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Giving your doll a story.

Feb 13, 2010

    1. Every doll I create will have a story, whether they are based on an original character or creating their own character in my head as soon I see their mold if I like it.

      Every character has to have a story.. sometimes it's just a small one at first, I let them tell me their story rather than the other way around.
       
    2. Yeah, Gabe has a whole friggin background story to him. He's a character of mine based off a friend and mine's roleplay that we've started within last year in 2009.
      I'm thinking about wether or not to buy yet another doll and just give him a name+story and not base him off of my past roleplays, but yeah. Physically presenting my character was my main purpose behind getting Gabe :3
       
    3. Do all of you give each of your dolls a background and story?
      I do and I could say it is because most of my BJD come from an existing title (One Piece manga and anime series), but that is just only one of my two main reasons. The other one is I love writing and creating stories about my own creation characters and about the rest. So both things match in a same idea in my case.

      And do you feel it a necessary part of the doll collecting experience?
      I feel it a necessary part of my doll collecting experience - All my BJD have a background and story since the beginning. I would feel them as empty characters if not - and of anyone's who loves enjoying the hobby this way.
       
    4. Do all of you give each of your dolls a background and story?
      Yes. My dolls do have their own background according to the story I was writing as they represent different characters. Each of them connect to each other in a way or another.

      And do you feel it a necessary part of the doll collecting experience?
      I do feel that it is necessary for me to do it as it is like giving a soul to my doll collection. However, I'm totally fine if other owners didn't do that to their doll as it is their possession.:)
       
    5. i don't think it's nessacery. some have them because they are oc's made into dolls. i have mine stories because it's something i love doing XD
       
    6. While I don't think it's necessary (and some of the dolls in my wishlist don't have characters attached) I do find it really fun to give my girl a story! It's actually completely changed from when I first got her. In the beginning she was a pop star elf. Now she's a guardian angel with a sadistic delight in scaring drunk drivers sober. I love the way her story has been unfolding and revealing itself, it's like writing without having to figure out the best adjective to describe something...
       
    7. Eh, I don't think it's necessary, no. But I had friends who were always pressuring me into making a backstory for my doll, so eventually I just suckered in and wrote one. I don't really like backstories though unless it's a backstory I'm realllyyy interested in because then you feel like you HAVE to have the dolls for the story XD
       
    8. I do not think it is a necessary part, many owners do not do this, but I do, for me it is vitally important, and I feel a deeper love and connection when my dolls have a story, all of my dolls fit together to make one big story in fact
       
    9. For me it's rather "giving my story a doll." :D
       
    10. I've created a rough sort of fairytale world in my head that my dolls belong in :whee: I like to have aesthetic continuity, but I think I could justify bringing almost any sculpt into it and give them a place in the story, haha ;)
       
    11. I had to laugh when I read this...it's oh so true for me as well. My dolls are like my own private journal. I create elaborate dislay vignettes for them, have detailed characterizations and plots for them, and then plunk it all down in various places throughout my home so that everytime I walk past, I'm seeing my journal entry rather than just reading it. My dolls tell the stories of my life...whether it's my love of the forlorn sound of a train whistle cutting through the cool desert night or my memories of many happy hours spent in fierce Pokemon plushy battles with a beloved child...my stories are there, visually displayed in each and every doll.
       
    12. i do create story for my dolls :) it helps me bound.
      cuz if i cant find them a personnality, i dont know what kind of clothes and wig to buy them, and then they look like nothing and i get frustrated and sell the doll ... :/
       
    13. I think a lot of people make up stories, especially since creative people are the ones drawn to bjds in the first place. I've had my dollie for months and until recently she's only had a name. Finally have a story started and now we "get along" much better.
       
    14. My doll's stories are written through my day to day interaction with them, along with their interaction with other dolls belonging to friends ^^
      When I get them they have a name, and a base personality. Nothing more than that.
      And over the months they grow their own 'real life' history.
       
    15. My first boy that I got actually had a story before I got him and so did the second but my third was a random buy and the story came from him. I like stories, it gives them meaning and life.
       
    16. Most of my dolls were bought to shell specific original characters, and there are some who have created original characters in existing storylines for me. There are people who don't need to even name their dolls, so I don't see it as necessary for everyone, but it is absolutely necessary for me. I wouldn't know what to do with them if I didn't know who they were. I wouldn't know how to dress them, what wigs/eyes to use, how they'd interact in photos. A lot of the fun for me is in seeing them get closer and closer to embodying people who only live in my stories. :)
       
    17. I do :) What drew me to BJDs in the first place was the fact that they can easily embody the characters that have been lurking around in my head and bring my imagination and ideas to life. I have characters that have their backgrounds and stories even before I have the dolls, having certain aspects and personality traits to them makes each doll that I have or am going to have more special and distinctive.

      Also, imo, there's no point for me to throw away a few hundred bucks on a doll at all in the first place if I didn't have a clue who they were going to be, 'cause without a background they'd be strangers to me and I would definitely not be able to bond with them.
       
    18. My dolls have a sort of half hearted story. It would be more accurate to say they have IDEAS behind them rather than an elaborate backstory.

      I must say I'm a little envious of some the backstories I'v read! Some are brilliant! Then I feel bad and think to myself- I'm a writer! I should have better back story for my dolls! But sadly they do not! I'm lucky when I can come up with a name for them :)
      I find that for characters from my writing I don't want a doll version of them. Sometimes I will draw characters but really I just don't need to have doll versions of them. They live in the stories.

      But, having said that I do have moe incoming doll who is being named after an original character of mine, although she is the baby version of that character, but she's so perfect for the character she's getting the name.
       
    19. Same here, none of mine have a proper backstory, they have a little bit of detail which realtes to how I see and dress them; hence why one of my girls goes by the nickname of 'princess' sometimes.

      I guess having zero interested in role playing does effect how much backstory they have, I don't roleplay them at all so I honestly don't think they need backstories.

      I'm sure part of it is linked to me being very visualy creative, I would rarther produce my ideas into something I can hold than to write them down.
       
    20. It's not necessary.

      My dolls don't have a backstory yet, and it took me awhile to even coming around on giving them personalities or even call what I was doing a character. Now that my characters are planned out, I'm kind of inspired to write stories about them.