Characterization

[Trom DeGrey]

Have you ever been reading a fan fiction story and thought, “Who are these people?” This is the thread to discuss the problem of characterization. How do we take these characters, put them in our own story or even our own universe and still make then recognizable as the BtVS characters we know and love (or hate)? Does Tara have to stutter? Does Willow have to babble? No, but there are physical and emotional attributes that should be present to make them believable and recognizable. This is especially true of stories considered AU or Uber – those set completely outside the BtVS universe. What attributes specifically should be present is highly debatable, although a bad example of characterization is generally easily recognizable. Issues of language, especially slang, should be addressed here as well. Buffy might go out with her friends, but she wouldn’t go out with her “mates”. Giles might use some English words that are not in usage (or common usage) in the US. Spelling - English vs American - is also an issue.

[The_Lord_J]

I think there's some articles on http://www.extraflamey.com that deal with this, which I seem to remember finding useful...

[Sassette]

While I've been really busy, and haven't really been in the 'mood' for fic-writing, I'm toying with the idea of doing some kind of essay-ish character write-ups. Would anyone even be interested in that?

-Sass

[raspberryhat]

Sassete: Sounds interestings. Could you elaborate a bit more on what you were thinking of?

[Sassette]

Basically, a short essay on what makes each character "tick". The idea would be to write about the 'core' of the characters (in my opinion, obviously - I would hope these would spark some discussion): the things about these characters that make them act the way they do on the show, rather than writing about how the things that happened on the show affected them.

For instance, in the show, Willow has some deep-seated issues regarding self-image. While it is clear in the show that these issues come from parental neglect and the scorn of Cordelia and other classmates, my take on the deeper reason is as follows: Willow is a highly intellectual person by nature. She has an intuitive bone-deep grasp on cause and effect, which serves her very well in the sciences, but leaves her at a loss when faced with human interaction. Because she is a good and caring individual, she expects other people to be good and caring individuals as well. To Willow, logically, is she is nice and helpful (cause), people will be nice and helpful in turn (effect). When she does not get the expected result, she is baffled and subconsciously tries to work out >why< she didn't get the response expected. This leaves her with two possibilities: that either she, or the other person, is in some way flawed, bad, or wrong. Faced with these two possibilities, Willow's logical mind will decide the other person is wrong (hence being co-president of the "we-hate-cordelia" club), but her good heart will both make her feel guilty about this conclusion ('cuz it's not nice), and leave her with the fear that the problem is herself.

Each instance of rejection and/or scorn adds weight to the idea that it is her, because each instance is seen as more evidence, and eventually, her logical mind cannot conclude that the problem lies with the other individual, because she consistently gets bad reactions from lots of people: the numbers don't add up, and her logical mind rejects the idea that she's okay and it's everyone else that's wrong. This adds to her feeling that she's not a good person, while logically she knows she's a good person. In time, the emotional load gets to much for her logical framework to contain, and she'll lash out (verbally - she's not the physical type). This in turn both eases her emotional burden, because she's gotten some things off her chest, and adds to it, because lashing out is not something nice people do, so it adds more evidence to the idea that the problem is herself.

The idea is to work up character write-ups that are applicable to the show and applicable to AU. In the example above, if, situationally, an AU Willow grows up in an environment where she doesn't have to deal with mean people (if her "cause and effect" works out as expected: she's nice, so other people are nice back), she doesn't suffer from self-image issues. She does, however, still have the kind of mind that attempts to place emotional human-interactions into a logical framework, and has conflicting logical and emotional responses when she doesn't get the expected response from an overture.

When applied to other situations, this inner conflict as she attempts to reconcile illogical responses with her logical mind still leads to the occasional blow-up (an example from the show: Willow's "You don't have time for a cup of coffee?!" rant at Angel in the S2 ep 'Reptile Boy'), which does nothing to resolve the underlying issue of trying to make sense of things that just don't make sense. In order for this cycle to be broken, Willow would need to come to grips with the idea that some things don't follow order and reason, and she'd need to come to grips with it on a very deep level.

And that was almost an essay all by itself. I better scoot off to work.

-Sass

[The_Lord_J]

Oooo...sounds fun

Yes, that kind of thing would definitley be helpful, to distill down the characters to their core and see what makes them tick. It would probably save fic writers a lot of debating as to how a character would respond to certain events and so on.

I, for one would be very interested.

[Trom DeGrey]

Toss it out there, Sass! As an AU writer, I find their basic character the most fascinating and the most challenging to write. I often create stories and situations with Tara in a different family environment just to see if our "core" or canon Tara comes out. Would be most interesting reading.

[histchic]

Sassette, BtVS characterizations would help immensely! Especially for this individual, who is considering writing a fic but has only been aware of the W/T universe for a few months(I'm feverishly trying to catch up). Your characterization of Willow already shed light for me on the various worlds of her psyche. Thank you.

I also have a bit of a quandry. What resource is the best for developing my own understanding of these characters? Transcripts, ep videos, fan fiction. Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again to all Kittens who have gone before and made this such a welcoming place.

[Trom DeGrey]

Hi histchic! Welcome to the Kitten and, specifically, Beta Pens. I came to BtVS a little late as well and have found that watching reruns or, if you can get them, the season DVDs, are the biggest help in getting down basic characterizations. I just watched season 1 again recently and it reminded me of how sharp-witted Willow really was then. It faded a bit with time, but despite her shyness she could be downright snarky at times, especially with Xander and Cordelia. So, watch as many episodes as you can get your hands on. I would also suggest going to the completed archives here and reading as many canon based fics as possible. Two terrific looks into both Willow's and Tara's characters can be found in Terra Firma by Tulipp and Answering Darkness by Sassette. Both are very insightful. I'm sure there are tons of other great fan fics out there for characterization, but those are always my first two recommendations.

