Sure, many of us as kids had imaginary friends. (Even Hawykeye in * MASH: when asked “Who wet the bed?” He said “Tuttle.” That’s a great episode, incidentally.) But now: do any of us create fictitious characters? Like someone you may daydream about; someone who may embody qualities you yearn to have, or someone of the opposite sex who may meet the criteria you might set for a soulmate.
For Hawkeye and the various episodes, go to the website www.mash4077.co.uk/
Considering that I’m an RPG’er, I have many. 
>>Being Chaotic Evil means never having to say your sorry…unless the other guy is bigger than you.<<
—The dragon observes
::placing bets on which of our resident atheists is the first to mention ARG220::
I’ve written a novel, so I’ve created fictitious characters by the dozen–both those I like a great deal, and those I detest. In doing so, I found that many of them evolved on their own–not only didn’t they turn out as I intended, some of them developed into completely different people. In the process, my novel turned out to be something completely different than I’d bargained for. It’s much better this way, but it was a little disturbing at the time.
Rich Barr
massivemaple@hotmail.com
AOL Instant Messenger: Hrttannl
Do mental pictures of the Teeming Thousands count?
I can echo that Rich. I’ve been writing since I was thirteen. I have finished two novels and am currently working on my third. My characters talk to me, they speak in my dreams and I find myself walking around the house arguing with them. OUT LOUD! Thank God I live alone or someone might fear for my mental health!
In my first novel I created a man that to me is my ultimate soul mate. He is everything I could possibly desire. In case you are wondering, yeah (hangs head in shame) I write romance novels. This man I dreamed up is as real to me as any person I know. And ever since I wrote that book I have been fascinated by the name Kyle. Never met one, would love to see how close he would come to my fantasy Kyle…
And sometimes when I have erotic daydreams I write it out. I’ve made some good money from my fantasy life!
The moon looks on many flowers, the flowers on but one moon.
As a writer, I create dozens of fictitious characters a year. I also get paid to do it.
I’m in a nit-picking mood today but isn’t it more common to refer to your creations as fictional characters, rather than fictitious? According to my dictionary fictitious carries an element of falsity – “assumed for deception” – although it does cover the “imaginary” meaning as well.
“non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem”
– William of Ockham
Byzantine: [[I can echo that Rich. […] My characters talk to me, they speak in my dreams and I find myself walking around the house arguing with them. OUT LOUD! Thank God I live alone or someone might fear for my mental health!]]
I can definitely relate, Byz. When I started writing I thought that I’d just follow this plot I had in my head. WRONG–not only didn’t the characters cooperate, the story itself turned out to be about something different than I’d thought. (What I’d seen in my mind for years before I wrote was a war story. It turned out the war was just background for what became a love story.)
[[In my first novel I created a man that to me is my ultimate soul mate. He is everything I could possibly desire. In case you are wondering, yeah (hangs head in shame) I write romance novels. This man I dreamed up is as real to me as any person I know. And ever since I wrote that book I have been fascinated by the name Kyle. Never met one, would love to see how close he would come to my fantasy Kyle…]]
I though this sort of thing was confined to weirdos such as myself. I very definitely fell in love with the heroine (I dislike the term “protagonist”) from my novel…and now I have a real jones for the name “Lori.” Indeed, for a little while I had some sort of emotional meltdown…I became convinced that Lori was real, and out there looking for me. This got to the point that I’d do stuff like search the Hotmail classifieds for her. I don’t think I could have been committed because of this…but if I’d ALREADY been committed, I doubt they’d have let me out.
I got over my odd mental lapse, of course. Pity…
Pluto: [[According to my dictionary fictitious carries an element of falsity – “assumed for deception” – although it does cover the “imaginary” meaning as well.]]
Robert A. Heinlein once defined writing fiction as “lying for money,” or something of the sort. Granted the connotations are a bit different, but “fictitious” works even so. Dougie used “fictitious” in the title, and it’s his thread–we’re just following his usage.
Rich Barr
massivemaple@hotmail.com
AOL Instant Messenger: Hrttannl
I used “fictitious” because I found it, in a chapter of * The Baseball Encyclopedia * published by Macmillan, referring to an imaginary major-league ballplayer who was created in order to give a sample entry in the Player Register that would allow an explanation of all the elements used in various entries.
I have created fictitious characters, including a ballplayer, a human-like cat (probably from the tv cartoon * Top Cat) * and a number of women–all quite shapely, probably owing to male predilection and fantasy; but some are married, some are not, and all have distinct personalities–including one woman with serious personal problems that she would need serious psychiatric treatment to handle. Another one looks much like Anna Nicole Smith, but is happily married and has five fiercely loyal children–so loyal that, as I created the situation, a menacing purse-snatcher threatened the woman and her three boys beat the tar out of the jerk. Another is wealthy enough to have fifteen children.
I’m not sure I understand, Dougie. Are these characters you’ve created for stories? Or fantasies you play with in your mind when bored?
Rich Barr
massivemaple@hotmail.com
AOL Instant Messenger: Hrttannl
These are my own fantasies. Another is the wife of a truck driver and senior foreman (the highest-paid hourly employee of his company—what is a foreman who is THE top boss of construction workers called? Clean replies only, please.)
Anyway, this woman, who is 4’10," has the same expertise as her husband–so much so that she actually takes his place at a building site when he’s so sick in bed with the flu she insists he shouldn’t get out of bed. (Whether a company would permit such a substitution, even if the putative substitute has the expertise, I don’t know at all.)
Anyway, I toy with the idea of writing stories–for what use I don’t know–with such people in them.
I should think the answer would be obvious… every person on this board has created at least one fictitious character! :o
touche’, Poly!
“non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem”
– William of Ockham
Thanks, Polycarp.
I’ve created many a fictitious character myself, with the intention of writing down their stories as novels, but I’ve never gotten around to it. I always say I’m going to write the stories, that I’m not just making up imaginary friends, but more and more I think that’s just to make me feel less guilty for doing something so silly. I guess I never really outgrew it. I used to be married to Johnny Gage, y’know, when I was about 5, until my sister stole him away and I had to settle for Capt. Henry
(I haven’t had to surround myself with so many imaginary people though since I got a real husband to keep me busy )
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
You’ll be sorry!! Capt. Henry Stanley WAS married–in fact, his wife, although she never appeared, was mentioned in the episode where they were going to buy a boat from a mechanic.
By the way–doi you know if there’s a website for * Emergency? *
About one of those fictitious women I created–her name is Eloise Sharp. Her husband is a company executive. They are wealthy and live in a big mansion. They have been married for 25 years, and have 15 kids! By their own estimation they have “done it” 80,000 times!! 
I like http://www.emergency.simplenet.com/
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy