Naruzeldamaster
Sage
Basically when I'm coming up with a new character, usually the idea for said character comes to me as like a 'baseline' ya know, like, their DNA with not much fleshed out.
In order to flesh them out, I often take a small 'piece' of myself (never enough to be considered self inserting) and then like, applying certain tropes to it. (I personally feel every trope can be useful/done well)
If I don't take a small piece of myself, usually it's someone I know (like my mom/dad, family friends etc) but even then I put an original spin on it. Or perhaps a character in a game/movie I really like.
You'd be surprised how often the characters come out as 'like me but like, obviously NOT like me' especially female characters. Even when I'm writing a 'normal' human in the regular ass world. typically the 'one' thing i have in common (it's usually something like 'gets distracted easily' or 'likes video games a bit too much' ) is about the only relatable thing I have with the character.
I do make an effort to only take one or two things though, or if it's something like 'they're super meticulous like me' I try to make them meticulous about something that makes sense for them, if that makes sense?
In order to flesh them out, I often take a small 'piece' of myself (never enough to be considered self inserting) and then like, applying certain tropes to it. (I personally feel every trope can be useful/done well)
If I don't take a small piece of myself, usually it's someone I know (like my mom/dad, family friends etc) but even then I put an original spin on it. Or perhaps a character in a game/movie I really like.
You'd be surprised how often the characters come out as 'like me but like, obviously NOT like me' especially female characters. Even when I'm writing a 'normal' human in the regular ass world. typically the 'one' thing i have in common (it's usually something like 'gets distracted easily' or 'likes video games a bit too much' ) is about the only relatable thing I have with the character.
I do make an effort to only take one or two things though, or if it's something like 'they're super meticulous like me' I try to make them meticulous about something that makes sense for them, if that makes sense?