Skywalker-esque-ness

Qwanderer · Post by **Qwanderer** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:07 pm

Has anyone else had the experience of writing/drawing your comic when you suddenly realize that one of your characters is a whiny brat and he/she really annoys you? If it isn't intentional, what do you do about it?

Escushion · Post by **Escushion** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:15 pm

I'd say introduce circumstances that will bring out change in the character, if you can think of any. Consider what you've written for them and think of what kinds of events would make them change the kind of person they are.

(And I'd advise avoiding that circumstance being another character lecturing them, cause that rarely ever works on whiny brats

.)

Vorticus · Post by **Vorticus** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:22 pm

I've never had a whiney brat of a character. However I have trouble making characters that aren't exuberantly happy.

Rickford · Post by **Rickford** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:11 pm

I'd say kill off someone close to them, then use the traditional downwards spiral to completely demolish, before reconstructing the character in a way that's more suitable to your needs. Novelists and comic writers are doing it all the time.

CaptainClaude · Post by **CaptainClaude** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:00 am

Joe Jenson shall have vengeance

RemusShepherd · Post by **RemusShepherd** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:32 am

Considering what I do to my characters, they wouldn't be realistically human if they didn't whine at least *some* of the time.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:34 pm

Yes, some characters I liked at the beginning because of their quirks, turned out to be major pains in the ass on the long term.

Black Sparrow · Post by **Black Sparrow** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:41 pm

One of my charactes is a whiny brat, yes. But then, he's just an angsty teenager. He's supposed to be that way.

Though there are times that I want to draw someone smacking him just to get his head on straight.

Jac · Post by **Jac** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:36 pm

I'm here to defend the whiny brats of the character world. I think when you don't have a real "evil" antagonist on hand, whiny brats make for excellent conflict.

Also, sometimes in a story the character that starts off as being the most "annoying" turns into being one of my favorite characters. (And he/she doesn't necessarily change much from beginning to end, either). Perhaps this says something about my own personality traits...

Jackhass · Post by **Jackhass** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:45 pm

Nope, I like my characters...most jerkish behaviour is intentionally written.

SpasticDisaster · Post by **SpasticDisaster** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 12:22 am

My comic hasn't had much time to develop. I bet, however, that any annoyance on their part will lead to a terrible fate. Haha

I do, though, have many personal projects (writing, serious comics) that I've developed and throughout my span came to the problem at hand. You can do as it was mentioned, and trigger an event to change, or even shatter, your character. You could also just sit back and think about the character, and what you intended for them to be, and why they annoy you. Try to see if you either a. went astray from your intentions, or b. followed your intentions, and aren't happy with the results. Then you can take that and try to find a new direction, or go in the intended one. Your changing event doesn't necessarily have to be earth-shattering, either. It can be subtle that, for some reason, strikes a cord in the core of the character, and thus bring about subtle change towards a direction you wish.
Adversely, if you don't wish to change the character, you can try to do something interesting with them that will put a positive or interesting spin on the qualities you dislike, such as a foil relationship. You can examine them and try to take a previous character, or create a new one to become involved in a dynamic relationship, like a foil, or a romantic/sexual tension triggered by their very differences.

Don't take my two week-old comic and write me up as unexpierenced, I've been writing and creating for years. My comic is my first step in finally trying to get things out there. Or maybe I'm just long-winded, I dunno, whatever. Hahah
I hope that I maybe helped.

Linkara · Post by **Linkara** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 12:58 am

Surprisingly, the main character from my books, upon reflection, likes to bitch and whine a lot... not on Skywalker-esque levels, but he does have that kind of "whiny friend you don't want to take anywhere" vibe about him. I certainly hope I fix that for the fourth book...

Qwanderer · Post by **Qwanderer** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 1:33 am

I think killing off anyone close to her would just make her kind of depressed and whiny.
Yes, she's a teenager, and she's real enough to me that I have to be true to her character even if it is beginning to annoy me. And I suspect the real problem is my story; it's not the most visually interesting ever sometimes, and I've drawn her one too many times talking about her sadness over recent events.
I just have to figure out how to write comics. I suspect it will take much practice.