I'm not sure how possible it would be to separate oneself from an LBD character, however, once you've identified that strongly. Is it even possible? And is this the same or similar to the complex which occasionally makes us cringe at another person's (or even the original author's) portrayal of a character when said portrayal differs or contrasts our view of him/her?
It can be a wrench to switch perspectives when you've invested a lot of emotional energy into one character, yes. (For the record, I OTP Sirius/Remus and LBD Snape). My friend Morgan D and I have a website where we exchange letters in persona, and recently began a lighthearted thread between James and Sirius as teenagers planning a (relatively harmless but embarassing) prank on Snape. And while I had no trouble writing Sirius rubbing his hands gleefully and plotting, I found myself almost self-righteously appalled at his behavior *and my ability to characterize it*. Because I had written *so* many letters from Snape's POV--self-justifying, frustrated, furious, grieving--that I was quite angry at Sirius's actions, even though I'd written those actions myself and although I otherwise love Sirius dearly. Essentially, it felt alien *being* Sirius when I had spent so much time and energy *being* Snape and burrowing into his psyche.
And I must also plead guilty to reading stories or, yes, canon, with Snape and saying "But he doesn't *talk* like that!". Then, of course, I mentally slap myself because he doesn't speak in canon with the same voice I give him--his speech patterns are my own personal idiosyncracy (sp?) for the character.
Re: That is just about the best icon ever, btw.
It can be a wrench to switch perspectives when you've invested a lot of emotional energy into one character, yes. (For the record, I OTP Sirius/Remus and LBD Snape). My friend Morgan D and I have a website where we exchange letters in persona, and recently began a lighthearted thread between James and Sirius as teenagers planning a (relatively harmless but embarassing) prank on Snape. And while I had no trouble writing Sirius rubbing his hands gleefully and plotting, I found myself almost self-righteously appalled at his behavior *and my ability to characterize it*. Because I had written *so* many letters from Snape's POV--self-justifying, frustrated, furious, grieving--that I was quite angry at Sirius's actions, even though I'd written those actions myself and although I otherwise love Sirius dearly. Essentially, it felt alien *being* Sirius when I had spent so much time and energy *being* Snape and burrowing into his psyche.
And I must also plead guilty to reading stories or, yes, canon, with Snape and saying "But he doesn't *talk* like that!". Then, of course, I mentally slap myself because he doesn't speak in canon with the same voice I give him--his speech patterns are my own personal idiosyncracy (sp?) for the character.