What I gather so far is that Talon Arana is your character you’ve created in your mind. When you go to sleep you know this character so well that it appears in your Dream and will make you become Lucid. Forgive me but this sounds a little strange to me… are these 9 characters sort of “imaginary” friends or are they characters you’ve thought up and are using for the purpose of your dreams?
As you said, it took you 3-4 years to develop your characters but… to develop your characters what sort of steps did you take? As in, did you lie in bed thinking of first the name, then the looks, etc. and go over them repeatedly so you remember them clearly? I find it difficult to think up an entire personality in which I would know off by heart.
Well, first of all, my 9 characters were never made with the intention to help me in dreams, they are characters I draw in a story SET in Aria. I roleplay with them, draw them, write stories with them. Everything you’d expect a character to be. But I took another step, because I know from interviews with certain manga artists, that the key to conveying a convincing character is to treat them like real people, and get to know them as much as possible. I gave them as much life as I could, and for Talon and Naknus, they turned out much more realistic then the rest (personality wise). And, it’s not that Talon appears in my dreams (naknus never did) It’s that I believe they exist solely in my mind, so I can ask them to help me with related subjects. So…Maybe this works for me, because in this complex way I convince myself “someone will help me go lucid” or maybe me characters actually do something, in the way I have made things work in my head… I dunno :P.
Call them ‘imaginary friends, tools’ whatever you’d like, :3 I use my characters in an array of things, expressing myself through art is one, helping in my contemplation is another ( I constantly think, having a kind-of-but-not-really view of things is nice, since I detach myself from their character early on in development), even stress relief. Lucid dreaming, since it has been an intrest of mine for almost half a year now, has become one of the things I use my characters for, and the only ones that seem to fit the work is Talon and Naknus, my most developed.
I developed my characters through roleplaying, and just adding to them as I see fit.
Mostly, when I make a character, I get a flash of how they will be, and work towards that by drawing them and giving that vague body a kind of personality. After awhile of trying to make them convincing to myself, they eventually start to become almost automatic in their responces.
E.g: When making Ein, I saw a quiet hateful type, so I would test that out with roleplaying, and he changed into a more quiet, thoughtful type, with much hidden stress and such…
Well my point is, I made my characters for the fun of it, for the joy of drawing them, roleplaying with them, writing stories about them… and sharing them with others who might be interested. It didn’t occur to me to use them as lucidity tools until a few nights ago when it crossed my mind as I was going to sleep…:3
You could write a book about the process of creation and all of the things you’ve created and the many purposes and applications for those creations. You could even include a biography of how you got started and the similarities between your process and what other artists and writers do. I would totally read it. I havn’t heard of these sort of techniques before and they sound totally brilliant. I think we should add the LD induction part into the lucid dictionary as something like Character Assisted Lucid Dream (you could write the definition), or maybe something simpler or more complex or whatever : )
Wow, thanks… ummm I don’t know about the flash project, perhaps I shall take a closer look a it later, though. XD When I am not swamped with small favours I promised to do @___a;; :3
Thanks so much… XD I am flattered… but I’m only 14 @___a;; and I don’t think it’s possible for me to publish a book…until I’m 20-something… >>; :D~ I’ve been trying to think of a name for this stuff… XD CALD is cool, but all the other induction techniques have ILD endings XD Character Induced Lucid Dreaming…? XD Lol…
Thanks for your thoughts, you’ve really made my day! I am so happy that you think it’s interesting… If you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them! since I won’t be writing any books any time in the near future… XD :3~
@___a well I know that it’s legal and possible for kids to publish books, but I am very young, wouldn’t have the resources, the process might change, and I am heading to my first year of art high-school… Agh! Still…
There was also the one who wrote Eragon!
But I can see you creating many great things for the world when you feel you are ready. By the way, I’ve started making my own character! They actually do have their own responses, and they get less puppet like over time; I can see that.
Thanks very much for that, I am happy you think I’ll do good… it’s really made my day! In the back of my mind, I have the feeling someone will take this idea now that I’ve posted it and make it known before I do…so I don’t think I’ll let myself get too excited about it now. :3 Thanks for making my day, though…
And by the way that’s wonderful! It really helps my characters develop further when I have them speak with other’s characters, would you like to have them have a small chat?