[histchic]

Trom DeGrey, thanks for the advice! Yeah, Christmas is coming up so maybe I'll get lucky under the tree....well with dvd's anyway. I've seen a few episodes here and there, but nothing significant. I've begun reading Terra Firma, and it fits and fills in the gaps of what I already know.

Thanks again you lovely Kittens!

[Sassette]

histchic - I'm very glad Trom answered your question, as I've been away from the board. Definitely, watching old episodes is the best place to start. It's also helpful for character timeline: for instance, Buffy is pretty much constantly waffling back and forth between accepting and rejecting being the slayer, and accepting and rejecting the help of her friends - she's at her funniest when she's rejectiong slayerdom, and she's at her meannest when she's rejecting her friends, so if you're writing for a specific season, it's important to know where Buffy is in relation to her slayer-ness and the other Scoobies.

There are also several very good episode guides on the internet that go over the plot of each episode, and outstanding quotes from the episodes. I can't remember the address offhand - try typing 'Buffy episode guide' into google, and I believe the first thing that pops is the episode guide I'm thinking of. This, however, works best as a supplement to having seen the episodes, rather than a replacement for seeing the episodes. The quotes are a great way to get the hang of the way a character talks, but without the context, they're not as helpful.

As a sidenote, I've promised character essays - I got about 90% done with my Willow-essay months ago, but haven't totally finished it. I'll try to get it finished this weekend at the latest (today if I can), at which time I'll post it and see what everyone thinks of the format and content - if people think it's useful, I'll start working on other characters.

-Sass

[Sassette]

As promised - my Willow essay. Please keep in mind this is all entirely my opinion on the character, and should not be taken as an attempt by me to say that any other interpretations are wrong, kinda' naughty, or grounds for dismissal

Spoiler Alert: This essay includes specific examples from the show. Expect any unviewed season to be spoiled. Read at your own risk.

Willow Rosenberg

Willow Rosenberg is a charming and adorable mixture of brains, heart and determination. Admittedly, the “charming and adorable” part of that statement is my own impression, but remembering that brains, heart and determination are Willow’s main characteristics can always answer the question “What Would Willow Do?”

Determination

In the classic “plucky sidekick” vein, Willow never gives up. No matter how poorly things go, or how dark things get, Willow is ready to keep going. She is the proverbial unstoppable force, and when she meets an immovable object, she treats it as a challenge rather than an impossibility.

Willow doesn’t believe in “can’t”. Despite her self-image problems (discussed later), she believes totally that the answer to any problem is to try harder. As far as schoolwork goes, this has always been true, and Willow doesn’t naturally distinguish between what she can do and what she should do. If she can make things better (and she always can, if she just tries hard enough), then she should, damn the consequences.

Examples:
Her dedication to her studies

Her decision to stay in Sunnydale with Buffy instead of going to a prestigious school

Getting over Oz (“my will be done” spell)

Trying to keep Tara (Tabula Rasa spell)

Angel soul-restore – twice (once before and after a big noggin’ bashing)

Raising Buffy from the dead

The existence of a “resolve face”

Heart

While largely an intellectual, Willow feels things deeply. The indifference of her parents and the scorn of her “peers” hit her squarely in her great big heart, and the repercussions of these perceived rejections affect Willow throughout the entire series. This makes her heart both an asset, for the obvious reasons, as Willow’s compassion plays a great roll in her development, and a weakness.

Caring for others is definitely an admirable quality, but all of Willow’s vulnerability stems from this aspect of her personality. Probably due to her generally logical outlook, she has a tendency to cope badly with things she can’t understand on a mental level. Because she herself is so accepting, kind, and willing to offer a helping hand, she has difficulty with situations in which she is rejected or ridiculed, as she cannot think of this as a reasonable response. Being mean just “doesn’t compute” for Willow, and so she is susceptible to extreme pain when faced with negative and purely emotional reactions.

Once she is experiencing pain because of something she cannot understand, she finds her own emotions equally incomprehensible, and has a tendency to lash out. Only in this kind of situation will Willow have an unkind word or commit a bad deed, but even then, she will feel almost immediate remorse, depending on how deep her pain is, the severity of her reaction to her own pain, and the relationship she has with the person who bore the brunt of her venting. In order for this cycle to be broken, Willow would need to come to grips with the idea that some things don't follow order and reason, and she'd need to come to grips with it on a very deep level.

Willow’s heart, however, is also one of her greatest strengths. The love she has for her friends, and later on, for Tara, is the root of some of her most shining (and occasionally, comic) moments.

Examples:
All of her reactions to Cordelia and her low self-image

Taking care of Tara during the whole “brain suck” thing

Comforting Spike when Drusilla leaves him (S3)

Comforting Spike when he can’t “perform” (kill people) in S4

Her devastation when Oz leaves her, when Xander sleeps with Faith, when Joyce dies, and when Buffy dies (that other thing that was overly devastating didn’t happen at all, of course).

Taking care of Dawn when Buffy dies

Minor explosion at Angel regarding his behavior towards Buffy (“You’re two-hundred years old, and you don’t have time for coffee?” S2 ep “Reptile Boy”) followed immediately by an apology.

Brains

Is a write-up on Willow’s brains really necessary? Actually, yes. While everyone knows Willow is smart, it can add a little something extra when a writer takes the time to think about >how< Willow thinks. This is much harder to determine from canon, and is open to a great deal of interpretation. I will not, however, be giving examples from the show. This is a much more abstract concept.

There are several key differences between writing fanfiction and writing a tv show. The biggest is that a tv show has 44 minutes to tell a story. A fanfic writer does not have this restriction. The second is that there are details that can never, ever come across a screen, that a fic writer can add with no trouble at all. How a character thinks is one of these things.

