When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new people?

[Montero]

There's a thread going on in General Writing Discussion at present

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/538788-why-are-some-things-so-popular-now.html

on why some things are so popular, and in particular Twilight. Which lead to a link posted to an Oatmeal review of Twilight, which said that the main female character in Twilight is designed for the reader to be able to project themselves into.
Which got me wondering.

When you read, do you

a) Project yourself into a character?
or
b) Meet new people? (In the form of the characters - some of whom I definitely need to find likeable.)

I'm definitely a b)

 

[Mouse]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

Oh, well I just answered in the other thread but I'd say B. I don't really get why you'd want to do A. I can put myself or a version of myself in somebody else's story/tv show/film, but take on an existing character as myself? Nope. Weird.

 

[JoanDrake]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

I just answered too, so I'll go and detete that, if it allows the last post to make sense.

I don't read for either. I read because the book's IDEA intrigues me. Now the idea is usually contained in the characters nowadays, so it may be (b) in that respect but usually, insofar as the character themself goes, I have a sort of ho-hum attitude. As far as living vicariously, yeah, I do that too, I think everyone who reads a lot does but once I shut the book I realise very quickly I'm not Lisbeth Salander, (and better not try to beat up Bikers). Have you ever noticed how many well-known SF/Fantasy writers are prominent in the Skepticism movement? I think it was Asimov who once said. "I write about Flying Saucers, I don't believe in them" (OTOH Arthur Conan Doyle firmly believed in Fairies and Spiritualism, so go figure)

 

[thaddeus6th]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

Cunningly, I have so many personality flaws I can spread those around to a few characters. Mostly it's meeting new people, though.

I do find some easier to imagine than others. Pompous asses and lecherous thieves come naturally, for some reason. Women are harder to write.

 

[algai'd'siswai]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

If the character is relatable to the point of a mirror image of myself and personality I'd project myself into the character and see myself acting the part, though, this has only happened 2 or 3 times out of the hundreds of books I've read

 

[Hex]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

Just to be difficult, I like to be able to project myself onto the character. They don't need to be like me, though. I can project myself onto all sorts of characters. I always thought of it as empathising, plus I rarely get told what my friends are thinking in the same way that authors make characters' thoughts explicit.

 

[Timba]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

Interesting question. I don't think I project at all so I think I am a solid B. I do really get into good characters though and find myself wishing I knew them, sadly then the story ends and I am back in the real world just trying to get by.

 

[somnambulist]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

definitely project myself into one of the characters

Why is harry potter so incredibly successful? You project onto the characters and go to hogwarts YOURSELF, becoming very potent escapism. All of my very favorite books have at least one point-of-view character that i can 'ride' with: john snow, logan ninefingers, kaladin, raif severance, dresden... Sympathetic farm boys with destiny are so prevalent in fantasy exactly because of this.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

I agree with Hex it is more empathy than anything else. It does depend on the POV of the story whether or not I become one with the character as I read or not.

 

[Toby Frost]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

I'm definitely of the (B) camp, although thinking about it I realise that I don't need a lot of emotional involvement to find a story very interesting. In fact, I'm quite drawn to stories almost entirely populated by grotesques, such as Gormenghast and Dune.

That said, I don't know how much of an empty vessel a character has to be to get readers involved. Also, there are a lot of bland characters in older SF. There's the "competent man" from Golden Age American SF, and several of the the heroes of John Wyndham's novels. But I don't think that we're supposed to identify greatly with these guys: their function is to move the story, and hence its ideas, along.

Anyhow, in short, it's interesting characters that I want to watch, even if I'm watching them in a fairly detached way.

 

[HareBrain]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

I'm a B, but I was much more an A as a child, especially if the character bore some resemblance to myself. I remember projecting myself heavily onto Will Stanton (of The Dark is Rising), probably because he seemed quiet and ordinary but actually was immensely important and had magical powers (though not as many as I undoubtedly had, could I only find the key to discovering them). The same happened with Edmund in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, hopefully more because he wasn't leader material than because he was a traitorous little scumbag. And Jesus.

But I don't think I do this now, however blank or like me (or both) the character is. I don't think that means I don't empathise or sympathise with them, however.

 

[nixie]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

I'm B. As a child I was still B although in my own mind I was always an extra character and used to play out different scenarios in my head of how my influence would change things.

 

[James Coote]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

This is something that comes up with regard to video game protagonists. Some of the most successful video games have you play as a mute, empty shell

E.g. Gordon Freeman (half life), Master Chief (halo) or Doom guy, so named because the game Doom never even gives its protagonist a name!

Interestingly, in Japan, it tends to be the other way round, with great attention paid to filling out the character(s) the player is controlling, as explained by extra credits team

I actually think the author chooses, not the reader, and it's done mostly by the way they introduce the character and then how strictly they stick with the protagonist's POV.

It doesn't matter which way round it is for me, so long as it remains that way. That the "empty shell" that I project myself into doesn't suddenly start saying things I think "There's no way I'd say that if I were in his shoes"

However, you could also argue that as being "out of character." Where the character is more a character shaped hole that the reader fits more or less comfortably into. When when authors start to fill that hole, they end up chucking dirt all over the reader.

http://extra-credits.net/episodes/western-japanese-rpgs-part-2/

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

I'm in the meeting new people camp. I empathize with all the characters (even the villains) unless they annoy me. But I don't project myself into any of them.

 

[Connavar]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

It depends on the genre and the type of book it is. When i'm reading YA,children books i see a good kid, boy or girl being the lead and someone who doesnt have flaws i dont like i can see myself in them. Younger self specially since i grew up in war torn country and didnt get to read children,YA books. I feel i missed reading books as a kid.

But usually im reading adult fiction say noir or general fiction with characters that have flaws i despise. Like many of my literary fav characters have that western world stereotype of being drunk or just drink alot because its big part of the characters culture. That i can never see myself doing and i can never understand being from culture where drinking is far from being cool,important.

The biggest reason why i read to meet new people. I live in western world of books and some parts like drinking i can never agree with. I lose respect for fav characters already with that part.
Specially reading American,Irish books. I know more than i would like to know about all kinds of different hard liquor brands. I dont want to sound critical of something like this but i can never project myself on a character whose does things i dont like at all.

 

[planetocean]

Re: When reading do you project yourself into a character or are you meeting new peop

Depends on teh type of book, but I would have to say I actually do both, maybe (b) a little more than (a), but I do both.