Soulbonding

"If you write enough and you love what you're writing, sometimes the characters will take over and seem both real and very important to you. It's apparently a common thing.  Being a bunch of confused teenagers, we labeled this phenomenon 'soulbonding'" (Raincrystal, 2006 February 22).

This can range from a sense of characters having their own voice, to a person from fiction becoming a fronting system member who engages in daily life.  Soulbonders may cover the full plural/singlet spectrum.

Quick Details

Created By: Amanda Flowers in the JFW mailing list
Time Created: 1997-1996-1999
Location Used: JFW mailing list, Widespread--Livejournal, mockerytumblr, commswebsites

Circumstances of Creation

According to Riesz: "TheAmanda Flowers, a member of the JFW ([Just For Writers;Writers alsomailing knownlist], ascoined the Writers'term Club,'SoulBonding', thoughand I don'tbelieve know anyonethat in theone clubdiscussion who actually calls it that) is a mailing list which was originally set up for writers of fantasy, sci-fi and/or videogame-based stories (accordingrelating to the Members'subject, Guide,she itssaid verythat firstthe incarnationinspiration for the term being capitalized like that was as a club for fiction based around the Final Fantasy series). Nowadays that aspecttitle of the clubRPG has'SoulBlazer'. beenBasically, more-or-less sidelined; it's now reallyshe just athought smallit grouplooked of likeminded people, most (if not all) of whom are SoulBonders"cool" (2001, December 26). Over time, the mid-word capitalization was dropped.

The exact date the term was coined is unclear.  Musesong says 1996 (2002, March 15), but offers no proper source or citation.  Riesz gives no date at all, but first describes the experience in 1999 (2001, June 26).

Soulbonding as Plural Experience

Citations

Musesong. (2002, March 15). "SoulBonding Stuff" [insanejournal post].  Retrieved 2019/03/17 from http://musesong.insanejournal.com/1968.html

Raincrystal. (2006, February 22). Soulbonding [web page]. http://www.seiryuu.org/~raincrystal/soulbonding/ Internet Archive.  Retrieved 2019/03/15 from https://web.archive.org/web/20060222091626/http://www.seiryuu.org/~raincrystal/soulbonding/

Riesz. (2001, June 26). inner voices [web page]. http://childofmana.tripod.com/soulbonding.htm Internet Archive.  Retrieved 2019/03/17 from https://web.archive.org/web/20010626050616/http://childofmana.tripod.com:80/soulbonding.htm

Riesz. (2001, December 26). soulbonding faq [web page]. http://childofmana.tripod.com/soulbondingfaq.htm Internet Archive.  Retrieved 2019/03/17 from https://web.archive.org/web/20011226155411/http://childofmana.tripod.com/soulbondingfaq.htm