Creating characters.....

Poirot

Poirot

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 23, 2006
Messages
39,843
Reaction score
186,350
Location
Wisconsin
I don't write fiction, but I do write a bit. We all have commented/complained about characters, backgrounds, personalities, etc. and how the writers have changed some of those characteristics of characters that have been around a while.

But, my question is about new characters.
It seems to me, that if a writer creates a character, male or female, he/she creates the persona as well. The kind of person, what that person has dealt with in the past, abilities, jobs, career goals, etc. And if the audience/reader is to like/dislike the character, tolerate the person, they should be privy to at least some of whatever. I do understand the "keep them on the edge of their seats til the reveal", I really do. Mostly used in movies, and some books.
Am I wrong to think Days has been failing their audience in this respect?

Both Jordan & Ben arrived in Salem with us not knowing a single thing. Whatever had happened back in Poplar Bluff & caused them to go on the run, hiding identities, etc. (don't you wonder how Ben attended school? - They do require transfer records) is still a mystery......after a year. Clyde has come to town, apparently up to no good, in some kind of business, we know not what, and seemingly faking his "am trying to change" statements. His conversations with both Jordan & Ben are purposely left vague. Oh, yeah, he beat them, and used to drink a lot.

As little as we know about Aiden, it is more than we knew about Jordan, who came over a year ago.
So....Aiden lived out in Washington or Oregon, his wife died, he is a lawyer, and he moved to Salem, has a son. How long has Aiden been around. Last spring, right?

Will grew up before our eyes, never ever giving any indication of wanting to write, having any sort of writing ability, and then.......Shazam! He is a published writer. Never even ever got a rejection slip.

Eve shows up, with a new personality, a daughter, and a penchant for hanging around with the teen crowd. But really, do we know at all anything? The husband/father who deserted her. All the who, what, when where, why?

Heck, Theresa has been around for some time, has lots of family, yet....yet outside of being a druggie, thief and golddigger...what do we know about her?
Maybe I am wrong, maybe this is how soaps/dramas are written these days. I know some here do fan fiction, write stories....I commend you. Not my forte'.
What do you all think about the way characters, particularly new ones, are brought on?
 
I really dislike it. I feel that the writers tend to drop characters in out of the blue. Sometimes it works--it was believeable that Justin was too busy to handle JJ's case and so sent Aiden to handle the case, and it was also believeable that another parent at St. Lukes would go to Fr. Louie with his concerns about his child. In other cases, it doesn't work at all because there's no foreshadowing thbeat should have been there. As a minor example, the homeless lady who yelled at Aiden is, according to Abe, a Salem fixture, yet have we ever seen her, heard of her, heard anyone talking about her before? And Jen has never spoken of Eve, and then suddenly the day she arrives, Jen is looking at her in the yearbook and telling JJ how this woman drove her nuts in high school.

I don't like these kinds of contrived relationships between characters, nor do I like it when characters' entrances stretch credibility. As much as I love JJ, I still find it hard to believe that he was expelled from boarding school and put on a plane back to Salem without Jen's knowledge. He was a minor at the time so surely the school would have contacted her--and who paid for his flight home?

The writers plan t hings a year ahead, so there's no reason they can't make the connections between characters more genuine rather than dropping people into the canvas all of a sudden and expecting us to believe that the characters we already know well have ties with them, yet mysteriously have never ever mentioned them before.
 
And therein lies the rub. (Shakespeare)

In re: Jennifer/Eve.........As far as I can remember, Jen & Eve NEVER went to school together. Maybe I am wrong but Eve was a young hooker, pimped out by Nick Correlli. And arrived in Salem I b elieve AFTER Jen & Frankie graduated from high school.
And I do agree, it was a stupid and foolish way to bring the memory of Eve back. Newer viewers would not know any different, while long timers definitely knew better. Shame on them.

And yes, while I can believe that JJ was expelled from boarding school, I absolutely do not believe for a second that the school would not notify Jennifer, being she was no longer living in England.

To me, the fact that viewers can come up with much more plausible solutions/reasons, etc. so quickly makes me wonder just exactly how the writing really evolves.
And o.k. WE are "after the fact". So, what if we had to come up with somthing or other "before" the fact. I mean, they are writing something new, tossing ideas around. Looking for solutions.

