Author Topic: Using your sona in a story  (Read 4596 times)

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Offline Sither

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Using your sona in a story
« on: September 09, 2017, 01:10:31 pm »
Relatively new writer here  wondering if anyone has used their fursona in a story? I have been wanting to do something completely original as most of my works are based off or continuations of a movie. I was thinking something with space as I am fascinated with it and well Sither is from space I think it may be a cool idea. Just wondering thoughts on this an would he still be considered a fursona or more of a muse at that point? 
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Offline Varg the wanderer

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2017, 08:57:17 pm »
Yes. ;)

I'm not sure about you, but for me my fursona and I are one in the same. Well, my fursona has fur and a bit more in the nose department, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Of course. You can use your fursona as a character just like you can use yourself as a character in a story (What would the character do? Well, I know what I would do!). If you used yourself would that make you a muse to yourself? My 'sona is in nearly all of my early writings as the protagonist, just with different colored fur in each story :p Then I decided I wasn't nearly that interesting of a person and went on to create other characters.
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Offline Sither

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2017, 10:18:14 pm »
Yeah my sona an I are one in the same so I see what your saying about the muse thing.. I may just create a new charater and see where that goes. I am still pretty new to the whole writing thing but I do love charater and world building, even though most of my building has just been adding on to an existing world.

 Thanks for the input. 
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Offline Varg the wanderer

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2017, 11:13:00 pm »
No problem. And the most important thing is to just write. Like any art you have to make a bunch of crap to get good at it, so don't worry if it sucks. You can always go back and clean it up, fix plot holes, deepen characters, etc. Some of my characters I developed through those crappy stories. By getting to know them in different situations they start to take on a life of their own along with the universe around them. Have fun with it.

And your first draft of any story will be lousy. Don't worry about it. I've tried to write it well enough to post as I write in final form, and it the end it takes too much energy and I end up with a lot of holes. The ones I like the best are the ones I wrote through to completion with the mentality of "I'll fix everything later" and then went over it several times editing it.
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"I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by." - Douglas Adams

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Offline Old Rabbit

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2017, 01:26:26 pm »
Varg is giving you some good info.  I have read writing using yourself as the
main characterisn't generally a good idea unless it's a biography.  If your
fursona is a different person it should be fine.

Now using your own personality is fine. Generally it's a good idea to not
use any one person for a character. You probably don't want someone saying
"Thats me in your story."

Don't forget to work out the story first. Generally writing stories on the fly
without planning generally doesn't end up well.

Also the first draft will need wrewrites. Just keep at it. :orbunny:
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Offline Varg the wanderer

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2017, 05:17:16 pm »
Now using your own personality is fine. Generally it's a good idea to not
use any one person for a character. You probably don't want someone saying
"Thats me in your story."

People I don't like usually play my villains. ;)

Don't forget to work out the story first. Generally writing stories on the fly
without planning generally doesn't end up well.

It took me a while to learn this, unfortunately. Thinking about your story and building an outline, even if it's just in your head, is a huge help.
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Offline Kobuk

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2017, 09:14:58 pm »
Long, long ago, a fellow Furtopian and friend named Wolfnevets had written a little something to go along with an art sketch he was planning to do of my fursona. Unfortuneately, other life issues got in the way and the sketch was never done. I had hoped of expanding his written piece into a story as well, but nothing ever came of it. The following is what he wrote to go along with the proposed sketch he was planning to do.

Quote
*imitating David Attenborough*

Let us take, as an example of the husky, the legendary green husky: The Dewd. The Dewd is a unique breed of husky, seeming to live solely on green tea and most noteably, the soft drink Mt. Dew.
If one were to observe the husky in his natural habitat they would see him on his daily hunt. Stalking through office corridors and super market aisles, stalking the abundant cans of soft drink it needs to not only survive, but also keep his coat the tint of green it holds.

Much like the Flamingo, Dewds are not born their distinctive color, they aquire it through their dietary habits.

Offline Sither

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2017, 07:56:01 pm »
Thanks for all the input. I am pretty sure I am going to create a new charater for the story. I am now thinking that will be the best way.

My personality comes through some of my charaters in almost all of my stories so far either in morals or just reactions to events. An I always plot out my stories I find it helps from adding in things later on that won't work with the earlier actions if that makes sense.

I also know all to well about rewrites as I hae done it a few times and now when I go back and read my first story I just want to cringe.. Someday I will rewrite it but not for awhile.

I'll definitely keep at it, I only wish I would have tapped into this earlier in life. For those few hours I am writing all the crap of the day or in the world disappears and I am in my created world alongside my charaters. It is such a stress relief for me and I figure if I can make one person laugh, cry, or just relate to something is some way well that's just a bonus.

Hopefully when I get the one finished I will feel it is good enough to post it here, but we will see.

Thanks again.
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Offline Loc

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #8 on: September 12, 2017, 06:41:18 am »
I used to use my main 'sona as a character in short stories, until I realised I was severely depressed, hated myself, and the stories were inevitably sad.
They got better when I started using a made up character, as I had more sympathy for someone not real than I did for myself.

