As authors, we cannot help but leave a piece of ourselves behind in our characters. While each of my characters are wholly unique, I give each of them a part of me. Both the good and the bad.
To Adrienne Deschanel, I gave my ability to see the world with wonder and potential, and my unintentionally selfish consumption of it
To Aidrik The Wise, I gave my unfailing pragmatism, and my lifelong search for a way to marry my faith and my reason
To Alex Whitman, I gave my desire to save others from their bad decisions, and my perseverance on seeing a task through to completion
To Anasofiya Deschanel, I gave my tragic sense of self-punishment, but also my deep-seated need to protect others
To Anne Fontaine-Deschanel, I gave my ability to find courage and trudge forth into the unknown, and my resolve to push through unspeakable odds
To Augustus Deschanel, I gave my need to see things done correctly, and my unbecoming intolerance of stupidity
To Finnegan St. Andrews, I gave my desire and ability to see the best in others, and my commitment to diplomacy
To Jonathan St. Andrews, I gave my sometimes paralyzing fear of social situations, and my profound need for structure
To Mercy, I gave my stubborn insistence on always staying the course, and my strong belief that one should stay true to themself, despite the opposition
To Nicolas Deschanel, I gave my prolific love of the “f” word, and my unwillingness to take anyone’s crap for long
To Oz Sullivan, I gave my annoying habit of constantly second-guess myself, and my stubborn tendency to not let things go until there is closure
...and then there was Sarah 
This is such a cool post. Never thought of doing something like this.
Thanks Charles…it sort of came to me as I was talking to someone about why I’m able to connect so well with my characters. Just thought I would formalize it.
Hope they send you a few thank you cards.
Hah! I wish. Not all of them have inherited my graciousness 🙂
Love this post! I was thinking recently of how some of my characters have bits of me in them, the good bits as well as the bad. Thanks for sharing this and confirming your fondness for the f-word 😉
Hah! Yes, I have more than a fondness for it, sadly 🙂
I think it’s impossible not to leave part of ourselves into any character that we put blood, sweat, and tears into creating a world for. But it helps make them real.
What a great idea for a post. We certainly do put a litle bit of ourselves in each character we create and I loved reading how yours relate to you. I especially loved what you gave Nicholas Deschanel, lol.
Thanks Melissa! And yes, Nicolas, perhaps, got the best deal of all 😉
It’s what I hate about writing the most- the parts of me that surface in my characters. I feel like it exposes me to the entire world, and it’s kind of a scary feeling!
Sometimes I feel like that, too. Though, readers will never know what is you and what is the character, so it serves as a bit of a cloaking device.
What a great post. It is so true that we cannot avoid interjecting a bit of ourselves into each character. It can be awkwardly self-disclosing sometimes.
It is…sometimes, as I write, it will feel particularly brutal. It’s in those moments I know I’ve hit a nerve close to home.
I’ve done that a bit as well – sometimes consciously, because it’s easier to write what you know, right? – and sometimes unconsciously, and I’m surprised when a proofreader will remark that they never know such-and-such about me before. That part’s a bit unsettling because I don’t even realize I’m putting bits of my experiences and traits into my characters. Especially when it comes to faults, writing about them from a distance by giving them to a character helps me to understand myself better, which has to be a win, even if it makes me uncomfortable sharing with others. 🙂
It’s almost like free therapy, in a way…or a more intense, creative form of journaling. Whenever I feel like I am inserting too much of myself into any one character, I will scale back and give them attributes that are more unique. But I can always see my handiwork 🙂
Reblogged this on Invisible.
Thanks for the reblog!
No problem!