The only indication of how Willow thinks comes from the things she says and the connections she makes. The thing we know about Willow, is that when she makes no sense, she still makes sense. That is to say, Willow wouldn’t bother saying something that doesn’t make sense to her, even if it leaves everyone else scratching their heads. So how to capture the delightfully random things Willow says that make no sense to anyone, but presumably make perfect sense to her? Consider this exchange from S5 ep Triangle:

Buffy : Where did you send him?
Anya : The land of the trolls. He'll like it there - full of trolls.
Willow : It's hard to be precise, though. Alternate universes don't stay put. Trying to send him to a specific place is sort of like, like... trying to hit a puppy by throwing a live bee at it. Which is a weird image and you should all just forget it.
Anya : It's possible that he's in the land of perpetual Wednesday, or the crazy melty land, or, you know, the world without shrimp.

“Trying to hit a puppy by throwing a live bee at it” … ? How does someone possibly come up with that (nevermind that it usually takes a whole team of writers to do it  )?

Here are two possibilities that I like: the trains and the bubbles.

Possibility One: Willow’s brain is like an intricate series of train tracks, and she has several trains of thought moving at all times. Some of these trains have nothing to do with what’s going on around her. There would be an “active train” which is the thought she’s actually focused on, and a whole lot of “passive trains”, which would be random thoughts whizzing by. As these trains of thought are all moving along a web of tracks, when two trains cross, Willow can jump to another train, thereby making a connection between the “active train” (the train having to do with what’s going on) and one of the “passive trains” (something that’s just buzzing around her head but isn’t necessarily relevant). So, while thinking of alternate universes as the “active train”, with a totally random “passive train” concerning puppies rumbling by, Willow’s assertion that alternate universes don’t stay put crosses with the puppies train, because puppies don’t stay put unless they’re trained to stay. Which begs the question – why was she thinking about puppies? To which, sadly, I actually have an answer. The phrase “hugs and puppies” and variants, appears in the show fairly often, to denote warm-fuzzy happiness and averting disaster. So, to Willow, it would make sense that a post-disaster moment when everything is okay again would be “hugs and puppies” time. I have no suggestion as to where the bee came from.

Possibility Two: Willow’s brain is a pot of boiling water. It has lots of energy, is constantly in motion, and stuff just bubbles up all the time. This is much easier to deal with, because in this case, things pop up completely at random, as unpredictable as the boiling pattern of water, and just as busy.

How much this affects fic-writing is completely up to the author. Do you, as a writer, enjoy overthinking things? If so, you might want to use possibility one and just jot down random words or phrases to be the “passive trains”, and when the characters bring up something that can be associated with one of the words or phrases you have jotted down, have Willow make that connection verbally. If you, as the writer, do not enjoy overthinking things, but you definitely want one of Willow’s special analogies to make an appearance for comic effect, try pulling something completely at random out of your brain and see what happens. If that doesn’t work, pick a word that Willow or another character has already said, then jot down the first three words that spring to mind. Use one of those.

If that still doesn’t work, there’s always bees and puppies.

The “Fix-It” Reflex

The overall consequence of Willow determination, heart, and brains is her “fix-it” reflex. Because Willow’s brain can logically devise a solution to just about any problem, and her heart means that she cares, and her natural determination gives her the belief that she can implement her solution, Willow is a born problem-solver. The only time Willow will not attempt to correct a perceived problem is when age and maturity have taught her that there really are some problems that can’t, or shouldn’t, be solved, much in the way she needs to accept that human interaction doesn’t follow logic in order to overcome her self-image problems. Otherwise, she will wade in and fix whatever is wrong, no matter what. It is only with a series of incidents where fixing the problem makes it catastrophically worse that Willow’s fix-it reflex will be toned down, but only after many >many< incidents: Willow’s heart is always in the right place, and her belief is that her intentions outweigh the consequences, so when things go horribly wrong, she absolves herself of guilt by making her good intentions known.

And baking cookies.

Examples:

S4 Getting over Oz (“my will be done” spell)

S6 Trying to keep Tara (Tabula Rasa spell)

S2 Angel soul-restore – twice (once before and after a big noggin’ bashing)

S3 Extreme measure in trying to get Oz back after kissing Xander

S6 Raising Buffy from the dead

S5 Casting the teleportation spell despite nosebleed and exhaustion side-effects

[Hemiola]

Excellent piece--right on target!

Now do Tara--please, please, please

[tarebear]

hiya sassette!

thank you for that short essay about willow... definitely helpful for someone like me whose a virgin to fanfic writing... these are definiitely things i will keep in mind when creating my own willow/tara universe...

i hope you do tara next, or if you don't have time, someone else does (and the other characters if anyone has time) coz it will definitely give us first-time writers more insight into keeping target with characterizations...

thank you again sassette!

[cbrymm]

Kind of off topic while still being on topic at the same time...

Personally, I find the most annoying thing in a fan fiction is the .. how should I put it... over dramaticizing I suppose ... of a character. Example: Tara stuttering over every other word in every sentence in every chapter. Spike saying bloody so many times one begins to wonder if he actually is bleeding. Obviously, these are expected from the characters, but over usage, in my opinion, ruins a fic.

I find, when trying to get inside a characters head, watching an episode or even a clip with that character is really helpful. That way you have the sound of their voice and how they move in your short term memory and that image is more acurate than what you have stored in your long term memory.

}|{ Catie }|{

[The_Lord_J]

I found a good way of doing this stuff; too many times I've just charged into a writing session intent upon getting all my ideas down on paper, and then looked back at it and thought "these characters act nothing like they do in the show". So, I almost start again and go through it and actually IMAGINE the cast acting out my fic. Actually see it in my brain. The reason behind this is that if you watch the show and Tara stutters every other word, you know that something is terribly wrong, and if it happens ALL the way through the episode, you'd be incredibly suspicious. Or if for example Xander didn't crack one joke or wisecrack throughout it all, you'd notice something missing. Hence, you can work out what's wrong with your fic.