I think a lot of authors put some of themselves into their best characters. It makes them deeper and more believable as people. Take Terry Pratchett and his witches, for example. The last Discworld book he wrote, he killed off the character that he put the most of himself into. His way of ending everything and tying it all off.

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Offline Sither

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #9 on: September 12, 2017, 07:37:09 pm »
I can relate about the sad stories. When I had just started my last one I ended up in a severe depression and it transferred over to the story. Now granted it worked for the parts I was working on but once I recovered and read the story when it was done I could really see the transfer of emotion.
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Offline Iara Warriorfeather

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #10 on: September 13, 2017, 01:08:04 am »
Relatively new writer here  wondering if anyone has used their fursona in a story? I have been wanting to do something completely original as most of my works are based off or continuations of a movie. I was thinking something with space as I am fascinated with it and well Sither is from space I think it may be a cool idea. Just wondering thoughts on this an would he still be considered a fursona or more of a muse at that point? 

My fursonas feature often in my stories. They each represent different parts of me.

Some furry writers prefer to use different characters in their stories, especially during low points in their lives. Or maybe those writers do not have a fursona.

In any case, I'd do as Varg suggested--write, write and write some more! Practice telling a story about your fursona(s). Have other writers look at your work and offer feedback, if possible.

Muses come in many forms, and they often come and go at random. Write when you are inspired to do so (unless you are on a deadline!). Challenge yourself to write a single sentence when you are feeling down. Soon you will fill a whole page!

Perhaps my progress with my fursona's story will encourage you...

My novel-in-progress, Iara's Crossing, has taken many forms since it was first written. The story was originally a bad Jurassic Park/Raptor Red/Sonic the Hedgehog crossover fan fiction I wrote when I was 10. I made it into a comic, cleverly entitled The Adventures of Raptor. After finishing the series of comics, I felt Raptor's character needed to be deeper, more meaningful. I wrote a two part series over the next two years about Raptor's life, genuine paleo fiction warped with fantasy elements I called Emerald Green Eyes (again, my titles are so clever it's amazing!). The second half of this story is the one I molded into a rewrite over and over again...it was reincarnated in 2008 into a dark comic series called Iara's Crossing (my fursona, renamed Iara, was brainwashed into killing human beings, having been genetically altered and manipulated to do so). I took elements from Emerald Green Eyes, like the bird/jaguar mentor character I called Flash, the presence of particular male avians monitoring Iara's every move and incorporated them into a new story, the one I have been revising since 2012...Iara's Crossing.

So it's taken me a really, really long time to write about just one fursona...I keep going, because how I write continues to improve, but only with practice, patience and the will to continue. Iara is my muse....let Sither be yours!

I wish you the best in making your story. Please post it here or link to it as you write! I would be interested to see your work.

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Offline Sither

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2017, 08:02:15 pm »
Wow all those years writing about one fursona that there is a labor of love. An the other night I did the challenge to write something. I was feeling down again the other night and i sat staring at a blinking cursor wanting to put something down. Finally I focused inward and got a few lines down, then before I knew it I had almost a full chapter down and was feeling at least a little better.

 I am still trying to work up a story for Sither. I don't want to force something with him I want the story to come naturally. As of now I have him commissioned and I am just waiting for the artist to get to him. Hopefully when I can see him physically it will help. As soon as I start the story I will post it here. I will look forward to all the advice.
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Offline Old Rabbit

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2017, 12:28:15 pm »
A couple more notes. It's always best to write to please yourself.
Trying to write stories to please others generally ends up
not working out well.

We put more heart into stories we enjoy. Writing something
we don't particularly like becomes a chore.

Also set goals, Many writers end up putting off working
on their stories for one reason or another.

When setting a goal it helps to tell a friend when you do.

Good luck. :orbunny:
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Offline Sither

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2017, 10:35:00 pm »
Oh most definitely. I only write for myself, it is escape, it's  my relaxation. If someone else gets pleasure from what I write then that's a bonus for me. Setting goals is a good idea an is something I need to start doing i think.
Never let the fear of what other people think stop you from doing what you love.

Offline Glycanthrope

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Re: Using your sona in a story
« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2017, 05:16:41 pm »
There is nothing unusual about writers using a fictional character as a placeholder for themselves, furry or not.

It's a great way to explore key aspects of yourself, without your writing becoming too self indulgent,
and projecting yourself into a fictional character is one way to connect and understand that character.

Steven King does it, so did Somerset Maugham.

Charles Bukowski made up an alter ego by the name of "Henry Chinasky," which he used extensively throughout his prose.
The character was basically a mirror image of himself, but since it was a fictional character, Bukowski could put his character into situations that were possibly a bit more exciting than real life.

Chistopher Milne wrote in his autobiography, how his father A.A Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh)  more or less
became the "Eeyore" character following his stroke in 1953.  So, without him referring to the characters as "fursonae," it seems he
projected aspect of himself into the various characters in that universe.

Writing about yourself in the guise of a fursona is the same thing, only with added fur. As a writer, you'll be among good company.

Whenever I write stories that take place in an anthropomorphic universe (which accounts for roughly one third of my output),
I tend to make my fursona one of the main characters.


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