…Naknus is kind of cynical though, and Talon gets off topic quite a bit…
I was just looking for a Mozart piano piece to print out today and I came across one called “Aria from Don Giovanni”, and I was like “Woa it’s aria!”, but what inspired you to call your world Aria? I really don’t think my character is ready to do any civilized talking, if you know what I mean! But that’s a good idea. Also, don’t worry about anyone stealing it, because If they do everyone will remember that you were the first! We have proof.
This is from RandomHouse.com "Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at 15. He currently lives with his family in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he is at work on the next volume in the Inheritance trilogy. "
Wow, graduated from highschool at 15? No wonder…
I am encouraged that you think this proof it good enough to prove the idea mine, and I look forward to when your charcters can speak civilly! :3
And when it comes to Aria… as with everything, it just sort of happened…>>; Like with my character’s names… either the entirety of the name comes to me, or I sound out what ever syllables please the inside of my head, and satisfy me. Aria, pleased me in the context of a world name… Yes!
I wish we had a add-friend option, I would totally add you just so we could chat every so often…
EEE… as with the day before, I failed to convince Talon (or naknus, for that matter) to get me lucid… so instead, I asked her just to REMIND me, of the lucid dream I was determined to have that night, or at least wake me 5 minutes before the bell so the noise wouldn’t jolt my dream away…AGH sneaky thing, my clock is purposely 30 minutes ahead, and she woke me 35 minutes before my bell would ring… AGH.
Add friend option! Another brilliant idea.
I’ve never heard of that on a forum, but I would use it.
This forum is certainly big enough. You know how there are “librarians”? Well I think it’d be cool to have “Idea People”, and people could be recruited to a private area to discuss new ld4all forum ideas kind of like the “lucid library” but it’d be called something else. You could be the first one!
Anyway, I was trying to work on my character before falling asleep last night but she kept fading and changing rapidly in appearance and demeanor, and my thoughts were crowded and I couldn’t stay focused. And she also kept being puppet like and I didn’t know how to make her more real or stay the same or become more visible.
How did she wake you? I mean, did she come into the dream and say something?
^^ I like that! But I don’t think I’d be a good candidate, a majority of my ideas as odd …O_o;;
As for the character, try and focus on her in the day! make her ideal, as she’s your first, then add on weaknesses and faults, it works well for basics… let your instincts tell you what needs changing. After you’ve got a solid basis, I can get Talon to interrogate her… then you can add all you need once you’ve heard what’s not known! XD Even if she feels puppetlike, having the entire puppet would be good…
Does this method require anything? Like good visual skills?
if possible could you write a little step by step guide on how to accomplish this state of mind (I’ve read the entire thread but it’s all in bits and pieces and i’m still rather confused on the process. I dunno if it’s just me , but thinking of a character is hard enough, but them talking back . I’ve never really tryed to have a mind friend, like imaginary. But since school’s being real tough on me (bullying) I think a friend like your ‘ghost’ would really help.
I think the actual way of making friends and talking to them is more appealing than Lucid dreaming. But it’s also a bonus
Ummm, in general, you do not require anything for making the actual characters, besides the will to do so and an open mind, a good ability to visualize helps, though. Just remember you can’t just stop in the middle and say “Oh they’ll never start talking on their own, I should just stop now.” Because if you do, they really won’t! But in time, they become more and more independent. Just will it to do so, and life flows from you and your world into your character. Things that can help though, is paper and something to write with, but it’s very minimal and mostly all of this would be in your mind.
And Yes! Of course… ^^ I’ll try to write this step-by-step simply as I can!
A note, though, I tend to multitask character-making, now that I have a lot of experience with it, so I may have trouble getting what I mean across! If you have any questions plz just ask!
Step-by-step to character creation.
Character creation should never be too stressful, if it does become so, always take a break and resume when you feel you have the right mind set to do it. You don’t need materials to make characters if you don’t feel the need to, just a good dedication to the process if fine, and being involved is key. One step can be spanned over a few days or just a few minutes, what ever pace you like is good. This should be fun and rewarding in the end so take your time!
Step 1: Catch an “essence”
Get an essence of the character, the core of which will be your base, to start building the character up.
Find some inspiration, if this is your first, basing your character off of yourself gives a good place to start. If you don’t like that idea, you can find it really anywhere, music, in your own emotions, stories, anything that moves you.
If you are basing the character off of yourself try to express yourself INTO your character. What I mean by this is, put what makes you feel like yourself into another body, a representation of you. They do not need to have your history, or even have to look like you, just express you in their being. This gives a feeling of familiarity between you and the character, as you both have a deep understanding already, before he/she even starts to speak!
