Hatrack River Forum: Graff/Card Asimov and stuff

This is topic Graff/Card Asimov and stuff in forum Discussions About Orson Scott Card at Hatrack River Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002773

Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :

Okay I'm wondering about soemthing here. Do writers usually base intentionally or unintenionally base a character in their novels on themselves? I'm thinking that Colonel Graff reminds me somewhat of OSC, I got this idea in my head after recontemplating the Foundation septile that many of the characters over the many books seemed to remind me of what Isaac Asimov may have been as a young adult or as in the case of the myth/legend proffesor in Foundation and Earth, what he may have been when more elderly. Sadly I'm making these assumptions based on the writings from Mr. Asimov's science articles since I never met him... [Wall Bash]

. Now I never met Mr. Card either but nevertheless I get the slight impression that Graff reminds me of Mr. Card and vice versa.

Food for thought.

Posted by AntiCool (Member # 7386) on :

Whenever a couple banters back and forth in OSC's books, I imagine that this is how he and his wife banter.

Posted by Verai (Member # 7507) on :

I hope that he doesn't talk like Peter's parents when Peter and they had to get flown to Battle School and were dividing rooms ;O [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :

[Confused]

You imagine that OSC and his wife talk about how authers may have based certain characters on themselves? Doesn't turn up in everyday conversation neh?

Posted by Swede (Member # 7560) on :

I suppose it is easier to base a character on yourself then making them up or base them on someone else, mostly because you know yourself much, much better then you know anyone else. It is kind of hard to know what other people thinks about, but hopefully you are fully aware of what you think.

Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :

Facinating.

Posted by definitelynotvichysoisse (Member # 7559) on :

I agree.

Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :

I'm sure OSC puts elements of himself into a lot of his characters, for instance Graff's weight gain/loss little aside is certainly from OSC's life (read the afterwords to "Fat Farm"), perhaps he does about because he obviously knows more about it since he's lived through it, I don't know. Really though, I think all of his characters are unique and individual people who exist independent of his own persona (well, once they're written I guess [Wink]

), the only character that is really pretty much pure OSC is Step in Lost Boys. And not to sound to fan boyish, but he's always been one of the characters that I most admired in OSC's work. [Smile]

Hobbes

Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :

Rarely do I consciously base any aspect of a character on some person I know, and even then, it's only one or two obvious (and fundamentally trivial) aspects of them. Graff obviously has my weight problem - but no other aspect of me.

As for banter, I'm not aware that Kristine and I banter. Neither of us has the self-confidence for that <grin>. It's too easy for banter to damage a relationship.

I'm good at banter. But I have no regular partners in badinage, except in fiction. Obviously, I can only write dialogue that I think of. But when I think of it, I'm "in character" - that is, I'm like an actor improvising dialogue. It's still me, but I'm buried in someone else's identity, insofar as that is actually possible.

Nobody said I was a GOOD actor. But that's what I'm doing. So ... in the sense that I think of everything that any character says or does, they're all based on me. But in the sense of consciously modeling a character on some living person, then no, I don't do that, with very rare exceptions, most of which occur in Lost Boys, where I'm obviously basing the family on my own.