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WHEN YOU WRITE, HOW MUCH DO YOU BASE THE WORK, OR YOURSELF ON EXISTING FICTION OR WRITERS?
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CashmereCat
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CloseI'll start off trying to explain by explaining how I find it comfortable writing long essays, or reviews, or even novels for that matter. Sometimes I pretend - and this is going to be a confession, I think - to be one of my favourite authors. That's true. Believe it or not, right now I'm pretending to write like one of my favourite authors. I won't say who, because I'm probably doing a terrible job of copying her (there we go, the gender is out), and I don't want to be further embarrassed by revealing more of my fleshy self. But let's put this back on you for a second - have you ever, for any of your games, novels, or other distributed work - based a character on an existing real-life person (perhaps too closely!), or based a plotline on something that has happened on real life, and put the disclaimer on so that people won't be able to accuse you of anything, or just flat-out mimicked the entire style and scope of a game you just played?
Is it even shameful to do such a thing? I'm of the particular belief that we are the product of the sum of our experiences, and we shouldn't really deny that - we should be honest about it, open. So please reassure me that I'm not the only crazy quasi-plagiarizer around here, and maybe give your thoughts as to whether it's definitely OK (or not OK) to "almost copy".
Is it even shameful to do such a thing? I'm of the particular belief that we are the product of the sum of our experiences, and we shouldn't really deny that - we should be honest about it, open. So please reassure me that I'm not the only crazy quasi-plagiarizer around here, and maybe give your thoughts as to whether it's definitely OK (or not OK) to "almost copy".
Frankly, everything you write is an amalgamation of your inspirations. You're always going to have a bit of someone else in your writing, whether it be someone you know, know of or have been inspired by in some way so worrying about it is pretty silly.
That said, finding your own voice, without deliberately copying others, is the best way to do your writing. Keep in mind that reinforcing habits (like writing in anothers' voice) will make it so that you're more likely to repeat that habit, so you don't want to steal their way of writing by copying them over and over. However, there's nothing wrong with trying to mimic bits and pieces of stylisation of the people you enjoy reading - humans are, quite frankly, collectors and writers are collectors of information, ideas and experience. Whether you realise it or not, it is true - and the writers you idealise have done the same damn thing to the writers they idealise too, so don't feel shame in it. Just be sure that when you write your own works, it's your voice, not theirs, coming through.
That said, finding your own voice, without deliberately copying others, is the best way to do your writing. Keep in mind that reinforcing habits (like writing in anothers' voice) will make it so that you're more likely to repeat that habit, so you don't want to steal their way of writing by copying them over and over. However, there's nothing wrong with trying to mimic bits and pieces of stylisation of the people you enjoy reading - humans are, quite frankly, collectors and writers are collectors of information, ideas and experience. Whether you realise it or not, it is true - and the writers you idealise have done the same damn thing to the writers they idealise too, so don't feel shame in it. Just be sure that when you write your own works, it's your voice, not theirs, coming through.
SnowOwl
5188
Basing characters on real people is something everyone does. If we didn't every character ever written would be a robot, because if we based something on nothing... Well it would just be nothing.
Basing your stuff on real things is a good thing, it adds realism to your game/writing and there is nothing shameful about it.
Basing your stuff on real things is a good thing, it adds realism to your game/writing and there is nothing shameful about it.
RyaReisender
200
There are two types for me.
One is where I take a game idea I had as a child and flesh it out.
The other one is where I watch a movie, read a book, play a game, or even just go for a walk and something I see inspires me to make a game. It's NOT that I watch a movie and want the whole movie to be turned into a game, usually it's just a very very small aspect. Same when playing a game, in no way I want to make a fangame, but it can be that I like one particular aspect in a game but I think the rest is horrible and then start to wonder how to make something better out of it. Or I explore an interesting region and think "That would be a cool place for an RPG to play in".
