Nico wrote: <I'm basically adding her because I think it stretches probability too much to use existing characters like Jenna (so Blake lied about her death) or Avalon (though I am using her in one story) or a miraculously saved Cally. And the crew *are* going to meet new people, stands to reason (she says, desperately).>
Absolutely. And a good number of the rebels in the series *are* women.
I find it helps to base original characters on real (preferably not too pretty*) people I know, at least physically - it makes it less likely that I'll idealise them or morph them into myself.
Though there are always *bits* of oneself in nearly character one writes, I think - certainly those that I work hard on. Even the crew (my version of Vila's voice is decidedly different from other people's, the rhythms and words and ideas, because they have to come from *my* rhythms and words and ideas). It's probably more noticeable when the characters is entirely your own creation, but there's nothing wrong with that.
<Mind you, I've also created Vila's mother, and she's rather like mine. Is there a term for that? :-)>
That depends on how nicely or otherwise you'd describe your mother <veg>
Sally
*though, as I have noted, there *are* no ugly revolutionaries in space ...
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