How Fiction Works Writing Meme - Day Nineteen

[meridian_rose]

19 - How much time must be spent on a character for them to be a character? Does a character have to be living, have a voice, or can it be a place, an era, a coffee cup? Do characters exist at all?

I don't know, it varies. No, other things can be characters, although I probably wouldn't list London (city) or Autumn (season) as characters per se. They are integral to the story but not…dynamic? I might include objects as characters in parody/crack and I'd include non people things as characters if they are sapient or sentient like a horse, or a magic mirror.
Do characters exist at all? This is way out of my comfort zone. I'd need to do some reading to begin to formulate an intelligent answer to this.

Comments

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

I think one could personify London or Autumn and make them characters - I know I've read something by Neil Gaiman where the months are people, and it's October's turn to tell everyone a story - but in general, I agree.

I also consider the Sorting Hat to be a character.

Do characters exist at all? This is way out of my comfort zone. I'd need to do some reading to begin to formulate an intelligent answer to this.
Likewise - I am now confused...;)

[meridian_rose]

Oh yes, if I were having an object tell the story, they would count as a character :D And the Sorting Hat is in the same vein of sentience as a magic mirror, so yes, the Hat counts - actually I just went to AO3 and Sorting Hat is a character tagged in multiple fics :D

I'm glad it's not just me who is confused by this. It seems a post-modern sort of question, maybe even a post-post-modern one.