Any author to have ever written, from poetry to prose to every other genre in-between has been confronted with one universal question: where do you get ideas for your characters? And really, the answer is just as universal. It is impossible to create a completely original character, for the way people characterize is through traits. So the entire concept of a character is an imaginary person built from the ground up with desired traits. And a trait is always predefined by its existence in others, and in the author himself. This is why, we as readers, can love or hate characters, because we see pieces of our friends, our families, ourselves in them, both the positive and the negative. Through exploring the traits and characteristics of these imaginary beings, we can better learn who we are and who we may become.
[...] I know that I have hurt people unintentionally; I have pushed people away that I love just because I love them. Sometimes, I just don't want them to know. Unlike Beatrice, however, I usually opt for the wallflower approach, the shyness factor, with a little stalking thrown in to keep my hope alive. See, Beatrice is actually stronger than a lot of us. In an odd way, we could all hope to reach her level of self-esteem. No, she's not perfect. [...]
[...] I Love Not Loving You Any author to have ever written, from poetry to prose to every other genre in-between has been confronted with one universal question: where do you get ideas for your characters? And really, the answer is just as universal. It is impossible to create a completely original character, for the way people characterize is through traits. So the entire concept of a character is an imaginary person built from the ground up with desired traits. And a trait is always predefined by its existence in others, and in the author himself. [...]
[...] I was only eight. No one ever found out, and I was never punished; even the ancient mariner gets what he deserves, in a supernatural walking dead kind of way, but it is still punishment. And I think retribution is what fuels regret, and regret stifles most desires to repeat offenses. He not only embodies the urge to do wrong, but illustrates the aftermath: a man repenting. No one is a saint, and readers stumbling across his crime are reminded of similar acts they have committed, but not all were caught. [...]
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