Also, watching a few episodes (or at least reading some well-written fic) beforehand is good to get into the mindset of the show. Better still, read some of the scripts from the show, that will show you how the whole thing was written and make you pick up on some of the things that the characters do that you take for granted while watching, and that only jump out at you when you see it written down. For example, did you notice that almost everyone in the show stutters slightly at the start of sentences if they're thinking on their feet and haven't been able to think through what they want to say? Thought not. Bear it in mind. Read the scripts, it's always useful.

And when writing dialogue, write it, leave it for a day or two, and come back and read the whole thing and imagine the character saying it. Does it sound like them? How would THEY say it? I've seen some fics with great plots ruined by the characters not sounding like themselves; when that happens the reader starts to care about the story less and less because it doesn't sound like the character they care about. You have to have some SERIOUSLY good plot to get away with bad characterization, and even then it's no excuse.

On another note, have a look at this:

http://com1.runboard.com/bthescribesmes ... larea.t301

which is part of this series:

http://com1.runboard.com/bthescribesmes ... larea.t299

It's all good stuff that's well worth a read.

And remember, Buffy is a character-based show...hence, your fic will be a character-based fic. If it wasn't a character-based show, this whole community would probably not exist...


I hope at least some percentage of that was useful. I feel like I'm ranting aimlessly (as I usually do).

[Katharyn]

I'm curious about something that's been concerning me recently in my own fic. If there are any writers of LOOONGG fic out there, or others who are as opinionated as we all love to be *S*, who have any opinions and advice on this I'd be very interested.

I worry sometimes that I'm losing track of the characterization of the girls in my fic. To a certain extent it wasn't working with canon anyway, they were the same characters in the wish-verse for what it matters. And since I started some 170 parts and over a million words have gone under the bridge.

I was always very happy with the characters at the start, and I've never been UNHAPPY with them, that is I've never looked at my writing and said 'that's just not the girls.'

(Be patient, I'm getting to the question! LOL)

I think whats happened is that over the period of the fic (both the time I've been writing it over which is some 3 or more years, the time the girls have experienced in the story etc they've inevitably changed. But I think they'll have changed in a natural way. The experiences I put them through shape who they are now, which is probably not who they were at the start. And as long as the readers experience that same ride I don't think its a problem. It might even be a strength.

And yet I have doubts... When I look back at early parts I remember thinsg I was doing back then, that THEY were doing and it's very different. I've even taken some bits of what was back there and brought it into the present - and been pleased with the result.

I'm curious what approach others might be using for this sort of thing. Do you let the characters evolve regardless, which seems like the right answer, even if that makes them less the W/T we know or actually try to preserve more than you would if they were your own original characters? I'm certainly not saying keep them frozen in time - the nature of the story is that the people change. Any story - experience is the key for any character. But should we try to preserve some aspect of the characters against the natural story flow of that experience? Just because that's who they were once?

(Of course when we write they become our own characters, so there's no right answer. It's not going to change how I write - probably - but it will definitely give me something to think about!)

I've probably not expressed that very well but I've had half a bottle of wine so I'm in a talkative mood! I guess I'm asking if you choose to write counter-intuitively (if intuitively is where characters change with their experience) to preserve something the reader might expect or appreciate as opposed to giving them something new.

Thanks in advance for your opinions,

Katharyn

[Hemiola]

I know her name is anathema to a lot of people on this board, but it's worth quoting Marti Noxon on the subject of fanfic. When an interviewer asked her if she ever read any and what she thought of it, Noxon replied that she had read some, but was repelled by most of it. When asked why, Noxon replied "Because they just don't behave like our girls!".

It's worth remembering that all shows (not just BtVS!) have "Character Bibles" which are distributed to all writers. No writer is, as a general rule, allowed to deviate from the profiles/biographies in the "Bible" (for those interested, the "Bible" for the "Star Trek" original series is fascinating ).

So, I would say that if a story is to be based on the "canonic" show, the characters have to behave and talk as they did in the series. On the other hand, if the fic is to be entirely "AU", the characters need only be consistent within the rules of that universe, but need not conform to any other criteria.

Now an entirely personal question: has any writer started posting some of the stories proposed in the "Initial Ideas" thread? I'd really love to read the proposed "Irish/Viking" story, or the proposed WWII "AU" story. :-)

[Sassette]

Katharyn - you ask a great question, which, really, I don't find surprising. I may not have had half a bottle of wine, but I'm restoring backups of databases onto a test server, which is like watching paint dry, and just realized I've been drinking an old Mountain Dew instead of the new one for at least the last half hour, so I am also feeling a little chatty tonight.

I've always felt that Sidestep is an excellent, >excellent< example of solid AU characterization (admittedly, I haven't read Second yet - I think I really need an entire weekend to catch up with it, but I don't remember the last time I had an entire weekend). These characters are definitely not the canon W/T, but they differ in ways that make complete and total sense when their changed experiences are taken into account.

There are some things a character is at their core, and these things are immutable. Willow is smart. Tara is kind. Willow and Tara are both gay, gay, gay. Other things are definitely a product of their life experiences. Willow loves computers, fights demons, and is an excellent student. If Willow hadn't been exposed to computers, hadn't met Buffy, and/or had fallen in with a bad crowd and ended up with a nasty drug habit, all of these could have been different. Tara, we know, is not so good with the (swimming?) violence. If she'd been, oh, say - raised by kickboxing champions, or, maybe, had lived in a Wishverse where the Master rising caused her family to be killed off by vampires, she could have turned into quite the vampire-dusting machine.