So yes, the inspiration comes from SOMEWHERE. However, it will always just be the inspiration: The thing that starts the thought process of making a game at all. The more I think of the game, the more ideas come to me and the stronger the game changes from the original inspiration. More often than not the final game design won't even make anyone recognize where the inspiration originally came from.
One aspect where most people take ideas from others games and stories is when creating monsters and weapons or other objects. Like if you create a goblin and make it the easiest monster, it is certainly because you read about this goblin creature before and seen it in a game and got the impression, it is a good representation for an easy mob you can beat at level 1. As weapons you also offers swords and axes and spears. Not because you just invented them, but rather because you saw them before somewhere.
Only in very rare cases someone creates a whole imaginary world with completely new physical rules, monsters and items. And even those take their inspiration from somewhere. For example by reading about exotic and unknown animals or combining different animals to create never-before-seen monsters.
One is where I take a game idea I had as a child and flesh it out.
The other one is where I watch a movie, read a book, play a game, or even just go for a walk and something I see inspires me to make a game. It's NOT that I watch a movie and want the whole movie to be turned into a game, usually it's just a very very small aspect. Same when playing a game, in no way I want to make a fangame, but it can be that I like one particular aspect in a game but I think the rest is horrible and then start to wonder how to make something better out of it. Or I explore an interesting region and think "That would be a cool place for an RPG to play in".
So yes, the inspiration comes from SOMEWHERE. However, it will always just be the inspiration: The thing that starts the thought process of making a game at all. The more I think of the game, the more ideas come to me and the stronger the game changes from the original inspiration. More often than not the final game design won't even make anyone recognize where the inspiration originally came from.
One aspect where most people take ideas from others games and stories is when creating monsters and weapons or other objects. Like if you create a goblin and make it the easiest monster, it is certainly because you read about this goblin creature before and seen it in a game and got the impression, it is a good representation for an easy mob you can beat at level 1. As weapons you also offers swords and axes and spears. Not because you just invented them, but rather because you saw them before somewhere.
Only in very rare cases someone creates a whole imaginary world with completely new physical rules, monsters and items. And even those take their inspiration from somewhere. For example by reading about exotic and unknown animals or combining different animals to create never-before-seen monsters.
It's a common thing. As someone who's dabbled in both writing and drawing, a lot of what I wrote or drew was initially very much based off who inspired me and what they created. Like Liberty said, there's nothing wrong with that as your not getting into bad habits where you deliberately sound like the person all the time.
As long as its a stepping stone to finding your own voice, it's perfectly fine, in my opinion.
As long as its a stepping stone to finding your own voice, it's perfectly fine, in my opinion.
I find myself constantly having to tone down my writing, either so it doesn't eerily represent Andrew Hussie's writing style, so it's legible by those who don't live life on a dictionary's manifold, and sometimes just because it's obtuse or too coarse or not good enough.
I don't know many people in real life all that well, so typically, characters are either based off parts of my personality or derived heavily from other characters. Or I make a big messy mix of the two into something more refined.
I don't know many people in real life all that well, so typically, characters are either based off parts of my personality or derived heavily from other characters. Or I make a big messy mix of the two into something more refined.
Everybody bases their own work on something, and since media now has such an omnipresence in our lives I think it'd be foolish to claim that it wasn't having a huge effect on our creative subconcious.
Whenever I see an idea I really like, I just think about how I could play with that idea, you know? If the result is similar to the point of being a knock off then I just don't use it, but it usually evolves past that stage. Pretty much all of my projects were heavily inspired by something that I love, like Final Fantasy 7, Gurren Lagann, The Big O, Space Odyssey, One Piece, etc.
I think it's important to know how to use inspiration though, or else you'd just end up being a copycat. You have to sort of transition those ideas that you get into your own words. As far as that goes, I've been pretty lucky- the people that I've talked to about my current work seem to really enjoy the spin I put on things, and it's helped me better understand my own artistic identity.