But then, this is where I feel that someone needs to have the job within the writing staff of "common sense". Not one of the writers.......but someone who listens and says......wait a minute.
 
What bothers me the most is that these writers have no respect for the history of the show let alone the characters. So whether it's a new character or a new face of an old character, they are still treated as a new character altogether. We've seen this with Eve, Brady, etc.

Also, there are just too many new characters at once which again tells me that these writers know nothing about history. As soon as Ali Sweeney(Sami) gave notice, they should have planning to fill the "gap" with a strong female character with Salem ties in her age range. The most logical answer would have been Belle. Perhaps Carrie as well. But instead we get Melanie, Serena, more of Jordan, etc. I also realize that Ali Sweeney(Sami) is likely not gone permanently but they still need an interim plan and what we are seeing now is not it.
 
I feel all too often that the writers are making it up as they go along. I've written fan fics that have multiple story arcs so I do understand it's hard to keep all the balls in the air BUT better planning is definitely needed. There's no foreshadowing, weird plot or character turns that seem to come out of nowhere... sometimes I wonder if the writers are rushing because of having to stay so far ahead of airdate.

@Poirot Originally Eve and Jen did NOT go to high school together at all. As I recall, they met when Eve showed up at the hospital looking for a candy striper job and Jen was at the nurses' station. The writers could have not only used this history with Eve but also when Theresa showed up at the hospital as Jen's assistant, some snarky comments about "so you're the thorn in my half-sister Eve's side, huh?" would have helped make Theresa more well rounded. (Also, Theresa's introduction was one of the worst ever. She kept randomly showing up where JJ was and then it was like, "By the way, Jennifer, this is your assistant and she happens to be Kim and Shane's daughter.")

@Heather I agree--the history is totally ignored, and just with new characters either. Why not make Jen sympathetic instead of obnoxious when she was worrying about JJ the night Theresa OD'd, by making references to her own teenage experiment with living on the pier? Not to mention what has been done to most of the veteran characters, especially but not only Jennifer. We have way too many meddling mamas wandering around, and most of them were never the overbearing type before.
 
I agree about Jeannie Theresa. And the name change has got to be one of the STUPIDEST and most senseless plot points I've ever seen on this show. It's not like she is on the run or something. She needs to grow up and deal with what her mama gave her.

I really really want someone to question Ken Corday about her name change and the reasoning behind it.
 
I'm still really annoyed that they didn't invest in having a one day appearance for Kim and Shane to drop their wayward daughter off themselves, introduce her to Jen, and explain that they were trying to give her a new start, while she was resentful about the whole thing. THAT would have been a great introduction. This is stupid.

And I agree about the name too. I usually say Theresa on the boards because I like to call people (fictional and otherwise) by the name they prefer, but really, why? I do like that Eve calls her Jeannie sometimes.
 
@Heather............In my opinion, Belle is not in Sami's age range. Sami is at least 15 yrs. older, and yes, I understand the SORAS thing, but it would then be maybe 8-10 yrs. older. I would agree that another female character should have already been in place, with story already going on.But then, the eggs were all in the Sami basket. (I think there is more going on behind the camera than we are privy to, which is why this fiasco is now being played out.)
I don't like characters being dropped in, helter skelter, having an inprobable connection to anyone/any story, and that homeless woman was a perfect example. Did Days take the trouble to have her appear in their square, which they use constantly so no excuse.......ever before. No, and as HM pointed out, she is supposed to be someone they know of for a long time.

I know there are writers here who have created characters. I know many here READ books a lot. Many watch other soaps. Is Days the only soap who introduces characters in such an off hand way?

:OT: I dislike mentioning another soap. I discourage it, but this one no longer in on the air. On Guiding Light, I remember when I began watching. how quickly I understood all that was going on, who was related to who, the characters' backgrounds etc. And as new ones arrived......I remember so well when Reval Shayne blew into town. A forceful character (I would give anything to have her come to Days, would she ever blow Kate out the door, lol) and you quickly knew that she was hired by Alan Spaulding to come make trouble. That she was a the love of Josh Lewis' life, and eventually, that she had an affair with Josh's brother Billy. Reva's mama was the housekeeper for HB......and well, eventually, Reva really got around.

Writers come and go, write for various soaps. The thing is. the exec producer keeps abreast of it all. In this case, on Days, Corday does not, has no interest, doesn't understand. He relies on others, and does not choose them well.