If you find the essence in anything else, make sure that at the time, you try and capture it, e.g.:
In music, a line of lyrics can evoke strong emotions in you, and you may want that feeling in your character, so jot it down and look at it when you settle down to create your character.
In emotions, thoughts or events that have happened to you, can move you (good or bad) so you can try to express that in words, or in a drawing, in a song, whatever. Catch it somehow, and remember it for later. If it was a bad experience you had, you can even express foul feelings like ‘revenge’ into them, though you’ll have to control your character tightly once they have life.
A visual essence can be different, you may listen to music and see someone/ something. While it moves you, try to catch it in words, or if possible, a drawing. E.g:
If you only catch eyes, draw eyes, if you’re not confident in your artistic skills, write about it, or even just catch it in your mind and don’t forget. If it’s in a song, try to listen to it later on when you are developing the character.
You get the point, get the core of the character to start, and even if it feel very abstract, that’s ok! It will be something interesting soon. The more work you put into getting a strong core now, the better the blueprint for later!
Step 2: Visualize
Give that ‘essence’ a face!
Find somewhere to sit for a bit and let your cares go away. Grab a piece of paper to make notes if you want, as it’ll help you remember better. Grab whatever you caught the essence of your character in and get started.
You may have already imagined the character’s looks, if not, then do it! It doesn’t have to be solid now, but just go with what you think he/she will look like. If you already have a body to go with the character, good! Move on to step 3. If you’re having trouble with this, try to imagine the essence you’ve found in step one as the core of your character, their soul. Build around it step by step, remembering the whole time you’re trying to convey that feeling visually in your mind. This body of your character you see in your mind’s eye doesn’t have to vivid, or even completely sure, just a vague one will work fine. Ask yourself questions, as you remember the feeling and try to convey it:
What is it…? A girl or a boy? Neither one? A person? An Animal? A plant? A bug? Something else entirely?
What do it’s eyes look like? Blue, black, green? Round eyes, thin eyes, big, small? What’s its hair look like? Is it tall? Is it short?
How old is it?
There are a lot of questions you can ask yourself to try and get a good idea of what the character looks like. If you find yourself unsure of something, ask yourself and try to see, if not, that’s ok. It’ll come to you in time if you feel like it.
Lots of things that are very basic, can help you later to solidify a look.
Step 3 : Give it life.
Now that you have a look for your character, (a vague one at the very least) give it some life!
Now that you have the basics down, life gets a bit easier. Try to give a personality to your character, if he/she doesn’t already have one. A history works well too. They are your creations, so don’t be afraid to be extreme if you’d like. Make sure all of the basic things are covered, a history, some interests, a personality. It can be very plain to start, you can always change things later. But a nice base is always good to have.
Questions to help you think of these include:
Did they have a sad past? A happy one?
What happened to them up till now to make them how they are today?
Do they have any live relatives? If so, were they raised by them?
Do they have any friends?
Do they fight? If so, with what? Why?
How is their personality?
After you have a good idea of who your character is you can move on. This is a good time to name your character is you haven’t already.
Step 4: Communicate!
Time to start getting personal with that puppet you’ve made.
For some, at this point your character may randomly throw out a word or two, you may even see them in a ‘mini-scene’ in your head. Like when you listen to music–all of a sudden your character is there in it while you listen, playing out the scenes the music shows. That’s cool, it means you’re really involved with your character and you are more likely to remember little details. If not that’s cool too it may come in time.
Anyways, now that you have your puppet-character down, try to talk with them. You may get the feeling of a response somewhere in your head, seek it out and try to find out what it is. If the talking between you and your character seems silly, and irrational, it’s ok, it’s your head, so no need to be embarrassed! It may be non-sense, but it’s something. If you don’t feel a reply, then give your character one. Don’t worry about them feeling very puppet-like in the beginning, that’s completely normal, just try to honestly talk to them, and don’t start thinking “this is stupid” keep an open mind and you’ll get somewhere. It really helps to try and write conversations down between you an your characters, as it’s more automatic and not-personal then being in your head entirely alone with them.
I’ll give an example between be and my most developed character Talon:
Talon, what do you think about this thread, and this tutorial?