Then there are the things that could be either/or. Is Willow's dependability (I'm not even going to run spell-checking, and I don't care!) a product of an upbringing where disinterested parents made her fend for herself, or something inherent to her as a person? Is Tara's shyness wholly, or just partially, a product of being told she's evil and going to turn into a demon? How about Willow's vast organizational skills? Due to a natural Type A personality, or the result of being the only child of academically-inclined parents? Or Tara's strength? Did that core of inner-strength allow her to withstand/survive her upbringing and get her away to college, or did that upbringing create that inner strength?

So when we ask ourselves this very excellent question regarding fanfiction characterization, we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the "nature vs. nurture" debate.

If people are solely a product of their nature, they have little to no growth in their lifetimes (or in the course of a LOOOOONNG fic). If people are solely a product of their environment, changing the environment (like, say, plopping them in the middle of an AU) changes the character entirely.

What I'm getting at is this: I've always believed people (and characters) are a product of both. There are things about us that cannot be changed. These are the things that should stay consistent throughout a story. There are things about us that are affected by our lives. These are the things that should change through the course of a story (or should be changed at the start of a story, depending on the AU setting). As long as the story is internally consistent and the reasoning behind any character alterations are clear and remain true to the core traits of the characters, I will proclaim the story "well done".

Like, for instance, Sidestep, which just seriously rocks.

-Sass

[Katharyn]

Nature v's Nurture Sass? Ouch. How often have I been in or observed that debate? I'm with you on the my chosen response to it. There are things which are hardcoded (gay, gay, gay as an example!) and things which come from your environment and experience (or are a matter of choice influenced as such.)

I'm not sure if Hemiola was replying directly to my question, but my problem with any shows "bible" has always been that it tells a writer who a character was - maybe how they got there - rather than who they are or will be. (That said a show with a bible is invariably better at the start than one without.) In part its a creative thing, but its also responsible for uneven treatment of characters within a season. Where different writers tell different stories for the same characters according to the same bible - but not the other onscreen experiences in the season(s) then uneveness results. Perhaps that's the nature of network television and how it has to be produced, you rarely get to see the whole picture as a writer unless there is a showrunner with a details guide to where the character is going (but that stifles creativity so... there you go - no win!)

In a sense I agree with the point that she who must not be named was making though. It's rare here, but there are fan-fic stories (for a multitude of shows) that take names and physical descriptions but have nothing to do with who the characters are. That's not the same as, for example, W/T being ballet dancers. Out of their element works just so long as at heart they are W/T and you explain where their characters came from to justify the readers faith in the changes.

That, certainly, is what I've always tried to do and I think most fic I have read here - fic which sits in AU/AR - does well.

I also firmly believe that, except in the shortest or snapshot of life fics, character have to grow. I'm not a fan, though many are, of "monster of the week" stories. W/T fight the monsters and the monster/antagonist/anyone or thing other than W/T is the point, it's just maintaining a status quo. I enjoy stories where characters grow and I get to read and experience that through the writing. It's what I try to write too. My concern is, to go back to what Sass was saying, is how wide the "nurture" gap can become in long fic.

Let's take an example. Willow starts as the "hacker." She's hacking all the time, as well as being gay gay gay with Tara. *S* Readers enjoy Willow being the hacker - they're used to it and happy to read it. Okay, over time I show less of Willow the hacker. Still further maybe she gets RSI and dumps the computer altogether and takes up the trombone. (But is still gay gay gay, in love with Tara and all round sweetie.) Now... I'm interested in whether I, as a writer, have a responsibility to readers enjoyment have Willow pull out that computer from time to time? Or at least not to take it off her?

Honestly, I'm happy that I took the computer away (to continue to use the analogy) because it's something that happened over time and is well explained. Personally I go to insane lengths to justify (to myself as well as the reader) where a character comes from or changes (I am my harshest critic when it comes to explanations of that kind.) Willow's happy with Tara and her Trombone. But how do readers feel about that and what do we do to accomodate their identification with who the character has become? Do we worry, as writers, that the reader might sit there and suddenly say "You know? This isn't Willow at all! Where's her computer?"

Artistically I say junk the computer if you want to - as long as you explain and justofy the reason why - but this is fan-fic, not pure fiction. In fan-fic a trombone might not be what the reader wants.

Oh, and Sass thanks for the compliments as well as taking the time to respond! You might want a little more than a free weekend though *cough*.

By the way I've never a written a fic where she takes up the trombone... honest!

Katharyn.

[Sassette]

Hmmm ... but now I kind of >want< to write a fic where Willow plays the trombone. You are right, though - I would, in all likelihood need more than a weekend, if for no other reason than needing a few days of solid sleep to recover from a reading binge the likes of which the world has never seen. Come to think of it, I'd also probably need more than a weekend to figure out how to get that trombone to Willow.

So, back to characterization. I'd say go with your gut on character changes. If the logical progression of Willow in a long fic has Willow dropping the hacking and playing the trombone with all of her free time, do it. I say it's still Willow, because as long as the character starts out Willow and grows in a realistic way, it's still Willow. Provided, of course, that her core characteristic of being gay, gay, gay and in love with Tara is still intact.

Everything else is details.

Really, when you think about it, this happened in canon. Our Hacker Willow turned into Wicca Willow, and she grew out of her awkward heterosexual phase. These are some fairly major character changes, and while Willow was definitely different in S4 than she was on S1 or S2, she was still recognizably Willow. I'm sure some fans couldn't handle these changes, can't stand magic replacing computers, and have 'Willow + Xander 4EVA' tattooed on their person somewhere.

And that's okay - but Willow's progression from computers into magic was well-handled, and arguably necessary, as there are only so many times one person needs to hack into city planning databases to download sewer maps. At this point in her life, Willow was all about the demon-fighting, so that change made a lot of sense. And now that Willow's all about the Tara-Lovin', should she found out that Tara has this deep dark secret where she finds the trombone ridiculously sexy, I could see Willow devoting time to this.