We have a famous baseball player who comes to small town America to have important surgery for his career. He doesn't request special privilege for a top notch doctor, in order to hide from the public eye. Nope, he puts his faith into a man he never saw until a couple hours before surgery. Same goes for the rehab. Yep, that is exactly what famous people do, go to Podunk U.S.A. for important surgery, to save career.
And now, a famous medical research analyst has come to Podunk, little town, America to do their research grant. Not Boston, Mayo, Mt. Sinai, St. Jude........but good ol Salem Hospital. the mecca of modern medicine. 1 floor takes care of everything.
And then we have Melanie, former inmate of Salem, and spends over a week saying Surprise ad looking in her purse at mega bucks. What is wrong with these pictures?
 
I agree. The show has gotten so lazy with just about everything. I think when Jordan was introduced, the writers had this idea of her background, but didn't want to delve into it because they were so eager to please Rafe fans by hurrying her into a relationship with him. Then, her past was changed, Ben was brought on board, and they learned about viewers not liking this couple, requiring more changes, Clyde coming in, Kate, Abigail, and Chad being involved...so many changes were done, and now we still know very little about the two siblings and and frankly, most of us don't care.

I think the reason the show is being so sloppy is because their focus was in the wrong places. EJ-Sami, Daniel-Jennifer, Kristen's return...these things that the writers believed most viewers loved, when it was, in fact, the opposite. But it was too late--they invested so much time in those storylines, instead of focusing mainly on developing new characters or storylines for the vets, OR at least creating a balance. And now, we're seeing them reap what they sewed--the show simply isn't entertaining and is full of boring crap because once Daniel & Jennifer broke up, EJ died, and Sami left, we are left with a bunch of boring and/or underdeveloped storylines.
 
Both Jordan & Ben arrived in Salem with us not knowing a single thing. Whatever had happened back in Poplar Bluff & caused them to go on the run, hiding identities, etc. (don't you wonder how Ben attended school? - They do require transfer records) is still a mystery......after a year. Clyde has come to town, apparently up to no good, in some kind of business, we know not what, and seemingly faking his "am trying to change" statements. His conversations with both Jordan & Ben are purposely left vague. Oh, yeah, he beat them, and used to drink a lot.
Click to expand...
I also wonder how Jordan became a PT with no background for college, and who took care of Ben, etc.

Other soaps do NOT introduce characters the way Days does, at least not that I have seen, and not with the same force and frequency.

Serena coming to Salem Hospital would have been more believable back in the bigger-budget Days, but now it's laughable. (Ditto Paul.) It would make more sense for her to be some sort of reporter or sports agent snooping around about Paul, with some sort of cover story. (Though, at least after her first appearance, we know more about her than we did Jordan after nearly a decade [SARCASM] on the show.)

But this isn't just a problem for new characters (Serena, Paul, Clyde, Jordan, Aiden, Vargas, Ben; Jeannie T) or the characters these writers resurrect (Melanie, Chad, Eve, and yes, Stefano, whom they brought back from the previous writers' fully-dead state to show once per month on the phone), even the characters that survived the slaughter of the Daysaster and stayed in Salem have undergone massive personality changes to suit the whims of the writers. Think Nicole, Eric, Brady, Daniel, and the Empress of Haggery, Jennifer.

It's just generally poor writing. No character development, no logic in their plots (as per the discussion of Club TBD supplying the hospital with coffee), no consistency in their pacing, predictable cliffhangers (did anyone believe for a second that the crazy HTS lady knew something about Aiden?), and bubbled couples (Rafe/Jordan; Hope/Aiden) are just par for the course on today's Days. They need to re-acquaint themselves with the Marland rules; with the old adage that new characters should be linked to two main characters; and with the old rule-of-thumb that no two new characters/faces should share a scene together solely for six months.
 