In terms of characters, I base pretty much all of them off of traits I've observed in people I know or know of, usually picking a bunch of traits from different people and mixing them all into the same character. Again, I think I've been lucky- because of my own personality I'm largely an observer in social situations (outside of my immediate circle of friends, who I know well enough for it not to be an issue anyways) so I get to really examine how certain personalities come off.
As for my other source of ideas/inspiration, I have certain substances to thank. CALL THE POLICE
Whenever I see an idea I really like, I just think about how I could play with that idea, you know? If the result is similar to the point of being a knock off then I just don't use it, but it usually evolves past that stage. Pretty much all of my projects were heavily inspired by something that I love, like Final Fantasy 7, Gurren Lagann, The Big O, Space Odyssey, One Piece, etc.
I think it's important to know how to use inspiration though, or else you'd just end up being a copycat. You have to sort of transition those ideas that you get into your own words. As far as that goes, I've been pretty lucky- the people that I've talked to about my current work seem to really enjoy the spin I put on things, and it's helped me better understand my own artistic identity.
In terms of characters, I base pretty much all of them off of traits I've observed in people I know or know of, usually picking a bunch of traits from different people and mixing them all into the same character. Again, I think I've been lucky- because of my own personality I'm largely an observer in social situations (outside of my immediate circle of friends, who I know well enough for it not to be an issue anyways) so I get to really examine how certain personalities come off.
As for my other source of ideas/inspiration, I have certain substances to thank. CALL THE POLICE
High Five for One Piece sibs~ O/
That substance wouldn't be.. pizza would it? O.o
I actually don't tend to base characters off people in real life (just like I never really used my experiences or emotions as a base for my poetry - I preferred to play with words and general themes... which worried people because most of those themes were darker in nature and I was 'such a nice girl') but more-so on characteristics and the reactions to different experiences - such as putting a someone who had had their tongue cut out in charge of a group and seeing how they'd overcome the challenge to lead - what kind of person they'd need to be to get past certain challenges and be successful in that role.
That substance wouldn't be.. pizza would it? O.o
I actually don't tend to base characters off people in real life (just like I never really used my experiences or emotions as a base for my poetry - I preferred to play with words and general themes... which worried people because most of those themes were darker in nature and I was 'such a nice girl') but more-so on characteristics and the reactions to different experiences - such as putting a someone who had had their tongue cut out in charge of a group and seeing how they'd overcome the challenge to lead - what kind of person they'd need to be to get past certain challenges and be successful in that role.
I steal so much from real life the only reason they still have their underwear is for decency's sake. Not just from people or events I've been involved with but what's happening across the world right now. What people are saying, what people have said, what people have done. I find all kinds of inspiration in that. I don't get much inspiration from written fiction, but music or art? Totally.
e: I worded that last bit real weird
e: I worded that last bit real weird
Basing your characters on real people makes the story real, and pretending to be a famous author might not give you that skill, but it just might give you enough confidence to boost your skill.
If you get good at it, you might start basing your characters on multiple people, just to give them enough variety so that so and so reading the book can't just say, "Oh, she reminds me exactly of so-and-so!"
If you get good at it, you might start basing your characters on multiple people, just to give them enough variety so that so and so reading the book can't just say, "Oh, she reminds me exactly of so-and-so!"
RyaReisender
200
That substance wouldn't be.. pizza would it? O.o
We think alike, I see!
Basing your characters on real people makes the story real
Thinking about that, I must say that I loved romance animes the most when the romance was based of a romance that actually happened to the mangaka.
But that might also be because those never have a happy ending.
Crystalgate
694
Almost all of your work is based on other works. However, what you can ask yourself is how much you chop up your work.
Imagine you create a character. You have many different options, but let's look at two of them.
1) You take an existing character and give it a new name and appearance. You make a minor change to personality where you replace one undesired trait with another from a third character.