Talon: …Honestly, I think it’s embarrassing and sad of you to pull me into this. I don’t deserve to be stuck in some weird little tutorial… I have better things to– no… no I don’t, but still! You’re using me in an example of how to TALK. Do you think I am STUPID?
Oh come on, it’s not that bad!
Talon: STRANGERS are going to see this! WHY would you show them this?
...Ehhhhck– She’s a bit cynical right now, don’t worry. She and her brother got in a spat and now she’s moody... :3
But anyways, you get the drift, after a bit, responses become a bit more immediate, even if they don’t, you can still move on to step 5, and some back to step 4 until it feels more automatic.
Step 5: Using your character to communicate
You just need an idea of your character to do this step! Speak with others to do this!
Once you’ve become more familiar with your characters (at least know their basics) you can have them speak with other people’s characters, or roleplay with them. This is especially helpful to make their responses much more real to you, as they are speaking to others instead of just you. Roleplay chat rooms are easy to find, DeviantART for example has many chatroom roleplays. Chatrooms are preferable because they require more immediate responses from your character. If it is troublesome trying to find a roleplay chatroom, you can just let your character talk directly to the person. The other person on the other end of the computer doesn’t need to know they’re talking to a character, just make sure that your character avoids talking about their history or background… Having your character talk with other people’s characters and be fun and interesting, talking with people who roleplay can be good for this, because you can just ask them if they want to have your character and their’s to talk.
If you cannot find someone like this, you may send me a note on LD4ALL, I would be happy to let your character talk with mine…
Make sure your character has at least a slightly automatic response when spoken to, and they you are not FORCING yourself to answer for them, it should flow naturally after some time.
Step 6: Solifidy
Now that you’ve gotten a good idea of how you character responds to things, you can try to solidify them in your mind. Keep an understanding they live in your mind, and treat them like people. They will not, however much you’d like them to, however, exist on the same level as you. They will always be in a level of creation different then yours, they exist, but not here, so make sure you have that kept in mind.
Anyways, after you’ve found out all this about them (or even in the process of making them) make a character sheet
to help solidify the idea of them, (not nessicary but it helps) so that you don’t keep switching them around. The main thing is, just get a solid idea of them, and don’t tweak them too much after, you can still change things about them, of course, of you see the need to, but if it’s dramatic, you can even just make another character!
Talk a lot with your character while you’re awake, have them talk to others, whatever the means, just get to know them. If you treat them as real people their responses become as such, and no need to be shy in your own mind, no one else will ever know unless you tell them.
Characters can be useful when the issue is something personal, or something only you can do. You can confide in them, and use them as ways of expressing yourself, whether it be in drawings or stories, or just someone to rant to when no one else is there. They can help you go lucid, or keep your stress down, even encourage you to do that one thing you’ve always been too embarrassed to do, but that’s an entirely different tutorial.
That’s it, if you have any questions or misunderstandings, please ask and I will make the appropriate changes, or evaluate on what I mean… Also, if there are errors please point them out, just be kind!
phew
That’s pretty much it, as much as I could think of it… yeah!
Forgive the length… it’s not actually as hard as it may look!
Talon thank you SO MUCH! That was incredible. Look you’ve already started your book! It was so kind of you to put all of that time into it. I can totally see my character coming to life, her appearance is becoming less random, and I’m starting to see a location. It’s great to have your instructions to refer to now.
I didn’t know deviantart had roleplay chatrooms. That sounds like fun, and a great place to further develope characters. This kind of reminds me of the sims. Except it’s all in your mind, and way more real and useful.
I’ll tell you how it goes, and I definantly think I’ll re-read your post to clarify. We could indeed have our creations interacting soon! ,
Hmm I didn’t think of making non-people. That’s interesting. The possibilities…
You kind of just have to believe that they are real. I think, and they will appreciate that and become real. Kind of like dream characters.
When you don’t realize your dreaming they are so real, but sometimes in a lucid when you just believe they are just figments, they turn into puppets. It must have something to do with belief.
thanks you definately answered my question.
I am so happy that you think it’s interesting… If you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them! since I won’t be writing any books any time in the near future… XD :3~
Still…
Like with my character’s names… either the entirety of the name comes to me, or I sound out what ever syllables please the inside of my head, and satisfy me. Aria, pleased me in the context of a world name… Yes!
. I’ve never really tryed to have a mind friend, like imaginary. But since school’s being real tough on me (bullying) I think a friend like your ‘ghost’ would really help.
,