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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48863
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Always maintain some distance between yourself and the character. Ensure that the character is somebody you can empathize with, but somebody who is fundamentally and emphatically not you. As in "I could not be that person". It's a little bit like avoiding nepotism: If you hire a relative, or you're a judge deciding a relative's lawsuit, you can't help but be partial to them. It doesn't matter how firmly you resolve to be objective. It's not possible, you can't fake it.

So don't "hire a relative". If you always find yourself asking "how does he feel about this" and never "how do I feel about this", you're on the right track. The character should be perfectly comfortable doing some things you'd never do. You should think of the character as a stranger you've met and you're getting to know. You may well be ambivalent about some things about the character. All the better, so you don't feel bad about kicking them around.

Then you strive to represent this person fairly. Representing a stranger fairly is doable. You're not emotionally involved in their flaws and virtues. It is what it is. Sometimes you want to hold that jerk's feet to the fire.

Original score: 4