I've been looking through my notes and profiles on RPR and I noticed one peculiar thing, most of my characters had a theme, motif which recurred around role play and other works.
For example: Blake's motif was power which he lacked at first and when he attained it, he despised as he couldn't see any advantage that his power gave not only that he blamed his power for attracting enemies and ending up hurt, however with time he developed as a person, he met and befriended people he wouldn't be able to if he didn't changed to person he is now but his strength isn't without price for he was cursed by gods with curse of never ending conflict because he was getting 'little' out of control for the gods, which literally made him 'Fight-magnet' only to break his beliefs and change him for worse.
So I'm interested in your thoughts and/or stories regarding that topic.
For example: Blake's motif was power which he lacked at first and when he attained it, he despised as he couldn't see any advantage that his power gave not only that he blamed his power for attracting enemies and ending up hurt, however with time he developed as a person, he met and befriended people he wouldn't be able to if he didn't changed to person he is now but his strength isn't without price for he was cursed by gods with curse of never ending conflict because he was getting 'little' out of control for the gods, which literally made him 'Fight-magnet' only to break his beliefs and change him for worse.
So I'm interested in your thoughts and/or stories regarding that topic.
I think in most cases, giving characters a theme really strengthens their design. It makes them recognizable, realistic, and easier to play with. There are exceptions of course. I think my character Bunny (a living doll) has a theme that both strengthens her character and makes her... Difficult for everyone involved. Her theme is polarity. She is both fragile and powerful, she is both afraid and curious, and her thoughts on most things boil down to a love/hate relationship. Obviously these concepts conflict a lot. One moment she might be fascinated by a thunderstorm, completely relishing in its power and seemingly mystical properties, but in no time at all she could turn around and fear that same thunderstorm. It takes very little to arouse fear or hatred for something that she once loved.
Bunny's personality is the result of some very dark themes. I won't talk about her backstory cause it's a hell of a ride, but I came up with her personality by studying various psychological disorders. I focused on the behavior of a girl named Genie Wiley, who is a tragic phenomena in the world of psychology. Bunny was raised in a way that's kind of similar to Genie, which is why I chose to study her. I also gave Bunny bits and pieces of paranoia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and even hoarding disorders. I think her hoarding habit is probably one of my favorite things about her.
Despite everything, I haven't given Bunny any particular disorders or illnesses. She is entirely undiagnosed, partially because she's never had an opportunity to get diagnosed and partially because she's not human, so who can say just how "abnormal" this sort of behavior is for a doll?
She's also not as chaotic and unpredictable as you'd probably guess. Sure, her house is basically a life sized, shabby chic doll house, and her hoarding habit resulted in far more teapots than any one person could ever need--but she's pretty organized. Everything has a place, her house looks clean if not a little bizarre, and she's easy to please with a deep love for life. Her theme doesn't rule every aspect of her character, which is important for assuring your character theme is a strength, not a crutch or detracting feature.
Obviously I love this concept, so I'm eager to see what themes other people have come up with! Motifs and story based themes are new to me, I don't do them very often. I usually plan out my themes (as if that wasn't already clear) so it's interesting to me when people develop them naturally or unintentionally, like with Blake's power based motif.
Bunny's personality is the result of some very dark themes. I won't talk about her backstory cause it's a hell of a ride, but I came up with her personality by studying various psychological disorders. I focused on the behavior of a girl named Genie Wiley, who is a tragic phenomena in the world of psychology. Bunny was raised in a way that's kind of similar to Genie, which is why I chose to study her. I also gave Bunny bits and pieces of paranoia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and even hoarding disorders. I think her hoarding habit is probably one of my favorite things about her.
Despite everything, I haven't given Bunny any particular disorders or illnesses. She is entirely undiagnosed, partially because she's never had an opportunity to get diagnosed and partially because she's not human, so who can say just how "abnormal" this sort of behavior is for a doll?
She's also not as chaotic and unpredictable as you'd probably guess. Sure, her house is basically a life sized, shabby chic doll house, and her hoarding habit resulted in far more teapots than any one person could ever need--but she's pretty organized. Everything has a place, her house looks clean if not a little bizarre, and she's easy to please with a deep love for life. Her theme doesn't rule every aspect of her character, which is important for assuring your character theme is a strength, not a crutch or detracting feature.
