# Im Writing A Furry Story And Am Looking For Characters



## BansheeThunder (Jul 3, 2009)

I plan on starting a furry story but am short on ideas for characters. If you have a character that you would like featured in the story id be happy to put him or her in. I am looking for some bad guys and good guys as well as some minor characters. If you have a character you want featured ill be happy to tell you the role he/she would play in the story. So if you want a character in it of know someone who would message me on here, or email me. My MSN is Brampson123@hotmail.com and Yahoo is Brampson123@ymail.com.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 3, 2009)

...How do you even have a story to start if you don't have any characters in mind?


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 3, 2009)

I have main characters and an idea of what they will be doing but im talking about Names and Races of Furrys which im not to good at.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 3, 2009)

For names you can consult various websites which offer name lists, typically their advertised as 'baby name' sites.  There are also name generators which can be good to hammer like a slot machine untill you get something you like.

For species a list of furry species is helpful.  Often for something quick I just pick something from Wikifur's popular species list: http://furry.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_most_popular_phenotypes

Failing that you can just generate your own species list to consult, get some friends, brainstorm up lists of species and considder which species you want to exist and not exist in the world.


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 3, 2009)

Ive tried generators and frankly i dont like them because the creators put alot of words or names into them and put it into random assortments and they end up sounding weird most of the time.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 3, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> Ive tried generators and frankly i dont like them because the creators put alot of words or names into them and put it into random assortments and they end up sounding weird most of the time.


 
Then just take what you LIKE from the generators.  Don't take every detail.  I just find that generators help for 'inspiration'.

However I also suggested lists which you've negated.


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 3, 2009)

Well i really dont feel like looking through a million names on a generator 2 find a few i like...u can call me lazy if you want but me not being good at characters isnt the only reason im doing this. Some people would like there characters in a story and if they arent good at writing it most likely wont have them in one so im letting people who do in. Plus this gives me more time to think of plot


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## Tanzenlicht (Jul 4, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> 2 find a few i like...u can call me lazy



Lazy.

I suspect most people don't have to worry about being worse at writing than you are.  And you're compounding the problem using a mix of names and species that are selected completely at random by other people.


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 4, 2009)

wow way to burn someone for no reason


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## Shouden (Jul 4, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> wow way to burn someone for no reason



no...Tanzen never burns people without a reason.


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## Vintage (Jul 4, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> Well i really dont feel like looking through a million names on a generator 2 find a few i like...u can call me lazy if you want but me not being good at characters isnt the only reason im doing this. Some people would like there characters in a story and if they arent good at writing it most likely wont have them in one so im letting people who do in. Plus this gives me more time to think of plot



you have taken all the imagination out of fiction, congratulations

if everything you write is provided by someone else, where is your touch?  where is your voice?  what makes your work unique?  your writing is not going to be unique unless you actually sit down and do it all yourself instead of having other people do it for you.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 4, 2009)

Hey, I TRIED to steer him towards actually excercising the minimal effort to be creative in character creation, all he did was say it'd waste time.

So it's a safe bet that anything he produces will suck.


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## Tanzenlicht (Jul 4, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> wow way to burn someone for no reason




Wow, way to fail at basic grammar and punctuation.  Also comebacks.


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## nybx4life (Jul 4, 2009)

Oh yeah, for Thunder here, you don't really ask to have people in a story UNLESS it's requested to you.
Usually then, that character becomes a MAJOR part of the storyline. Usually.

Besides, what sort of storyline do you have that needs you to ask people for names?


P.S: You are not putting a character in their story if you just put their name in. You have to also provide their personality, as well as appearance. If you just mention the name without anything else, you did not put another person's character in your writing. You just took the name, and nothing else.


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 4, 2009)

ik that. i ask people for some backround if they are playing a big part in it. like the Main Bad Guy like to kill and torture and has bloodlust and i found a way that i can use that to my advantage in the story


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## nybx4life (Jul 4, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> ik that. i ask people for some backround if they are playing a big part in it. like the Main Bad Guy like to kill and torture and has bloodlust and i found a way that i can use that to my advantage in the story


 
So.... for this story of yours, you pretty much are in development of everything.
This doesn't make sense.
Not only did you fail in having character names, you're pretty much asking for character personalities as well to fit into a plot that isn't in development yet.

