I'll start off by saying something that you KNOW I will say Kitteh, because we've known each other for ages: DO NOT SCRAP YOUR CHARACTERS. I will always be there to say that, and I will always be here to say that you need to believe in yourself and your ideas. If I have to be I will be that Yugioh friendship speaker, so help me God.
It's completely fair for you to feel that way because I think - as writers, rpers, and character creators - every single one of us feels at some point that our creations are inferior to other characters. I think that because you did not want to give up on them so many times -especially on Yumi - that proves how much you love them. You are frustrated, but scrapping is not a good idea.
I started writing a book. I've been working on this idea since I was 12. The story, the characters...they were a part of me. And then, two months back, I stepped back, looked at the story and noticed just how childish it seemed to me. But no matter how childish it was, it was a stepping stone that was crucial to what I did next: I changed it all without destroying everything I loved about it. I knew that continuing was wrong, because it was just continuing something that I was sentimental about, but I was not happy with it. I knew something was missing. So I restarted from scratch, taking elements of everything and weaving it with care into what I now wanted. It's fantastic to work on it now and be happy with where your characters are going, and where the story is going. It was scary at first, but so liberating and wonderful.
My point of this is if you feel unhappy then start over. If there are drastic changes, you know Moony and I will happily weave Yumi and your characters into the plot to fit. This may take a while and I don't expect you to develop anyone within a day. I've spent countless hours frustrated with my characters and not knowing what the hell I was talking about. Sometimes we need a breather and look at our work from different angles. The important thing is that you have no need to be afraid of change. If you feel something is holding you back let it go, but don't destroy something wonderful.
WE ALL STUMBLE. Last year I nearly scrapped half my doll characters, but in the end it was my desire to have them that made me make changes that freed up my creativity. For a more close to home example, I changed Selia. A LOT. You weren't around when she started as a twin, and then some emo Marik female. She started changing when I saw that wasn't what I wanted. She evolved because of you and Moony. Hell, even Wepwawet changed. As we grow, our characters do that, and because of that we may need to change things - but that's the creative process! And remember, we are never truly original. There is nothing wrong with drawing ideas from other things. Inspiration is fantastic and it can lead you to great ideas. It took me two years to truly make Adonis feel like he was my own.
Also, just to reaffirm this: you are SO far from being a terrible friend! You have no idea how much your comments on things I've posted have helped me because you notice things I just don't, and I NEED that. Plus just talking to you more in general, you're such a great person to banter ideas with that I'm so happy to call you my friend. I suffer with self-esteem issues as well sometimes, so I can relate, and if you ever need to talk about that you know how to reach me.
It's completely fair for you to feel that way because I think - as writers, rpers, and character creators - every single one of us feels at some point that our creations are inferior to other characters. I think that because you did not want to give up on them so many times -especially on Yumi - that proves how much you love them. You are frustrated, but scrapping is not a good idea.
I started writing a book. I've been working on this idea since I was 12. The story, the characters...they were a part of me. And then, two months back, I stepped back, looked at the story and noticed just how childish it seemed to me. But no matter how childish it was, it was a stepping stone that was crucial to what I did next: I changed it all without destroying everything I loved about it. I knew that continuing was wrong, because it was just continuing something that I was sentimental about, but I was not happy with it. I knew something was missing. So I restarted from scratch, taking elements of everything and weaving it with care into what I now wanted. It's fantastic to work on it now and be happy with where your characters are going, and where the story is going. It was scary at first, but so liberating and wonderful.
My point of this is if you feel unhappy then start over. If there are drastic changes, you know Moony and I will happily weave Yumi and your characters into the plot to fit. This may take a while and I don't expect you to develop anyone within a day. I've spent countless hours frustrated with my characters and not knowing what the hell I was talking about. Sometimes we need a breather and look at our work from different angles. The important thing is that you have no need to be afraid of change. If you feel something is holding you back let it go, but don't destroy something wonderful.
WE ALL STUMBLE. Last year I nearly scrapped half my doll characters, but in the end it was my desire to have them that made me make changes that freed up my creativity.
For a more close to home example, I changed Selia. A LOT. You weren't around when she started as a twin, and then some emo Marik female. She started changing when I saw that wasn't what I wanted. She evolved because of you and Moony. Hell, even Wepwawet changed. As we grow, our characters do that, and because of that we may need to change things - but that's the creative process! And remember, we are never truly original. There is nothing wrong with drawing ideas from other things. Inspiration is fantastic and it can lead you to great ideas. It took me two years to truly make Adonis feel like he was my own.
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