I completely get what you're saying about a character seeming unrecognizable way into writing a LOOOOOONG fic when compared to the same character at the beginning of the fic, let alone to canon. But I believe that remaining true to the character means letting events shape them - and in the case of dumping the computer for the trombone, it would bother me more as a reader for Willow to suddenly dump the trombone for the computer for no reason at all than it would for Willow to have dumped the computer for the trombone for a really good reason in the first place. The only way I see this working is if Willow, for some reason, makes a conscious effort to get back to the basics for some reason.

I guess to me it's all about the logical progressions. If Willow finds a deep and abiding love for the trombone (because Tara thinks it's sexy), or Tara suddenly develops a surfing hobby (because Willow thinks the wetsuit is sexy), it doesn't bother me as long as their core traits (gay, gay, gay in a gay, gay way) remain true.

-Sass

[Katharyn]

By all means take the trombone and run with it! I hadn't considered a reality in which Tara finds the trombonist (and trombonists with red hair, green eyes and all that goes with it) very sexy! I haven't got time to work it into my current writing though it's definitely worthy of an honourable mention*S*

Now wetsuits... that's heading into fetish land. Still it's not a bad place to be. One persons fetish is another persons baseline *S*

I think your thoughts on characters mirror mine in many ways. I suppose what I'm happily guilty of is taking the girls, placing them in a situation and making them MINE. I stepped away from thinking of what I did as fan-fic at a certain point and edged towards an attitude of pure fiction (within my own requirements to justify and earn every change to the hilt.) I suppose this is why I was a little concerned.

Still interested in other opinions though!

Oh well, back to my fics gap analysis... what gaps do I need to fill. And no, I'm not being smutty.

Katharyn

[Hemiola]

Hi Katharyn!
Trombone? I would've gone for the flute.

[Katharyn]

Aside from the fact I never thought enough about what I was saying to consider it (LOL) I wouldn't want to be derivative.

W: "This one time at band camp, I stuck a tromb-"

T: "Don't even finish that sentence."

Katharyn

[umgaynow]

I am only speaking for myself, but I have never really had to think about staying true to character...or at least I've never consciously thought about it...as an AU writer the way I see things is that we know Willow and Tara and all the other Scoobies basic personalities from watching the show...then you come up with an AU it's like playing "what if"...you latch on to a certain aspect of the characters personality that appeared in BTVS, even if it was just a look or one line delivery that conveyed a certain attitude or aptitude and say now where could I go with this...what other direction might this have taken the character in...and while it is necessary and fun to change the character's behavior from canon in AU...after all there is nothing so much fun as the "I could have written this story arc so much better than that crap ME came up with" game...it is necessary to always ask yourself when creating these new lives, is this something Willow or Tara would do...you have to keep it within the realm of the plausible for the canon and then you pretty much don't have to put all that much thought into staying true to the established characters' inner lives or whatever you want to call it

Sandi

[histchic]

I completely agree with the "characters must grow in a logical way" argument. That goes for fanfic or regular. However, fanfiction is both easier and harder in that way. Since we all know the characters on some level, we know what does and doesn't belong. For instance, going back to the wonderful trombone example, I can really see Willow getting into it because musical theory can be as complex as Java, imho. However, by S4 music may hold some Oz issues as well.

And, part of the show was about being about this group of kids during the time of life when you figure out who "Willow", "Buffy", "Tara", or "Xander" is. The groundwork of their personalities has been laid (reasoning, self-image, etc), but now needs to be fleshed out to all parts of their lives. Having said that, characterizations are, for me, easier, because that's a time in life when people are generally more open to trying things.

BTW, Hemiola, I was the one that suggested the AU WW2 fic. Thanks again for your helpful suggestions.

Toodles, take care.

[Zooeys_Bridge]

This character essay begat great dialogue. Anyone want to take up the next essay?

[Sassette]

Okay, so I mean to write this, like, three years ago, but here’s an essay on Tara.

As always, this is wholly my own opinion, and it should be taken with a grain of salt: this is my “take” on the character, how I think of Tara when I write her, and it includes a whole lot of guesswork, because my opinion on the character is that there is a whole lot going on beneath the surface. This will have far fewer examples from the show as compared to the Willow essay for two reasons: first, there isn’t as much canon stuff to choose from, and second, there is so much about Tara that is completely internal.

This does contain examples from the show, so let’s say “Spoilers for Entire Series”.

Tara Maclay

Tara is difficult to get a full read on, because she was only on the show for three seasons, and in those, was never a regular. Generally, what appears in fan fiction in regards to Tara are the random canon details from the show (she is allergic to shrimp), and pure conjecture (it is common for Tara’s family background to involve physical abuse of some kind in addition to the emotional abuse of being told she was a demon).

While the actual events of Tara’s life aren’t always clear, we know from the events that are revealed that Tara is fearful/peaceful, caring, and a risk-taker.

The Actual Events

The known actual events of Tara’s life are extremely important, not only for understanding canon Tara, but for determining which of her characteristics would be altered by an AU background.

Here is the extremely short list of things we know about Tara from before her time in Sunnydale: she was raised to believe she was, at her core, an evil demon and that this demon would manifest when she turned 20, she is a natural witch and inherited this ability from her mother, her mother died, Tara had a rebellious stage where she did some wild things after her mother died, and she left her father and her brother to attend college in Sunnydale.

Here is a list of some things that occurred while Tara was in Sunnydale: Tara joined the college wicca group, Tara left her dorm room to try to help when murderous demon-surgeons stole everyone’s voices, she knew as soon as she met one of them that Faith and Buffy had switched bodies, she developed a close relationship with Dawn (and to some extent, Anya), she found out she wasn’t a demon, she got brain-sucked by a Hell God, she helped bring Buffy back from the dead. During all of this, she fell in love with Willow, broke up with Willow over Willow’s magic abuse, and got back together with Willow again.

