Getting Too Attached to Your Story Characters

[Tassie]

First, I want to say, I don't know if this belongs here, so I'm very sorry if it doesn't. Please tell me where I should have posted it. I tried to look around, but I don't know, sorry. Here goes.

I finally was able to retrieve my old computer from storage!
I felt like such a criminal, sneaking to use the computer uncle and auntie bought my boy for school late at night to secretly look at this site.
With my comfortable old electronic dinosaur and all my old half-finished stories on it back and running, now I can get back to work, and maybe finish a few things and start posting again. However, I found myself running into a few problems while I was sort of offline. First, I realized, I'm not a very good writer, sorry. Even after proofreading my stories, there's still plenty of mistakes, both in spelling and grammar. C'est le vie. No literary master am I. I'm doing this mostly for my own fun, and if someone else feels good reading my silly ideas, then so much the better.

The real problem is something that I'm hoping someone else will know about and know how to sort out.
See, when I start writing, I have a great idea, I want to share it with the world (or, at least this strange little corner of the virtual world) and after tapping out some very basic notes, I start writing, but inevitably, I get caught up in the ever-expanding plot and the how's and why's of what's going on, and before I know it, I end up developing feelings for characters that are far more complex and personal than they were ever meant to be.
Not romantic feelings, mind you; quite the opposite, I feel a weird sort of kinship with them and before the story is finished I feel like a miserable, horrible person for what I'm planning to do to them.
I know they aren't real people, just some fictional bloated tub invented to thrill and kill, but then it feels like they turn into someone that I know and suddenly, I feel like they're special and don't deserve to die.

Does anyone else know what I mean or feel the way I do about your story characters? What do you do to help you get over this or feel unattached to your creations?
I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense. I know I'm a mess.

[Bright]

Maybe write about bad people getting eaten?

[Tassie]

Maybe write about bad people getting eaten?

That's a good suggestion, and while I have tried that, I have the opposite problem with that sort; instead of getting attached, I don't feel invested enough to bother developing the character or even writing them well, and I think it's easy to tell when I didn't like a character because they end up dull and shallow.
The characters April, Jesse and Brad weren't exactly bad, so they could at least be loved in their own strange, damaged ways, but the scuzballs in 'Alligator Day' and the punk kid in Pelicans - Pest Control' didn't even deserve names.

I guess there's a delicate balance between a character being miserable enough to deserve to be a victim, but still lovable enough to continue writing, and I haven't found that balance yet, sorry.

If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears.
Thanks.

[IvesBentonEaton]

For me, it isn't so much that I'm attached to certain characters—I am—but that fatal vore takes away the prey's experience before it really gets started. Under anywhere approaching normal circumstances, the longest prey can last in a stomach is about how long they can go without oxygen—and the experience of the prey is much more interesting to me.

So I cheated.

I took an old D&D setting I homebrewed years ago and added a few new spells. I started with the idea that druids—wild elf druids in the equatorial jungles, to be specific—came up with a spell that allowed them to survive being swallowed whole and being digested by doing a defensive transmutation that simulated digestion. When they are excreted, they can dismiss the spell, resume their normal forms, and escape. At no time in the process do they actually die, as long as they reach the stomach alive.

(It is unknown whether the pleasurable side effects of that spell were intended or unintended.)

Why druids? Well, most other spellcasters, at about the same casting level, have more elegant escape spells: teleport, for example. Druidic magic is very limited in conjuration (teleporation) spells, but druids are quite adept at changing themselves into other forms. Also, they are less queasy about natural processes, being worshipers of nature, after all. So it made sense for such a spell to be developed by a druid.

In this manner, I was able to write the Tales of a Visceral Voyager, whose protagonist, Zōēā of the Shāhūnā (the latter word translates as "People of the Snake"), travels through the world of Āen—and the gastrointestinal tracts of several of its larger appetites. In so doing, she makes small but significant changes to the world…

So it is possible to have your prey and eat it, too.

[Birichino]

I already start from hating to see good people die, so it's all non-fatal or karma-approved vore with me, but I have another level of this problem. Some characters become so refined it feels wrong to use them as pieces in a fetish story. Which is part of why I have yet to post any writing here.