Am I right or is there something else off from this?


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## Shouden (Jul 4, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> Hey, I TRIED to steer him towards actually excercising the minimal effort to be creative in character creation, all he did was say it'd waste time.
> 
> So it's a safe bet that anything he produces will suck.




yeah...I figure if you can't actually create characters and figure out their names and whatnot for yourself, then perhaps that's a sign that you shouldn't be a writer. or perhaps, instead of asking people for characters, ask them for what you actually need.


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## AshleyAshes (Jul 4, 2009)

Shouden said:


> yeah...I figure if you can't actually create characters and figure out their names and whatnot for yourself, then perhaps that's a sign that you shouldn't be a writer. or perhaps, instead of asking people for characters, ask them for what you actually need.


 
Worse is, he seems to primarily want help with SECONDARY character which is easier than making sure your primary characters all mesh well for the needs of the story telling.

I can understand having trouble with character creation.  Secondary character are more disposable but you want a suffiently unique name.  In furry writing you also need to pick a species and you might be like 'Nah, I already have 3 skunks, I need something else.... Hrmm' and want some brainstorming what what species you feel 'fits right'.

But to flat out refuse to even try cause it's too hard or would take too much time?  That's SAD.


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## Alisu (Jul 4, 2009)

I always considered character creation to be the funnest part of making a story...


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 4, 2009)

ok all of u burners get a fucking life. Just because im not good at making names of characters or picking a species doesnt mean im a bad writer. If u think i am a bad writer because of that u obviously dont know what writing is about. its not just about characters its about what they do and how the story goes.


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## Vintage (Jul 4, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> ok all of u burners get a fucking life. Just because im not good at making names of characters or picking a species doesnt mean im a bad writer. If u think i am a bad writer because of that u obviously dont know what writing is about. its not just about characters its about what they do and how the story goes.



no, poor grammar, spelling and punctuation make you a bad writer.

that and you're not even listening to anyone here.  all we're saying to do is JUST WRITE, and you won't even bother with that?  good lord.

i'm sorry if you're too thin-skinned to take constructive criticism with any kind of grace, but this could all be resolved if you just sat down in front of wordpad and started writing.  practice is how you get better.  not by asking other people for shit.


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## M. LeRenard (Jul 4, 2009)

Settle down, folks.  Maybe Banshee is just a beginning writer who needs some inspiration and is thus asking for ideas.  There would be nothing wrong with that.  So turn down the damn fire.  Everyone's gotta' start somewhere.

Banshee: it would be sort of helpful to give an idea of the setting for this story, so that anyone willing (God forbid) to offer up an idea could know what would be appropriate.  You don't want a gun-toting futuristic space fighter running around in a thirteenth-century Arabian desert setting, after all.  At least, normally you wouldn't.


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## Nakhi (Jul 4, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> ok all of u burners get a fucking life. Just because im not good at making names of characters or picking a species doesnt mean im a bad writer. If u think i am a bad writer because of that u obviously dont know what writing is about. its not just about characters its about what they do and how the story goes.



Trust me, my first character names were randomly generated. If you want, you can read my stories I have up (none are furry, but the offer stays) and use the names. HOWEVER, I of course am going to request that you credit me for the name at least. 

Just trying to help out and I already like where your idea is going.


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## Xadera (Jul 4, 2009)

++ to what MLR said. Stop crucifying the poor kid already. If you checked, you'd see that he doesn't even have any prior writings uploaded yet, he's only been here for a couple of weeks, and that he's only 16. Plus, he came to a community rife with characters, so appealing to that community for additional characters not only helps him with his story development but also aids in becoming a part of that community. This is the "Writing Forum", i.e. "Place to come to when writing something". It shouldn't be the "Elitest Writers That Persecute Everyone Else Forum"...