The actual events in Tara’s life are worth noting, because they open up a lot of questions in regards to the source of her personality traits. I believe that, in canon Tara, growing up believing that she was a demon is the most significant event of her past, and that it colors her entire existence. While there is nothing in Tara’s personality that is so outrageous it could have only come from this influence, this influence is arguably so strong that, absent this influence, Tara’s personality traits >could< be significantly altered in an AU setting and still be believable.

Fearful/Peaceful

This is the most important aspect of Tara’s canon personality, both pre- and post- S5 “Family”, and it illustrates the core of Tara’s character-growth from her time in the series.

While the details were never revealed, we can assume that Tara has known for a very long time that, on her 20th birthday, she would turn into an evil demon, and that if she weren’t carefully controlled by her family, she’d hurt people. In essence, Tara grew up believing that she was a ticking time-bomb, and, essentially, doomed.

Tara’s extreme shyness and her stutter are symptomatic of this belief, because this belief makes Tara desperately afraid. To some extent, Tara is afraid that people will see her for what she really is, and that they’ll hate her, reject her, and/or treat her as badly as her family treated her. The real tragedy of Tara’s fear, though, is that she fears herself more than anything else: she’s afraid of what she’ll become, and she’s afraid that she’ll hurt – or worse, actually kill – someone.

Tara’s belief that she is a demon means that every dark thought that she has, every unkind word that occurs to her, and every petty impulse that pops into her head, is cause for fear. While these are all natural human things, Tara is in a position where she has to wonder: is that the demon asserting itself, or is it her? Tara has no frame of reference for distinguishing between dark, but natural, human emotions, and proof that she is, in fact, a demon.

This makes Tara extremely non-confrontational. Throughout the entire show, there is something peaceful about Tara. Prior to “Family” S5, this is a false peace. The peaceful face that Tara shows is brought on by rigid self-control and years of practice clamping down on negative emotions like anger and pain, and it masks an inner struggle between Tara and her darker impulses. While this is a large leap, I believe that Tara likely had a few “incidents” with uncontrolled magic when she was young: she is a natural witch, so we can assume she displayed magical abilities fairly early in life, she grew up in a household that was, at least, emotionally abusive, and children are not known for their self-control. If these factors created a situation where she lashed out magically, which I believe is very likely, it would be the foundation for, or would have reinforced, her fear of the darker parts of her own nature, and her need to keep that part of herself firmly in check.

After “Family” S5, Tara’s inner war against herself is resolved, and she finds true peace. When she learns that she is not a demon and is not doomed to be evil, she is free. She is free to be angry. She is free to be hurt. She is free to argue, and stand up for herself. She can confront people. Instead of actively rejecting part of herself, Tara is free to accept herself, with the realization that she is wholly human.

This, of course, does not occur overnight, but “Family” is the turning point for Tara. The stutter drops off dramatically, and the slow gain in confidence prior to this point picks up pace.

It is likely that, in the absence of the canon belief that she is a demon, Tara’s shyness, insecurity, and stutter would be mitigated, if not absent altogether.

Caring

The depth of Tara’s caring is her strongest and most obvious personality trait. From adopting a kitten to “adopting” a mystic-green-ball-of-light-turned-teenager, Tara isn’t just someone who cares, but someone who feels compelled to take care of things.

As an outsider herself, in just about all situations and groups, not just the Scoobies, Tara is very aware of people who feel left out, have been abandoned, or don’t fit in. It is no accident that Tara’s earliest Scooby-relationships/real bonding moments (non-Willow) are with Dawn and Anya.

Sensitive to other people’s feelings, Tara is someone who goes out of her way to make people feel better, >and< someone who goes out of her way to avoid making people feel bad. Tara does not insult, belittle, or otherwise intentionally hurt other people: she is far too aware of what it is like to be on the wrong end of that kind of behavior.

Tara’s capacity for caring is both a strength and, early on, a weakness. She seems to think of herself in terms of her “usefulness” to other people, and is in danger of both being used and taken for granted. Her generosity of spirit is what draws Willow to her in the first place, but is also what makes her put up with Willow ditching her to spend time with her other friends, not introducing her to these other friends even after they’re totally doing it, and Willow’s epic Oz-drama. Early in their relationship, Willow >does< take Tara for granted, and Tara lets her because, at this time, she is someone who conflates being needed with being loved. It is only Willow’s sincerity, genuine confusion, and eventual understanding that Tara is her everything that stops this situation from being tragic: if Tara had been similarly needed by someone who did not have Willow’s shining qualities, and did not fall desperately in love with Tara the way that Willow did, Tara would have ended up crushed.

It is only when Tara learns that she is not a demon that her sense of caring gets turned on herself. Tara places other people’s needs over her own over and over again – especially for Willow – and does not have the strength to take care of herself first until after she knows she is not inherently evil. Her one attempt to put her own needs above the needs of others prior to learning she was not a demon – casting the See No Evil spell that makes the Scoobies blind to demons in the episode “Family” – is reversed when she is reminded of other people’s needs: when her cousin, Beth, reminds her that she’s an evil demon and is doomed to hurt people, she decides to lift the spell and go with her father so that Willow and the Scoobies are safe from EvilDemonTara, (despite the fact that, if Tara were a demon but it was actually controllable, the Scoobies would probably be the most qualified people on the planet Earth to handle that) once again placing the needs of others over her own.

EvilDemonTara would have been unable to break up with Willow over Willow’s dark magic use: it is only I’mNotADemon!Tara that cares enough about herself to leave.

While Tara’s capacity to care for other people is always present, it shifts and changes pre- and post-“Family”. Tara learns that she is worthy of her own caring, and she is no longer willing to accept being needed in the place of being loved.

