So....I finished my book and i hate my characters.

[anthorn]

Well, not exactly hate, but I've been with them for so long I'm just fed up. I just want their story done and over with.

Anyone else get this? I'm thinking of cutting my trilogy to a duology to just have this thing done with.

 

[j.grey]

Yeah, but more often, the other way around.

 

[Juliana]

No. (sorry)

I do get a little tired of the story, and am always happy to take a break before edits etc, but re characters I usually find that by the end of draft 1 I know them so much better than when I start out, and I like them all the more for it.

 

[Phyrebrat]

My own practice/advice: Drawer it for a few months if you have the strength, and as best you can, ignore it and when you see it with fresh eyes you'll find the change in your opinion remarkable.

Don't think about time and series; those are separate issues that won't contribute to the completion of your trilogy.

Write shorts, write anything but your wip-trilogy. After a while you'll start to feel the pull back to it and feel excitement about those characters.

If, when you return to it, you're still uninspired and bored, it may be time to rethink- or get a valued opinion on them.

In a worst-case scenario, your characters may indeed be boring but that's easily addressed with flaws and conflict they'll have to solve.

pH

 

[VinceK]

Well, not exactly hate, but I've been with them for so long I'm just fed up. I just want their story done and over with.

Anyone else get this? I'm thinking of cutting my trilogy to a duology to just have this thing done with.

Have you asked anyone else for an opinion? Perhaps if someone said, 'I really like so and so.' You might take a different view of that character.

 

[The Big Peat]

I think I'm two months from a complete debut I'd be willing to self-publish. The temptation to delete the whole thing in a screaming breakdown is still super strong - not because of the characters, but in general. So you're not alone.

Do not do this. It is likely that in time you will feel otherwise. Don't commit to a duology either because ditto. Decisions on books are best made cold. Do what Phyrebrat recommends and see where you are. Exhaustion with your work is not uncommon but that doesn't mean it will stay.

 

[W_Pilgrim]

This is my first post, but reading this thread struck something in me. One thing I've learned to do when I get fed up with my characters is to kill one of them. It doesn't necessarily have to be your main protagonist(s) or primary antagonist(s), but killing a higher character can be cathartic. It's always best - at least for me - for that death to be a surprise to me. I have had to stop, read what I wrote again, and confirm if what I just put down on paper really happened.

There's always the opportunity to remove the death later, but I've found that the death will actually help move my story in a different direction and give me new insight into my characters.

 

[j.grey]

Perhaps it's best to address the underlying issue? Our characters are mostly a reflection of ourselves. They may be exaggerated and distorted but they represent us, the people we hide underneath, fragments of our own identity. Sometimes they're based on people we know, those we love or those we hate, but generally our main characters have a piece of us, the best have a slither of our very soul chipped into them.
You might not like your character because you've not done a very good job of creating them, you've not dug deep enough into yourself to find their true identity. You may really not like what they're telling you about yourself.
Literally, talk to them. Get to know your character as people, their true motivations, their drives, what makes them who they are. If you can't do that, then they're not ready yet and if you can, and still don't like them then they may be telling you that there are things in your life that need to change.
Either way, it's cheaper than counselling and much quicker.

 

[Brian G Turner]

This is my first post

Welcome to the chrons forums, W_Pilgrim.

Perhaps it's best to address the underlying issue?

I agree - I struggle with characters when there's something important missing from them. The trouble is, it's not easy to figure out what that might be!

 

[j.grey]

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy! You just have to remember that the best characters aren't characters at all, they're real people that just happen to live inside your head.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Novel criticism is a dish best served cold.

 

[DZara]

Can you take a vacation from the book for awhile? I like what Phyrebrat said - maybe do some reading, write some short stories, see other characters...

You might just be too close to it. I get that way after long editing jags sometimes.

 

[Ronald T.]

I'm afraid that's not a good sign. This is just my opinion, but I'm worried that if you can't keep yourself interested and excited, how can you do so for your readers?

I love my story and it's characters. If I didn't, I'd rewrite the story, or parts of it, and change the characters.

Ultimately, if you've become bored with your story, it's likely your readers will, as well.