As for you, Banshee, the writing forum probably isn't the best place for you to come to for this issue. Aside from the above, writers also tend to not create a single fursona, which I think is what you're looking for. As you are new here, the term "fursona" is probably what you're looking for instead of "characters", as a fursona is the specific character that people within the community attribute themselves to.

Edit: Whoops! I totally forgot about the many users who create a large repertoire of characters instead of just a single character... So you might have been better off with the original statement ^^; Otherwise, creating a name in general can be difficult, so while you may get many ideas for species to use for characters that haven't been pre-constructed, giving you a name in the same respect won't be as likely to occur.


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## Mongoose Ink (Jul 4, 2009)

Cross-posting from his OTHER thread about this, just because I make sense, dammit.

---

Hmm, strange as it may seem, if you're a writer, why are you not able to come up with your own characters? The mark of a good writer is to be able to create original characters, filling them with enough depth and personality that they seem real and identifiable to the reader.

If you can't even come up with your own characters, however lackluster they may be, then you have no business being a writer. At least not a writer of fiction. 

If you want to write using only things other people have done or made, then please, go write a biography or a news article.

And if you're still desperate for characters, how about a can of cream of mushroom soup which desperately wishes it could one day accompany the chicken of its dreams in the world's most splendid casserole. This is the crap people will give you because you are too lame and lazy to think for yourself.

Better yet, just go back to reading the back of a bag of Cheetos in your mom's basement.


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## Nakhi (Jul 4, 2009)

Mongoose Ink said:


> Cross-posting from his OTHER thread about this, just because I make sense, dammit.
> 
> ---
> 
> ...



Leave him alone. I know where he is. It seems like he is just starting to write. I was there only a year ago. I was asking people for names and I thought I could never have original characters. Look where it got me now (in other words go to my FA page and take a quick glance at my stories). Give him a chance to get better instead of slaughtering him because he asked for help.


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## Mongoose Ink (Jul 4, 2009)

Nouyorus said:


> Leave him alone. I know where he is. It seems like he is just starting to write. I was there only a year ago. I was asking people for names and I thought I could never have original characters. Look where it got me now (in other words go to my FA page and take a quick glance at my stories). Give him a chance to get better instead of slaughtering him because he asked for help.



I was there, too, a good while back.  And, quite frankly, it took someone unwilling to coddle and soft-talk me, and instead gave me the cold, hard brunt of reality for me to wake up and realize things.

We all have our different ways of learning.  For me, it was rather the blunt approach.


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## Nakhi (Jul 5, 2009)

Mongoose Ink said:


> I was there, too, a good while back.  And, quite frankly, it took someone unwilling to coddle and soft-talk me, and instead gave me the cold, hard brunt of reality for me to wake up and realize things.
> 
> We all have our different ways of learning.  For me, it was rather the blunt approach.



Unlike what people did for me, I am willing to help new writers just get started. However, I never lie when I give my reviews on things. So, if it was horrible, I would tell them straight out. If it was good, I would also tell them that. I would like to see what he can do first if this is his first story. I want to see where he goes. You never know, the person everyone insults now could very well become a great, published author.


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## Mongoose Ink (Jul 5, 2009)

Nouyorus said:


> Unlike what people did for me, I am willing to help new writers just get started. However, I never lie when I give my reviews on things. So, if it was horrible, I would tell them straight out. If it was good, I would also tell them that. I would like to see what he can do first if this is his first story. I want to see where he goes. You never know, the person everyone insults now could very well become a great, published author.



I understand, though his immediate backlash toward any criticism makes me think that neither help nor hindrance to him will do any good, here.

Also, I think my cream of mushroom soup story idea may very well have merit.  =)


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## Nakhi (Jul 5, 2009)

Mongoose Ink said:


> I understand, though his immediate backlash toward any criticism makes me think that neither help nor hindrance to him will do any good, here.
> 
> Also, I think my cream of mushroom soup story idea may very well have merit.  =)



Well, I am trying to help him and if he decides to lash out at me for criticizing it, then that is his mistake. Because while I offered the names to him, I can easily revoke that offer halfway through his story.