When Days brought Jordan to Salem, whatever the intention originally was, it got changed, yes. That is because she was the Physical Therapist for Rafe, and they kept HIM in a coma forever to concentrate elsewhere as Jason noted. She really had absolutely NOTHING to do, and no one else with whom to interact. No clue if they had planned for her to be with someone else, be a nasty character, etc. Even when Rafe came out of his coma, there was absolutely nothing for her. Even the bloodhound Kate got more screen time trying to learn about her.
Right now, they pair her with Chad.....and she has to be several years older than him. These writers seem to always say....how about a gal to come in for Brady....we can get so and so. They do so, then say, oh, would it not be more story if we make the girl a druggie/alkie, too, who leads Brady down the wrong road. How about she is attached to the Hortons, Bradys,?
And then neither character is ever really fleshed out, given back story, helped out in any way.
Bringing Eve back. The actress is a good one, but the role should be a new character, not Eve. Heck, a cousin of Adrienne's, maybe.
I just am at a loss to understand how these writers envision the characters when they are invented and brought aboard, or even why they change the personalities of those already on the canvas.

Kudos to those actors who have to struggle with the decimation of the characters they played for so long, and know so well.
 
It seems those in charge may be trying to grab the attention of the younger audience (and I mean no disrespect by the following) who have shorter attention spans and want everything today. They no longer focus on the long-term stories and character connections that espouse middle America values, romance, love, family, but seemingly cobble together new/younger actors who are then thrown together for a "roll in the hay" to see who rolls which way.

So far they have found no roll-around combinations that look like anything approaching a love story, an honorable friendship, or an interesting family dynamic. I have very little interest anymore because I no longer recognize the concept of what Days used to mean, the characters I once loved, the sets that hold so many memories, nor am I interested in the newer characters (they're kind of like former US Vice President candidate) - who are they, why are they here?

The key demographic is about 25% of total viewers, so I believe they're simply not interested in writing for 75% of their audience. I'm constantly surprised (even at myself) that the 75% don't just find something better to do (would be pretty easy - toilets to clean, tubs to scrub - you know worthwhile ways to spend time).
 
I've said this before, and I'll put it in again. I think Sher is certainly right that the writers and TIIC are trying to get new viewers. This is a failure for a few reasons. One being that most people my age and younger simply aren't interested in daytime TV.

Secondly, based on my interactions with the teens and 20-somethings that do, most of us actually do agree with the older generation about seeing love and romance, family, and friendships. Everyone who is around my age that I asked about Sami's men, when she was still on, couldn't stand her with EJ (and thought he was better suited for Nicole), simply because it wasn't romantic and felt forced. They preferred her with Rafe, and some with Lucas.

The young people I know who watch also liked Nicole & Eric together, before the paper shredding incident, and loved the slow build for their romance. From my observation, most of those who enjoyed Sami-EJ and the constant romps were those in their 30s-40s.

BUT, I'm generalizing. I know there are some older folks and younger folks who like the storylines that we call "bad writing", just as there are some 30s-40 somethings who enjoy the same things we do. But, all of that is based on my personal observations/discussions/conversations. For some reason, the writers and Corday think they know what the audience wants, when what we want is in fact, quite the opposite of what they're putting out there.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they'd be better off pleasing the loyal fans with good storylines, instead of trying to get a group of people who most likely will not watch to tune in by writing awful storylines. Because they way they've been going, they've already lost so many loyal fans with no new viewers to take their place.

Also, Sher, you mention short attention spans--I feel like those with such attention spans would hate DAYS. They drag out storylines too long--just look at Jordan's secret, and how long that took!:rotfl:
 
Daysdegrassi: You actually said what I meant to say, but much more clearly. Their attempt to gain target audience members is failing, and they're alienating the other 75% (and part of the existing 25%) in the process.

As for the Jordan storyline, yes it was dragged out, but years ago we would have been treated with an even more extended (but well written) story where she and Rafe were truly in love, she struggled with horrifying flashbacks that were not straight out of the Beverley Hillbillies, Rafe never cheated. They had many, many well-written discussions about why she was so troubled, the audience finally learned her secret through one of her nightmares but she didn't want Rafe to know because she was afraid of losing him.

Rafe (being the good cop he's supposed to be) investigated in an attempt to find the cause and help her, was seriously injured a terrible accident in the process, returned home to recover with Jordan ready to tell him the truth, only for her to be injured by Rafe when he accidentally shot her trying to save her from Clyde, resulting in Jordan having amnesia for six months while Rafe struggled to come to terms with shooting her.

Rafe leaves town just as she's beginning to regain her memory of him but no one knows where he is, Jordan searches for him and finally finds him working in a homeless shelter in another state trying to atone for hurting Jordan. He won't have anything to do with her for fear of hurting her again, she pursues him for a few more weeks and then finally blurts out her secret.