[Tassie]

Oh my goodness, I can't believe how busy this month has been! I am so very sorry for being so derelict here. I wanted to write stories, but tomorrow is Halloween, and I don't even have a costume finished. Little guy is 'Iron Man' this year, but without going outside, I don't know how fun this is going to be.

...the longest prey can last in a stomach is about how long they can go without oxygen—and the experience of the prey is much more interesting to me.
So I cheated.
I took an old D&D setting I homebrewed years ago and... spellcasters... teleporation spells... it made sense for such a spell to be developed by a druid.
...have your prey and eat it, too.

Sorry for the chop-job. A reply at the beginning of the month and I'm only now just getting to it? I'm so sorry.
I guess your take on your favorite part of the experience necessitates that, and honestly, it doesn't sound all that bad. I'm interested in something similar, and who wouldn't love to be part of the HP type of fun? I only know D&D by a few of the vorish type monsters, sorry.
I think I think too much about things, so I have this unhealthy urge to have everything neatly and comfortably explained away.
I'm weird, I know, sorry.

I already start from hating to see good people die, so it's all non-fatal or karma-approved vore with me, but I have another level of this problem. Some characters become so refined it feels wrong to use them as pieces in a fetish story. Which is part of why I have yet to post any writing here.

I would love to hear how you get around this sort of thing. Even if you don't have finished works here, I'm very interested in how you (could?) accomplish that. Do you feel safe to share the secret?
Thanks.

[TSaPA]

I can sympathize with the compulsive worldbuilding instinct making it hard to write pure smut without putting too much effort into characters and setting before it becomes hard to keep it as such, and it doesn't help that I don't normally prefer fatal vore. Thus my ideas tend to lean more toward endosoma or implied reversible fusion/absorption, or just go with the idea that digested prey can just respawn no worse for wear once the scene is over. That or the thing being digested and absorbed isn't sentient, just something akin to a hostile JRPG random encounter monster or perhaps even actual food (which is only unusual in regards to being used in non-oral vore types).

[cicata]

I tend to prefer either brief endosoma (in preds who have some control over their internal conditions) or fully-fatal vore with victims who aren't fleshed out enough to become sympathetic. The latter works for me because I prefer the pred's side of the experience, or even that of a third-party feeder/helper. I also tend to like and play characters who are at best morally gray, usually leaning more towards selfishness or outright villainy - and failing that, they're of a different species than their prey and don't regard what they're doing as any worse than eating a burger.

But there are a lot of ways to keep prey from dying permanently!

- Consciousness transfer: the prey has "backup" bodies, and when their current body dies, their soul and consciousness simply move into one of those. This can be done magically or with soft science and cloning. Heck, maybe it's not even the prey that's responsible - perhaps the pred wants to eat them again, or just taunt them about the experience afterwards.

- Situations in which the vore would be fatal, but the prey manages to force the predator to vomit somehow - abuse of the stomach, maybe a pill designed for such situations, using a spell that's not meant for such a limited amount of space, whatever.

- Perhaps, unbeknownst to the prey, an item that they're wearing is enchanted to bring them back from death X number of times. Or maybe it makes them immune to acid and they're able to force the pred to keep swallowing air until they can negotiate release because the threat of a dead, indigestible person-sized gut obstruction is worse than just losing a meal.

- "It was just a dream" is an old trope, but y'know, there's a reason it gets overused: it works.

[Bright]

What about "Virtual Reality" whereas the characters play in a MMOVRPG whereas when they "digest" they just get logged out.
You can still write about conflict and loss of exp/items.

[TSaPA]

What about "Virtual Reality" whereas the characters play in a MMOVRPG whereas when they "digest" they just get logged out.
You can still write about conflict and loss of exp/items.

Vore-themed VR MMO... now there's a source of ideas.

[Birichino]

I already start from hating to see good people die, so it's all non-fatal or karma-approved vore with me, but I have another level of this problem. Some characters become so refined it feels wrong to use them as pieces in a fetish story. Which is part of why I have yet to post any writing here.

I would love to hear how you get around this sort of thing. Even if you don't have finished works here, I'm very interested in how you (could?) accomplish that. Do you feel safe to share the secret?
Thanks.

Oh, sorry I took so long. But I DIDN'T get around that. The pred character I developed I ended up converting into a vampire, with hopes of one day getting a story or two out in the mainstream. Trying to make a fresh one better-suited to the fetish world.