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## Tanzenlicht (Jul 5, 2009)

My point is that if he's representing himself as a writer then he ought to spell out words and put a capital letter at the beginning and a punctuation mark at the end.  Periods, preferably, but I'd settle for a frickin' exclamation point or even an interrobang.

He has demonstrated no writing skills, he has no characters, and, even though he's spending zero time thinking up characters, he has no plot summary(and I suspect no plot) (and doesn't know that summery is a completely different word).  What he needs is to pay attention in English class and spend some time reading.  Actual books, maybe.


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## Nakhi (Jul 5, 2009)

Tanzenlicht said:


> My point is that if he's representing himself as a writer then he ought to spell out words and put a capital letter at the beginning and a punctuation mark at the end.  Periods, preferably, but I'd settle for a frickin' exclamation point or even an interrobang.
> 
> He has demonstrated no writing skills, he has no characters, and, even though he's spending zero time thinking up characters, he has no plot summary(and I suspect no plot) (and doesn't know that summery is a completely different word).  What he needs is to pay attention in English class and spend some time reading.  Actual books, maybe.



I want to see what he has to offer, and everyone else, save for a few people, are insulting. All I am asking is that you give him a chance before you make a judgment.

As a writer joke and seriously, don't judge a book by it's cover. Like I said a post or two ago, he could have potential and be great.


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## Vintage (Jul 5, 2009)

he could.  yes.  however great he may be, he has not shown us anything.  he made this topic for the sole purpose of asking for other people's ideas.

tell you what, opfella: if you write a story, i will critique it.  hit me up over PM.  i won't bash it needlessly (i don't like to do that), but i won't coddle you.  i will give you an honest assessment of where i think you're at and how i think you should attempt to progress from there.  let me know.

offer good until i OD on deer pheromone


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## panzergulo (Jul 5, 2009)

I didn't start writing stories because I thought I could write them. When I started writing, I was pretty sure the first hundred short stories or so would suck. But, I had enough ideas to actually write hundred short stories. My head was swelling with ideas... and still is. Usually I think about plots first and the characters come to me later.

So, what do you need to write a story? You have an idea for a plot. Then, you figure out some good characters to carry out the plot. Or, the other way round, you have an idea of a character, then you figure out some good plot they could carry out. Then, you need the technical skills. Turning your computer on, using the word processor of your choice, layout, formatting, grammar, spelling, punctuation, capital letters... Probably you need more, many of the more experienced writers here might disagree, but in my head, what you need to write a story comes to three things:

1. Plot
2. Characters
3. Technical skills

Not in any particular order. I hope the third point is covered in schools nowadays. At least I had to write English essays when I took my English courses.

But, Thunder my man, you seem to lack all of these. You ask for characters, I haven't seen a single plot point yet, or even style or genre (drama, fantasy, scifi, comedy, war, post-apocalypse survival, horror, zombie horror, steampunk, cyberpunk, take your pick) and unfortunately, you seem to lack on the third point too. In 'The Writer's Bloc' we appreciate correct English. Well, I appreciate correct Finnish too, but anyway... Please, take off your chat-speak while you are at the door.

Now, I think there has been great help given already. Like reading a book. Go to library, borrow a novel and read it. See how the story looks. Then, maybe you should also read some books about writing. I can't recommend any, because I have never read any (hmm... maybe that's my problem) but many say those books can help. I would suggest you stay out of the Internet when you try gathering some inspiration, because the net is full of evil people, who don't tolerate youngsters whining them to borrow their characters or whatnot (mind you, this includes me). And try to be open for any critique. You will get bashed and burned a lot if you ask for real critique, but, in the end, it's only the critics opinion. Try to learn from it. There are many good points made in this thread too, even in the more acidic comments, what they basically say is "go home and invent your own characters". You should try that first, really. If you can't come up with characters... well, maybe writing stories isn't your thing. Try poetry, instead.


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## Drbigt (Jul 5, 2009)

Here's a great way that I use to come up with names.


If you have a colletion of cd's games, or something, take a part from them and look at others.


