Characters Who Change (or Regenerate) Throughout Time

Thanks to everyone who commented on my Dr Who post last week! I was pleased we had so many people who read this blog and are big Who fans. With that being said, I decided to write another post relating to Dr Who, but this one actually had to do with character development. If you don't watch the show, stick around. It's not just about Dr Who, but characters in general.

When I first learned about the world of Dr Who, I was shocked that the main characters change so often. For those of you who don't watch the show, throughout the years (1963-89 and 2005-present) 11 people have played the main character, the Doctor. That's a LOT of people playing the same character when you really think about it. Each actor brings their own take on the famous Doctor, making each one unique in his own way. The show explains the change seamlessly because the Doctor can regenerate. He is supposed to be the same man inside, with all the memories of the past doctors, but just have a different appearance. That being said, as I mentioned, each actor brings their own ideas to playing him, as I would expect them to.

This got me to thinking. Why is it accepted? Yes, the plot stays steady, the lore and world don't change (except with small plot changes that build the world each episode). That's all good, but don't people tune into a TV show each week because they have an attachment to the characters? I know I do. Once a character becomes unlikeable or even a little boring, I stop watching. Maybe that is why it is such a success, because the Doctor gets a refresher every few years.

Growing up on American TV, I always felt like an actor change meant the death of the show. Think about it, each time you heard the voice over come on as a new actor you had never seen before on the show enters the scene, you would hear "The part of ____ is now played by ____". Instantly, you knew the show wouldn't last. It's like the same curse of characters having babies on shows. It's like the last ditch effort to save it. One of my favorite shows, Mad About You, is a great example. They had a baby, because honestly, what else was left for Jaime and Paul Buchman to do? A year or two later, the show was off the air. I honestly think the only time actor changes on US TV (and I say US TV, because really that's all I can relate to) can be pulled of smoothly is on soap operas. It's expected. The same soap operas have been on since before I was born (but that's for another post).

I guess my point is, why do we accept it on Dr Who? It would be like a main character changing major aspects of themselves (their looks, and lets be honest, a lot of their personality) in our favorite book series'. Would you still read Harry Potter if he acted a different way and looked different from book to book? He wouldn't be the same character we all know and love.

On that note, how about his friends? We all love Ron and Hermione. What if all of the sudden, he got a new set of friends in each book, just as the Doctor changes out companions almost every season? Would the world of Harry Potter feel as familiar and comforting? I don't think so.

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts, even if you don't watch Dr. Who. Do you watch a TV Show because you fall in love with an actor/character, or do you watch for the package, the world, lore, etc?

Building Your Main Characters

I'm currently working on building my character profiles for my WIP, Parlor, and thought I would talk about the process in which I'm going about doing that. I've started off with the basics of what he looks like. When doing that, I like to flip through magazines (usually Teen magazines to get the right age group) and get a sense of hair, eyes, clothes, etc. One thing I stay away from, celebrities. I don't want a celebrity's manners, personality, etc. to rub off on me when building a character, specially my hero/heroine. I want him/her to flourish and become their own person. My goal is to get a good picture of what my character looks like and I usually start to set up a character board with pictures from the magazines.

Once I have the look of the character, I can start to picture him/her in my head. A lot of the character's personality should come from the story. How would this person deal with the situations I throw them into? Do they want to be the hero, or are they reluctant to start on the journey I've set them? A lot of times, just thinking of the plot of the book and what the character will have to go through helps to shape them. Thinking about what they like/dislike, what they are comfortable in (clothes wise) and what they're hobbies are also helps give you a better idea of who this person in your head is.

I think what rings true in a book is when the author believes in their character. This person a writer has created has to be comfortable with the character living in their head for the duration of writing the book. I'm not saying you have to love your character at all times, but you have to respect them for who they are even if you might not agree with a path they want to take.

So I ask you, what exercises do you do to build your main character?