Step away from your story for awhile. And during that time, have a couple of beta readers give their opinions on where your story seems to feel a tad boring to them. They may not feel as you do about the story. Sometimes, we're simply too close to a thing to truly appreciate it. Create some distance and them reread what you've written. It's often a pleasant surprise.

Good luck.

 

[RX-79G]

Back to the OP:

What, exactly, do you dislike about your characters? Is it what they say, what they do, or why they do either?

You can fix dialogue. The actions of the characters are the plot, so that is more difficult.

 

[Theophania Elliott]

I'm with the people who are saying to take a break.

I remember reading somewhere that Jim Butcher has the same problem, which is one reason he likes writing in two series alternately: by the time he's finished with a Dresden Files book, he's thoroughly sick of Harry and all his works. Swap on to a different series, and by the time he's finished that one, he's raring to go and ready to torture Harry some more.

Once you've had a break, you'll be much better able to see whether you hate your characters just because you've been stuck in a story with them for months/years on end, or because there really is something wrong with them. And, if the latter, what the problem is.

 

[zmunkz]

I'm worried that if you can't keep yourself interested and excited, how can you do so for your readers?

This is my first reaction, too. I think the key is gaining some distance so you can put your finger on what's got you spent.

It could simply be a matter of staring at it too long, or else something underlying in the arc might be missing.

 

[philzilla]

Put it away and move on to something more interesting. In a year go back and then see if there is anything there. You will probably find that there is.

 

[LittleStar]

When writing thhe first draft of one of my projects I found myself quite disliking my main character, as a single POV series this was quite an issue. I couldn't say why I didn't like him, I just didn't. It was fine thoigh, by halfway through book 1 and for the rest of the series I was liked him enough and really enjoyed his arc, so I pushed it to one side.

Finish draft and edit through, I still didn't particularly take to him, but I knew where he went and could see this was somewhat part of his growth.

But pass it to my partner to read through as a beta, and it crops up again and again, struggle to engage with MC, disliking him, picking up on his eccentricities and just generally being so much more engaged with the supporting cast. Now from first draft I knew this was an issue as I myself didn't like him, but it wasn't until my partner confirmed the issue and offered very helpful critism (or even just identifying much better than I can, what exactly was wrong with him) that it became something that needed fixing before anything can move forward.

It will be thoroughly looked at and fixed next month


As to not enjoying the process and just generally getting a bit fed up with a series, I think that when you draw something to an end it is quite difficult not to be looking foward to the next project, or feeling like you're done with this one before 'the end' is put down on paper. If this is coming halfway through a trilogy though, perhaps something needs to be tweaked in the characters or plot. OR at the very least know that in editing it will need to be, because as others have said no matter how exciting the scene is, if you're bored when writing it, it that will come through in the writing and it is going to be boring for a reader, probably a put down and not pick up point for most.

 

[tinkerdan]

So You Are Telling Me is::

Perhaps it's best to address the underlying issue? Our characters are mostly a reflection of ourselves. They may be exaggerated and distorted but they represent us, the people we hide underneath, fragments of our own identity. Sometimes they're based on people we know, those we love or those we hate, but generally our main characters have a piece of us, the best have a slither of our very soul chipped into them.
You might not like your character because you've not done a very good job of creating them, you've not dug deep enough into yourself to find their true identity. You may really not like what they're telling you about yourself.
Literally, talk to them. Get to know your character as people, their true motivations, their drives, what makes them who they are. If you can't do that, then they're not ready yet and if you can, and still don't like them then they may be telling you that there are things in your life that need to change.
Either way, it's cheaper than counselling and much quicker.

:: I'm a little girl who thinks at one time she was a grown man and is now trapped in this little girl's body.

Anyway to get back to the original post::
I have yet to be tired of my characters: I have trouble killing them when the time comes.
I've gone through around 10 edits each with my first two books before they published and I have recently reread those two books so I can be certain I wrap up the loose threads I've left and I have to say that I'm still not tired of these characters.

 

[RX-79G]

:: I'm a little girl who thinks at one time she was a grown man and is now trapped in this little girl's body.

Only if you take everything literally.

If you are a grown man writing a little girl protagonist, is there nothing in your own life that you put into that character? Is the little girl in no way an expression of any of your fears or experience?