing to have, so that's what Remy ended up being.
o3: Remy hasn't changed much. He's still an underfed dork, but now, he's much more crafty and... smart. He used to be this squinchy little thing, but that didn't lend well to the whole dangerous situationful info dealer job.
o4: He really doesn't sleep as much as he should.
o5: I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel. Never get close to anyone, especially in this line of work. Also Don't Want to Stay. (which youtube hates)

Sidney Townsend
o1: Sidney's name came off this Pokemon card. I was having naming issues, was building my deck (yes I still play Pokemon), and it fit. His last name changed a bunch of times, too. I ended up settling on Townsend after Nigel from Crossing Jordan. that was a good show.
o2: Sidney came into existance as a way to annoy Saba, and kept going until he became the sociopath we all know and love.
o3: He really hasn't changed that much, save for fashion sense (less yellow) and little bits of personality. He's less intentionally girly now, and actually has, y;know, some motive to the madness. And doesn't live inside a giant sand dune somewhere.
o4: He's used at least 23 different aliases and has a decent collection of passports and Visas for each.
o5: Good Old-fashioned Lover Boy - Queen. To a T. To a friggin T. Also pretty much anything by Depeche Mode or Queen, Mr. Pinstripe Suit, and Violet Hill.

Aleksandr "Sasha" Morana
o1: What a stereotypical Russian name. I love it. There was gonna be no way you'd think this guy was anything but Russian, that was for sure. I actually had this huge brainstorming session in my crapstone class where my friend was rattling off Russian names with this epically thick accent. "Vasily?" "nuh." "Mischa?" "...nah." "...Tsaaachaaaaaa!! "..." "..." "...YES."
o2: After Sidney popped up, he was the only one in the story with such mental.. um... prowess, and thus could probably have just undermined everything and killed life. A foil was needed, and as I was doodling this guy with cool flippy hair from an insurance commercial or something, it was like, HEY IT CAN BE A GUY! BAM.
o3: Sasha's only changed in appearance and teeny bits of attitude. He gets less accidental mullets now, and has poofier hair. He also stopped being a CEO of some undefined company and ended up with the council instead. It made the plot better.
o4: He frequents the bookstore in search of new word puzzle books at least twice a week.
o5: Pressure - Billy Joel. I envision the whole song as Sasha talking to Sidney; it's the theme for the last bit of the story. And it fits so perfect it's creepy. Also, Happiness is a Warm Gun and Yes, and anything slow by Pjotr Leschenko.

Nicha Talvra
o1: Actually just acquired a first name a couple weeks ago, even though she's existed for years. Yeah. As with any of the other aliens, her name is some letters thrown together. I was sort of going for a more uppity sounding name for her, and I think I got it.
o2: Res needed a contact in space and an alien friend so you'd know outer space existed, and I went with a foil for him. She's very prim and proper, and always acts according to whatever protocols there are. Res tends to ignore those and fly by the seat of his pants.
o3: Tal has changed ever so slightly. There was a drastic change in the beginning, when she was going to be a more major character. She was the calm fancy one with a WICKED BERSERKER COMPLEX but that was stupid so it died. She even stopped existing at one point, but turns out I need her more than I thought. Tal stays. (and gets all agitated a being called Tal)
o4: That's her natural hair color. Yeah. It happens.
o5: The Kraken - Squirrel Nut Zippers (which has a video, but the link doesn't wanna go). I honestly don't know how this fits but it does. Any sad violin music works, too.

The mess is in this journal on DA, too. If you want me to do any other characters, ask there.

The First Post has a Stupid Name

2009-08-23T02:49:00.001-04:00

Hello, people who are reading this. I know there aren't many of you, but really, this is for my own satisfaction, so I don't care. Ha.

On this blog, I'll be posting buttloads of crap about character development. How I go about it, memes I do (you'll hate those), gobs of text in my headpeople's voices; junk like that. All sorts of little bits and ramblings regarding the evolution of characters.

I don't know or care if you'll find any of this mess interesting at all, but it's here for you if you want it. And here's a link to a journal on DA. It's the Character Roster. Ask me crap about them and I will answer it as coherently as possible.