She was arguing with her Mom about allowing Clyde to abuse her and her brother, her mom hit her and her brother shot her mom to stop it. After this plays out over three years, Jordan and Rafe marry to a beautiful montage of all the problems they overcame, and they sleep together FOR THE FIRST TIME (not shown except for the initial bedroom scene, beautifully written, with a solitary kiss).

Oh, and during this whole drawn-out saga, Rafe and Jordan would have had lots of interaction with most everyone else on screen to balance out the day-to-day work and life activities (Rafe investigating several cases along with Abe, Jordan interacting as friends with Abby, Maxine, with her brother, etc.).

So it would've been further drawn out, but at least it would have been good storytelling (not that I'm a good storyteller - but this is similar to the way a love story was written in the past). The so-called love stories are the ones that are rushed now and other stories are not fleshed out in a way that make some people want to watch to see what happens next.

I'm trying to think of a storyline right now that I'm anxious to see next week, and honestly cannot think of a single one.
 
I agree, Sher, and I love your alternative storyline for Rafe/Jordan. What's missing in our show has to do with the fact that there is no romance and that when a couple gets together we have to guess how they're going to tear them apart. It's like these writers understand what typical soap plots are--blackmail, violence, cheating, secrets--but they don't get the bigger picture of how these stories are supposed to fit into the narrative. We watch soap operas to escape--and yes there is high drama, but not drama for drama's sake, and love and family are supposed to be the backbone, not an afterthought.

Someone said a while ago that maybe the writers spin a wheel to see who's going to cheat, get blackmailed, etc this week, and I feel like that's not far off from the truth. What's missing is stable characters who grow and change in ways that make sense because of what happens to them, and who go through life events together in one way or another. It's called Days of Our Lives for a reason, and that reason seems to have been forgotten.
 
Poirot said:
@Heather............In my opinion, Belle is not in Sami's age range. Sami is at least 15 yrs. older, and yes, I understand the SORAS thing, but it would then be maybe 8-10 yrs. older. I would agree that another female character should have already been in place, with story already going on.But then, the eggs were all in the Sami basket. (I think there is more going on behind the camera than we are privy to, which is why this fiasco is now being played out.)
Click to expand...

Martha Madison (Belle) is only a year younger than Alison Sweeney (Sami). Yes, Belle the character should be much younger than Sami and Eric but we sort of lost that when Belle was recast to Martha Madison. So, to the viewer, she could pass for someone in Sami's age range at this point. Brady is also supposed to be much younger than Sami and Eric and he now comes across as the same age range.

Days used to do intros that made sense. Kate comes to mind. We had weeks of buildup to Victor hiring her to run Titan. She started interacting with him and then Carrie as a Bella model. Then Lucas was brought on as her son. Then we had the reveal that 2 existing characters, Austin and Billie were her children as well. Very well done at the time. I commented about this on Friday but we know more about Serena in her 10 minutes of airtime than we know about Jordan who has been on for over a year.

And I agree with DaysD, I think Jordan was brought on to make Rafe fans happy. Nothing more.
 
Sher said:
For some reason, the writers and Corday think they know what the audience wants, when what we want is in fact, quite the opposite of what they're putting out there.
Click to expand...
Actually, he's on the record stating he doesn't care what the viewers think. I can post a link to the Spectator thread if needed.

Meanwhile I'll second Heather's notion about Kate, which all of you probably already know, as it comes from my favourite era of Days. :)

On a practical note, why do we not hear of a character until a week before he/she appears? Eve, etc. Eric, Melanie, maybe 2 months. With the tape delay, there could be months of buildup, with the simple use of Additional dialogue recording and voice-overs. Or a one-shot of a character calling another, it would take 30 seconds and could be inserted easily. (Normally I would not espouse such an idea, but since the episodes are so choppily edited anyway...LOL.)
 
The character development on this show has been abysmal under this regime. So far, Aiden, and possibly Paul, have been the most interesting new characters introduced. At this point, there is no storyline/no character that I really care about.

As others have stated, a new heroine should have been brought on when Alison Sweeney (Sami) announced that she was leaving that the audience would accept. Carrie and Belle were the most logical choices, or they should have created Theresa as a more sympathetic character but she has been written so unlikable. Melanie is NOT heroine material, nor is the character well liked by the audience, as evidenced by the poor ratings in the past few weeks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top