From Age of Conan and Music Maker you can make Agus Manan for example. A totally plausible name (Of course, not the best one, I usually look at more than just two) and it took me two seconds to come up with looking at these already existing titles.


Banshee if you think these people are burning you, you honestly shouldn't be a writer. Reviewers are cruel and cold and tear up your story with little care what made you write the story or any sob story you'd use to cover up your story's lack of quality if it won't deliver up to their standards. Take it from me, I'm a reviewer and if the story is not good, I'll spare no punches delivering that message to you. Part of being a writer is ability to adapt to listen what everyone says, and even behind the biggest flame is usually a grain of a truth.


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## M. LeRenard (Jul 5, 2009)

> Reviewers are cruel and cold and tear up your story with little care what made you write the story or any sob story you'd use to cover up your story's lack of quality if it won't deliver up to their standards.


The main difference between a legitimate 'review' and what most of the people in this thread are doing (besides that reviewers generally review a completed work, rather than the person who may at some point write it) is that a legitimate review is done with some amount of tact.
I'm not a mod, but I do like to ask people to please leave their bullshit in the other forum subsections.  If you have a criticism to make, don't hesitate to make it, but try at least to leave off the unwarranted internet-style personal attacks.
Ex: "Gawd, you must be the dumbest piece of shit alive!  Use proper grammar, for Christ's sake!"
vs. 
"It would be appreciated if you proofread your posts and stayed away from 1337-speak in this forum."
Aim for the second, if you would.


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 5, 2009)

ok i wana thank all the people who stood up for me ^^ and im just not good with characters. thats why i asked. and sorry about the multiple threads. im new to forums


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## Tolgron (Jul 5, 2009)

Look, I'd really just suggest you try writing your own characters. They don't have to be completely original or complex, all you have to do is come up with some sort of stick man with a rudimentary personality and history, slap a nametag on his forehead and start writing about him. Or her.

It's not that difficult. Asking people to give you characters is lazy, self-defeating and reflects poorly on you as a writer. You can do better than this.

If you _are_ struggling however, take a step back from your story and leave it alone for now. Read a book instead. Watch a film. Play a video game. Study the characters. How do they act? How do they think? What emotions do you get from them? How does the author/actor describe and portray them? Once you think you've learned something, brainstorm your own character. Then write something.

That's all the advice I can give you at ten to four in the morning.


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## M. LeRenard (Jul 6, 2009)

You'll probably get better with characters as you get older.  Pay attention to people and see how they act.  And otherwise, don't hold yourself back so far as your imagination is concerned.  If you get an idea you think is ridiculous or stupid, it's probably brilliant, so you should run with it.
Here: I'm just going to pull some crap out of my head and write it down.  Let's say the name is... Karen.  Karen is a zebra who worked retail for 36 years, in the same Dollar General store in eastern Colorado.  Everyone who came to the store knew her name, because she always introduced herself, even though she knew 99% of the people she met would never come back.  Also because she's a zebra.  When she checked items out, she always told long-winded, rambling tales of her father's adventures in Africa, most of which she made up.  She dreams of one day being the first woman zebra to make a trip around the world in a boat made of Pykrete.
There.  Isn't that fun?  Try doing something like that yourself; just sit down and write whatever comes into your head.  Most of it will be utter nonsense, but if you look through it all afterward, you'll find a few gems that you'll want to keep.
You can have Karen, if you'd like.  She sounds like fun, but I probably won't be writing her story anytime soon, so have at it.
Hopefully this helps a little.  Go for it, and good luck.


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## ElizabethAlexandraMary (Jul 6, 2009)

M. Le Renard said:


> You'll probably get better with characters as you get older. Pay attention to people and see how they act. And otherwise, don't hold yourself back so far as your imagination is concerned. If you get an idea you think is ridiculous or stupid, it's probably brilliant, so you should run with it.


Older? Don't just sit there, do nothing and wait. I personally found this is a little about growing up, and a lot about experience.
So write, write, and write again! The best thing to do right now is have a try at creating your own characters, and *then *coming back here to ask advice.