Although in both cases, the stories were pred-centric and they hunt people who the world is better off without. Following prey either means you set up a thoroughly-unlikeable person for some karma or have to kill someone innocent. The only workarounds there are mechanics like non-fatal vore/entrapment, reformation, or even reincarnation.

[Tassie]

OMG, I am so late in replying. Huge apologies to everyone here.

I can sympathize with the compulsive worldbuilding instinct making it hard to write pure smut...

I'm so sorry. It sounds like you are in the same predicament that I am in. At least I feel better knowing that someone else understands.
I hate thinking of in in terms like that, but I think that what it boils down to: stop justifying and supporting a thing and just do it.
I hae always been sort of shy, and when I did some crazy things, I made a lot of mistakes in my life, so now I feel like I have to second-guess everything. Writing and fun don't need a 'why', or often, even a 'how'. Let me know if you figure that part out; I'm certainly working it out yet.
Thank you.

...failing that, they're of a different species than their prey and don't regard what they're doing as any worse than eating a burger.
- "It was just a dream" is an old trope, but y'know, there's a reason it gets overused: it works.

I use the different species idea often in my little realm of writing. However, I feel like the silly ideas I scribble out are an uncomfortable mixture of Animal Kingdom and and Watership Downs.
Thank you very much for you other ideas. I am going to try some of those and see what happens in writings. I'm so very busy right now, but when I get some free time, they sound like a lovely solution to a big, ugly problem I keep having. Thank you.

What about "Virtual Reality" whereas the characters play in a MMOVRPG whereas when they "digest" they just get logged out.
You can still write about conflict and loss of exp/items.

WoW, that is maybe the best idea ever! We need stories like this.
GAME OVER! ...hope you loved it.
I have one story I started writing, bit it was too personal, and it felt like it just drifted so much, this could be the perfect ending to an overly-complicated story. Thank you.

Oh, sorry I took so long. But I DIDN'T get around that...

With me replying a month later, there's nothing you need to be sorry about. I would be such a hypocrite to complain about timing or delays.

...stories were pred-centric and they hunt people who the world is better off without. Following prey either means you set up a thoroughly-unlikeable person for some karma or have to kill someone innocent. The only workarounds there are mechanics like non-fatal vore/entrapment, reformation, or even reincarnation.

I think Cicata and Bright had some very fun ideas, and I'm itching to try them now!
I never thought about it, but most of my stories are distinctively prey-centric, following the (failed) struggled of a character that is at a terrible disadvantage.
This may sound silly, but I used to be a big Science Fiction fan, but after feeling as I do, I ended up more attached to the 'extras' than the main characters, so every time a 'minion', or 'Stormtrooper', or 'clone' or 'Red-Shirt' was killed off, I felt like the story was injured by not knowing who they were or what that nameless person was.
It's ridiculous, I know, it's just a story, but feelings don't make sense.
Maybe we could make a very slow-moving support group for this sort of thing.

I never realized I was looking at writing from a prey-only perspective. This was helpful.

[TSaPA]

I can sympathize with the compulsive worldbuilding instinct making it hard to write pure smut...

I'm so sorry. It sounds like you are in the same predicament that I am in. At least I feel better knowing that someone else understands.
I hate thinking of in in terms like that, but I think that what it boils down to: stop justifying and supporting a thing and just do it.
I hae always been sort of shy, and when I did some crazy things, I made a lot of mistakes in my life, so now I feel like I have to second-guess everything. Writing and fun don't need a 'why', or often, even a 'how'. Let me know if you figure that part out; I'm certainly working it out yet.
Thank you.

No need to apologize, to be honest it's less a matter of justification and more a matter of having too much fun building on a concept beyond its initial purpose, even if it comes at the cost of said initial purpose. Heck, for me just recently what started as a vague idea for a vore OC and a bit of backstory for it has spiraled out into at least four more OC's, tons of character development themes and interactions, and a bunch of dubiously canon what-if scenarios and side-stories including what can only be described as a "Christmas Special". And out of all of these it's ironically the last one that starts with the vore frenzy right out of the gate.