Obviously I love this concept, so I'm eager to see what themes other people have come up with! Motifs and story based themes are new to me, I don't do them very often. I usually plan out my themes (as if that wasn't already clear) so it's interesting to me when people develop them naturally or unintentionally, like with Blake's power based motif.
Bunny wrote:
I think in most cases, giving characters a theme really strengthens their design. It makes them recognizable, realistic, and easier to play with. There are exceptions of course. I think my character Bunny (a living doll) has a theme that both strengthens her character and makes her... Difficult for everyone involved. Her theme is polarity. She is both fragile and powerful, she is both afraid and curious, and her thoughts on most things boil down to a love/hate relationship. Obviously these concepts conflict a lot. One moment she might be fascinated by a thunderstorm, completely relishing in its power and seemingly mystical properties, but in no time at all she could turn around and fear that same thunderstorm. It takes very little to arouse fear or hatred for something that she once loved.
Bunny's personality is the result of some very dark themes. I won't talk about her backstory cause it's a hell of a ride, but I came up with her personality by studying various psychological disorders. I focused on the behavior of a girl named Genie Wiley, who is a tragic phenomena in the world of psychology. Bunny was raised in a way that's kind of similar to Genie, which is why I chose to study her. I also gave Bunny bits and pieces of paranoia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and even hoarding disorders. I think her hoarding habit is probably one of my favorite things about her.
Despite everything, I haven't given Bunny any particular disorders or illnesses. She is entirely diagnosed, partially because she's never had an opportunity to get diagnosed and partially because she's not human, so who can say just how "abnormal" this sort of behavior is for a doll?
She's also not as chaotic and unpredictable as you'd probably guess. Sure, her house is basically a life sized, shabby chic doll house, and her hoarding habit resulted in far more teapots than any one person could ever need--but she's pretty organized. Everything has a place, her house looks clean if not a little bizarre, and she's easy to please with a deep love for life. Her theme doesn't rule every aspect of her character, which is important for assuring your character theme is a strength, not a crutch or detracting feature.
Obviously I love this concept, so I'm eager to see what themes other people have come up with! Motifs and story based themes are new to me, I don't do them very often. I usually plan out my themes (as if that wasn't already clear) so it's interesting to me when people develop them naturally or unintentionally, like with Blake's power based motif.
Bunny's personality is the result of some very dark themes. I won't talk about her backstory cause it's a hell of a ride, but I came up with her personality by studying various psychological disorders. I focused on the behavior of a girl named Genie Wiley, who is a tragic phenomena in the world of psychology. Bunny was raised in a way that's kind of similar to Genie, which is why I chose to study her. I also gave Bunny bits and pieces of paranoia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and even hoarding disorders. I think her hoarding habit is probably one of my favorite things about her.
Despite everything, I haven't given Bunny any particular disorders or illnesses. She is entirely diagnosed, partially because she's never had an opportunity to get diagnosed and partially because she's not human, so who can say just how "abnormal" this sort of behavior is for a doll?
She's also not as chaotic and unpredictable as you'd probably guess. Sure, her house is basically a life sized, shabby chic doll house, and her hoarding habit resulted in far more teapots than any one person could ever need--but she's pretty organized. Everything has a place, her house looks clean if not a little bizarre, and she's easy to please with a deep love for life. Her theme doesn't rule every aspect of her character, which is important for assuring your character theme is a strength, not a crutch or detracting feature.
Obviously I love this concept, so I'm eager to see what themes other people have come up with! Motifs and story based themes are new to me, I don't do them very often. I usually plan out my themes (as if that wasn't already clear) so it's interesting to me when people develop them naturally or unintentionally, like with Blake's power based motif.
First things first, thank you for the posting to my topic, so I will be able to see various interesting motifs and how they are intervined with character, what impact they have on them etc.
Now lets answer to your post.
Wow that sounds like interesting character, I myself haven't researched disorders and mental conditions so extensively.
It's nice being so invested into character that you start researching topics which might help you as author/creator understand that person better and make you able to say:
"She's her own person, She's Bunny."
Like you said the motif for Blake was unintentional although it fit him right in context of his own story, it don't overpower him although it was major point in his life. Now if I was to tell what his motif would be closest to, it would be greek mythology due to how bizarre it is.
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