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## GraemeLion (Jul 6, 2009)

What I would suggest would be to browse around FA, and look at the artwork.   Find characters from that. Look at a character that someone else made, and decide to tell a story behind the character. 

DON'T use the original artist's name for the character.  DON'T use the original artist's story for the character.  All you are doing is getting an image of a character for your stories.  You're not doing anything but.

Popular / mainstream authors have the advantage that they write mainly about humans, so their subjects are everywhere.   They can go to magazines and cut out pictures of people for their character summaries.  

Go to google image search, and look at Winston Churchill.  Look at him.  Does he look like "John Smith?"  Heck no.  He looks like a Winston.  Or an Edward.  Or a Franklin.  Or an Alexander.   But not a "Robert" or "Frank" or "Jesus."  That's what you want to do when you look at furry artwork. 

No.  It's not cheating to do this.  You can't get sued unless you walk over a trademarked character, and odds are you likely won't even be recognized as using the artistic impression of another creator to develop your character.

Good luck!


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## Drbigt (Jul 10, 2009)

redcard said:


> What I would suggest would be to browse around FA, and look at the artwork.   Find characters from that. Look at a character that someone else made, and decide to tell a story behind the character.
> 
> DON'T use the original artist's name for the character.  DON'T use the original artist's story for the character.  All you are doing is getting an image of a character for your stories.  You're not doing anything but.



Inspired maybe but you can't totally steal someone's design and suddenly call it your own.

....Whoops.


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## GraemeLion (Jul 10, 2009)

Drbigt said:


> Inspired maybe but you can't totally steal someone's design and suddenly call it your own.
> 
> ....Whoops.



Yeah you can.

Done all the time.  By the biggest hitters in the game.

Shakespere did it.  So to has Stephen King.  (He stole parts of the Stand from the Patty Hearst character.  Frannie is Patty Hearst)  Dean Koontz has admitted to it.  As has John Grisham, JK Rowling, and Vince Flynn.

Hell, even graphical artists did it.  Leonardo learned to paint by verbatim copying other master works.

I'm not saying "steal someone's design and call it your own", though.  I'm saying use their design as inspiration for characters that are your own.

And every author who's big has done this.


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## BansheeThunder (Jul 15, 2009)

well i have no interest in stealing anyones characters. I am giving the creators full rights to there characters


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## GraemeLion (Jul 15, 2009)

BansheeThunder said:


> well i have no interest in stealing anyones characters. I am giving the creators full rights to there characters



Nobody said you're stealing characters.  Nobody suggested stealing characters.  What I was suggesting was using inspiration in characters out there to develop your characters.

Obviously, you're not going to take an image of Clint Eastwood and describe your character as having "Clint Eastwood eyes."  No.  You'll describe him as having sunbeat eyes, downturned and wrinkled from the trials of life.  You won't say he had a voice like "Clint Eastwood."  You'd say "his voice, rough and strained, each word an invitation to fight."  

Same goes with this method here.  You're not stealing characters.  You're getting ideas in your head moving so that you can develop them into featured characters in your stories. 

I truly am surprised people equate this method, a method that has been used by nearly every famous author alive (and quite a few dead), with stealing.    It's no more stealing than a story of two lovers who are from different worlds and cannot live together is stealing from Shakespere's Romeo and Juliet. (Which, by the way, was a retelling of Mariotto and Gianozza or Pyramus and Thisbe or a whole host of other influences the Bard used.)


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## Bladespark (Jul 15, 2009)

Yeah, but there's a difference between going out and looking for character ideas to use, and asking other people to spoon feed them to you.

Not trying to join the dog pile here, but it really is a bit odd seeing somebody who says they want to write and yet has to ask other people for something this basic.


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## GraemeLion (Jul 15, 2009)

Bladespark said:


> Yeah, but there's a difference between going out and looking for character ideas to use, and asking other people to spoon feed them to you.
> 
> Not trying to join the dog pile here, but it really is a bit odd seeing somebody who says they want to write and yet has to ask other people for something this basic.



Doesn't surprise me, really.  

I wish it did.. but that's why we have so much fanfic.  Some people don't bother asking for characters to use, and just take what they wish


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