[Tassie]

No need to apologize, to be honest it's less a matter of justification and more a matter of having too much fun building on a concept beyond its initial purpose, even if it comes at the cost of said initial purpose. Heck, for me just recently what started as a vague idea for a vore OC and a bit of backstory for it has spiraled out into at least four more OC's, tons of character development themes and interactions, and a bunch of dubiously canon what-if scenarios and side-stories including what can only be described as a "Christmas Special". And out of all of these it's ironically the last one that starts with the vore frenzy right out of the gate.

Sounds like my intended "College Grant" and Star Wars fanfic stories; what should have been quickly flushing characters in a fun way bogged into character and detail intensive immersions. Multiple chapters of backstory and setup later, they still haven't bothered with the main point of why I started writing them.
Is there a group or resource to help us writers get over ourselves and our attachments so we can just get down to the fun we purposed when we started scribbling out these ideas?

Thanks for understanding. At least I feel better about this, knowing I'm not alone in this struggle.

[TSaPA]

No need to apologize, to be honest it's less a matter of justification and more a matter of having too much fun building on a concept beyond its initial purpose, even if it comes at the cost of said initial purpose. Heck, for me just recently what started as a vague idea for a vore OC and a bit of backstory for it has spiraled out into at least four more OC's, tons of character development themes and interactions, and a bunch of dubiously canon what-if scenarios and side-stories including what can only be described as a "Christmas Special". And out of all of these it's ironically the last one that starts with the vore frenzy right out of the gate.

Sounds like my intended "College Grant" and Star Wars fanfic stories; what should have been quickly flushing characters in a fun way bogged into character and detail intensive immersions. Multiple chapters of backstory and setup later, they still haven't bothered with the main point of why I started writing them.
Is there a group or resource to help us writers get over ourselves and our attachments so we can just get down to the fun we purposed when we started scribbling out these ideas?

Thanks for understanding. At least I feel better about this, knowing I'm not alone in this struggle.

One way I was thinking of is basically kinda treat the vore as a sort of side-story that may or may not necessarily be canon- mind you in my case this character does get into some "canon" vore shenanigans, but while I'm using the "canon" storyline to lay the groundwork of who these characters are and what they are capable of I can then kinda put that on the side and write said characters into various vorish one-shot situations that may or may not actually occur in the "canon" timeline. That way I have two threads to work with- one for overthinking and world-building and character development, and another in which contrivances may occur that end in people being eaten.

[TSaPA]

Ok now I'm facing a bit of an inverse of this problem writing the origin chapter for my OC story idea: I got the characters set up (sans names because I'm bad at that) and the order and most of the specifics in which they get eaten, now it just feels like I'm overthinking justifying how and why to put exactly four friends/acquaintances of diverse scientific careers alone in the same isolated location with a meteorite containing an alien substance without raising questions of security or containment procedure interfering with what ensues, nor how what leaves the location after the event remains under the radar for so long without raising suspicion or being tracked.

[Tassie]

I'm facing a bit of an inverse of this problem...

Wouldn't it be grand to swap problems between us? Trade difficulties, and the problem I have finishing a story would be yours after getting a solid support beneath the characters.
Of course, my other problem is that I write far too much that really isn't relevant.

Perhaps we could trade WiP's for a while, now that I have my ancient old computer back, whatall with my old, unfinished stories.
Maybe just one small one to start?
Please send me a private message if you like that idea.
Also, please give me a few days to look at your other writing so I can get a feel for what you normally go in for.

Thanks.

[TSaPA]

I'm facing a bit of an inverse of this problem...

Wouldn't it be grand to swap problems between us? Trade difficulties, and the problem I have finishing a story would be yours after getting a solid support beneath the characters.
Of course, my other problem is that I write far too much that really isn't relevant.

Perhaps we could trade WiP's for a while, now that I have my ancient old computer back, whatall with my old, unfinished stories.
Maybe just one small one to start?
Please send me a private message if you like that idea.
Also, please give me a few days to look at your other writing so I can get a feel for what you normally go in for.

Thanks.

PM might be good, though fair warning I am a newer member of this site, have nothing posted here, and currently have little to show for actual writing except a fragment of a WIP that technically takes place in the second part of my story arc concept but I'm writing first because I at least see the scenario clearly. All the rest of what I have is just ideas in my head at the time, though there are quite a lot of them.