2) You take the concept of an existing character, but make it's personality by borrowing traits from multiple different characters as well as borrowing the background story from yet another character.
In both cases, the character is 100% based on other already existing characters, but the second case has the character far more chopped up into tiny bits. It's also much harder for the audience to identify where you borrowed the ideas from if you use the second approach.
Personally, I prefer a very choppy method. I also base my work pretty much entirely on fictional characters instead of real people.
Imagine you create a character. You have many different options, but let's look at two of them.
1) You take an existing character and give it a new name and appearance. You make a minor change to personality where you replace one undesired trait with another from a third character.
2) You take the concept of an existing character, but make it's personality by borrowing traits from multiple different characters as well as borrowing the background story from yet another character.
In both cases, the character is 100% based on other already existing characters, but the second case has the character far more chopped up into tiny bits. It's also much harder for the audience to identify where you borrowed the ideas from if you use the second approach.
Personally, I prefer a very choppy method. I also base my work pretty much entirely on fictional characters instead of real people.
author=CrystalgateI use option two whenever I can.
Almost all of your work is based on other works. However, what you can ask yourself is how much you chop up your work.
Imagine you create a character. You have many different options, but let's look at two of them.
1) You take an existing character and give it a new name and appearance. You make a minor change to personality where you replace one undesired trait with another from a third character.
2) You take the concept of an existing character, but make it's personality by borrowing traits from multiple different characters as well as borrowing the background story from yet another character.
In both cases, the character is 100% based on other already existing characters, but the second case has the character far more chopped up into tiny bits. It's also much harder for the audience to identify where you borrowed the ideas from if you use the second approach.
Personally, I prefer a very choppy method. I also base my work pretty much entirely on fictional characters instead of real people.
See this enormous inspiration chart for just three characters.
I know this is off-topic .. but you can also bring in this approach in terms of characters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKnNO5pxRGQ
It's also a fairly easy and accurate way to analyse character traits. I stumbled upon that principle in a book a long while back, and you can say a whole lot with just these basic tendencies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKnNO5pxRGQ
It's also a fairly easy and accurate way to analyse character traits. I stumbled upon that principle in a book a long while back, and you can say a whole lot with just these basic tendencies.
Sviel
2006
I don't like basing characters heavily on real-life people because it tends to all blow up at some point. Like, it wouldn't make sense for that real-life person to have developed as such in this new setting or w/e.
Instead, I'll take a character based on an impression of a real-life person or just stitched together and then insert them into w/e book I happen to be reading at the time and see what changes. After a long time of doing that, I have a pretty good idea of the ins and outs of the character and can have them thrive in a variety of worlds.
I can still point to the original source for the character, but, everything fits together much more pleasantly.
Instead, I'll take a character based on an impression of a real-life person or just stitched together and then insert them into w/e book I happen to be reading at the time and see what changes. After a long time of doing that, I have a pretty good idea of the ins and outs of the character and can have them thrive in a variety of worlds.
I can still point to the original source for the character, but, everything fits together much more pleasantly.
RyaReisender
200
Like, it wouldn't make sense for that real-life person to have developed as such in this new setting or w/e.
Well yeah, has to be the same setting then or you just do it for side-characters that join the party but are not totally relevant for the main plot.
Also if you have some "traumatic event" in mind for your plot, you are probably better of researching known psychological behavior patterns.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
It's not good from an artistic standpoint to just nick someone's style wholesale. Instead, nick a lot of bits from a lot of different styles. This helps form a better structure to develop your own style, since you're not being a slave to one thing. (And it makes you less obviously a copycat.)
I don't usually base my characters on anyone in particular; I can only think of one situation where I used a RL person's mannerisms for someone, and the rest have just been made up from general knowledge of personalities and how people act.
I don't usually base my characters on anyone in particular; I can only think of one situation where I used a RL person's mannerisms for someone, and the rest have just been made up from general knowledge of personalities and how people act.
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