I've always wondered, are characters who are in a story the way they are because they are born that way, or is the world this way and the characters are shaped to mirror image the circumference?
Even after finishing book three, I can't seem to find the balance of born characteristics, and aspects of the world within the story that shape who the main character is in that context.
That became philosophical real quick. I hope that question made sense.
I've always plotted from the resolution backwards, and thus MCs in my short fiction are the opposite in the beginner from what they become in the resolution.
Watch anime lately has given some self-doubt.
I think the question might be flawed. If you ask are the hand and the foot separate. There will always be those who say they are not physically connected they are different and there will be those who say they are both part of the same body so they are the same.
I think it's all connected. We are shaped by our culture and shape our culture at the same time. And this shaping does allow for those who don't identify with the culture/ society around them. These outsiders have usually rebelled in some way (think Goth/Emo/Punk kids) and have been labeled by the culture as outsiders.
Also in looking at born characteristics think about the lives of the characters like how/ when they eat. how they address one another. Is there a social heirarchy that the characters have grown up in. That kind of thing.
As for characteristics that have shaped the characters think about personal experiences. Did one of your characters have to step up and make hard life decisions that still haunt them? Things like that.