Risk-Taker

Tara’s capacity for taking risks is probably her most overlooked trait, and the one that I would argue exists despite the “Evil Demon” mind-game, not because of it. As such, I would further argue that it is her most “natural” trait.

When she thought she was a demon, leaving her family to go to college was a huge risk. In “Hush”, when she leaves her dorm room to go find Willow, she is taking a huge risk. When she alters the demon-locator spell to keep her secret, she is taking a huge risk. When she offers Willow nothing but love and support during her Oz-Drama, she is taking a huge risk. In fact, getting involved with a ‘straight’ woman in college is a Huge Risk. Any involvement in Scooby issues is a Great Huge Risk.

Underneath the shyness and the well of caring is someone who will continually risk her physical and emotional well-being when she decides she wants something badly enough. While her shyness and insecurity makes her early risk-taking tentative (see: Tara’s entire relationship with Willow S4), and her caring makes her unwilling to risk other people, her risk-taking is always present.

This is not to say that Tara is reckless: even if she is making this determination subconsciously rather than consciously, her risk-taking is always a careful balance of risk vs. reward. Her riskiest behaviors (running around campus at night when demonic surgeons were stealing people’s hearts, getting involved with a ‘straight’ woman in college) are reserved for situations that have the greatest potential reward (relationship with Willow).

Tara’s risk-taking is subtly different from Willow’s “Fix-It Reflex”. Willow gets so focused on the problem/solution aspects of a situation that she frequently overlooks or disregards consequences and values, and it is only after consequences have occurred and values have been violated that she will realize she’s done something wrong, even though it’s always for the right reasons. Tara’s risk-taking is always very aware of consequences and values, and she is completely unwilling to risk something that is not hers. Where Willow will take the most direct path from Point A to Point B, Tara will detour to Point C, D and E on her way to Point B to avoid moral minefields that Willow will blithely skip through.

Tara took precisely one risk in her entire time on the show that compromised her values and had unforeseen consequences: the spell she cast on the Scoobies in S5 “Family” that made them unable to see demons. While some would say this proves that my take on the contrast between Tara’s risk-taking and Willow’s “Fix-It Reflex” is false, I say it is the exception that proves the rule. Tara casts an ill-advised spell exactly once, while feeling the full emotional and mental weight of the “Evil Demon” mind-game, when she is on the verge of losing everything that is right and good in her world. Willow immediately forgives Tara, not only because she totally loves Tara, but also because this mistake is totally understandable to Willow: Tara’s “under extreme duress” mistake is the same mistake that Willow makes fairly often. Tara’s mistake is made due to desperation, while Willow’s repeated mistakes are due to expediency.

Survivor

Due to the large number of horrible things she has experienced in her life, it would be easy to see Tara as a victim. But Tara is not a victim: Tara is a survivor.

Tara gets knocked down, but she gets up again. Tara gets bruised, but not broken. Tara may tatter, but she doesn’t tear (okay … I was stretching on that last one).

In short, no matter what life throws at her, Tara endures.

While the resilience of the Scoobies as a whole has the flavor of a willful “what could go wrong?” pluckiness (I say ‘willful’ because the Scoobies know exactly what could go wrong, they just willfully ignore it because it’s too horrible to contemplate), Tara’s resilience is more grounded in reality: Tara knows what could go wrong, and she’s lived through enough horrible things to know that, if the worst happens and everything falls apart, she has the ability to pick up the pieces and move on.

Tara can and does participate in the ‘Avoid and Distract’ Scooby ritual (Avoid thinking of the badness, and Distract ourselves from it with jokes), but once she finds her peace with herself, she discovers an inner strength that doesn’t need the ‘Avoid and Distract’ like the rest of the Scoobies do. In direct contrast to EarlyTara, LaterTara confronts things head-on, doesn’t avoid confrontation and unpleasantness, and has a confidence and faith in herself that will see her through any situation.

Miscellaneous

Tara’s stutter: Tara stutters on ‘w’, ‘y’, and ‘h’. She is more likely to stutter at the beginning of a sentence than the middle or the end. She stutters more when she is nervous, scared, or unsure. After she and Willow have been together for awhile, she stutters much less when it’s just her and Willow. After “Family” in S5, her stutter drops off dramatically.

Tara and “Spicy Talk: From the infamous “genuine molded plastic stamped on her ass” comment, we can assume a few things. First, Tara is not immune to the, dare I say, “catty” impulses that other women are subjected to. She just doesn’t always verbalize it. Second, Tara does have something of a dirty inner-monologue, and, again, just doesn’t verbalize it.

Tara and Auras: Tara recognizes the Buffy/Faith switch due to her ability to see auras. It is likely that this ability is at least partially the source of her empathic nature, but it is also likely that she uses this ability sparingly, if at all, as she is very disciplined in her use of magic.

Tara and Art: It is not uncommon for Tara to be an artist of some kind in fanfic. While I cannot speak for other writers, I do this myself because of the Little Pile O’ Crackers. Personally, when I look at stars, all I see is a bunch of pretty lights scattered across a dark space. I don’t have the mental capacity/brain-type to make pictures out of the scattered pretty lights. This implies that Tara has a capacity for visualization that other people do not (or, at least, I don’t), and that lends itself to the idea that Tara has artistic leanings.

[Hemiola]

A truly excellent analysis of Tara's character which should prove extremely useful to authors/writers.

The only thing I might add is to quote some of the actual lines, such as--

"Risk-Taking"
T: I am, you know.
W: What?
T: Yours.

"Caring"
T: "Do what makes you h-h-happy." (This heart-rending line coupled with AB's delivery still tears me up every time)

And also Tara's ability to be (sometimes unintentionally) funny--
T (to Anya): You mean money, then money, money, money?