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If you haven’t been to The Ripped Bodice in LA you absolutely should (they have author-signed copies of all my books currently!). I got two books on my TBR and smelled every single trope candle. 10/10 experience and it’s good for my budget that I don’t live nearby.
Creating Character Flaws
Hey! I’m @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram!
Real-life human beings have a lot of traits. There are millions of combinations, but no matter the number, everyone has flaws. As well as strengths.
Every writer knows what makes their protagonist the best, (and we’ll discuss antagonists in a later post) but sometimes if they are the best at everything under the sun, it becomes extremely unrealistic.
Remember: Not all flaws are necessarily negative, and not all traits are flaws! You might be a really naturally quiet or shy person, and that may be a flaw for a character, but that doesn’t make you flawed! Love YOU for who YOU are. Everyone has their strengths <3
Flaws: A Consequence of Strengths
If you think of strengths, you think of brave, intelligent, fast, etc.
It’s easy to label these types of things, and we usually do it first when creating a character. So sometimes it can be difficult to think of their counterparts.
A good tactic to use when making up flaws is to look at your list of strengths and come up with a consequence that could result from not using that strength well.
For example:
Consequences of:
Intelligence = close-minded (not open to other ideas)
Bravery = recklessness (not thinking about the dangers of their actions)
Speed = impulsiveness (quick to do things or judge)
Just a little hack to help people out if you may be struggling. Think: What does being too *insert flaw* make this character do or feel instead. What does it lead to?
Flaws: Related to Insecurities and Past Events
Sometimes a tragic past event or insecurity that a character has or has experienced can result in character flaws.
Like if they once entered a talent show and made a fool of themselves, that may turn into them being terrified of speaking or performing in front of a crowd. Also known as: a flaw.
If the character has a scar or an injury that they are insecure about, it could then lead to them being overly cautious, etc.
Corresponding Flaws
Some negative traits can correspond with each other. You could have a main flaw that splits up deeper into many more rooted flaws.
Some flaws could be linked to physical or mental factors of your character. Make everything consistent and flow.
As well as related flaws, remember you can add varying ‘flaws’ too! A physically slow character could also be very aggressive!
Just depends on your combination of strengths and flaws, really! You do you! Write your characters how you want. These are just some guidelines I thought of for creating and managing said flaws.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed my post. Follow my Instagram for more :) Peace out my dudes ✌
Most Annoying Thing about Books?
What are your least favorite things about the books you've read? Reply or reblog your literary pet peeves!
(I'm a new author working on an environmental fiction book and I'm asking to get an idea of writing pitfalls to avoid!)
Realistic Dialogue
Hi! I’m @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram! More where this came from ;)
Often in Young Adult fiction (not limited to, though), there is an abundance of dialogue you would never hear from anybody in 2019. No matter how old or intellectual the character is.
We’ve all read the Wattpad story in which an obscure teenage boy describes another teenage girl's green eyes as “huge emerald orbs”; I mean come on, who even thinks that? Forget saying it. That useless observation should be considered carefully, and maybe even cut. What does it add to the story?
The same applies to dialogue. Your characters usually reflect different aspects of your own personality. If you can’t imagine yourself saying it, you probably shouldn’t be typing it.
If you are going to over-describe or have a character use flamboyant language, make it consistent. Make it part of them. You could even tie them with having a love for poetry, or extravagant clothing. Other unique features that explain their thought processes.
Your choice, but sometimes it can seem out of place in certain scenes. For example, if someone is insulting said character, and they turn awkward or uncomfortable, most likely they won’t speak how they normally do.
Just try to fit it into the situation. Your readers will get bored with long descriptions after the first few pages.
Thanks for reading a few of my personal guidelines about unrealistic dialogue. Of course, you don’t have to follow if you don’t want to, but I think it makes your book even better to read! Peace out dudes ✌
Why You Should Keep Writing:
You created these words from nothing. You summoned these letters and metaphors from the creative wands we call fingers. Someone, somewhere, is waiting for an author to write about all the characters and worlds you have hidden in a compartment of your brain. Someone could need your book, just think - you could change someone's life with those legible ink blots on a fresh paper page.
Why did you start writing? Finish for the same reason.
Writing is a passion; Writing is an art.
- You are an artist. Continue your calling, and create.
Brought to you by @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram :) ✌
Characters With Glasses
Hey, I’m @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram!
As a visually impaired person myself, I find it easy to write about characters with glasses. Some people with good eyesight, however, may struggle. Or they may just want some more content to make their writing more realistic! I haven’t seen much about it, so I'm here to help! 😉
I’m gonna categorise this post into a few sections: Pros, Cons, and Misc. Tips. The tips aren’t just gonna be about practical or real things, they will include the connotations of glasses too.
Try reading all of all the points, because they’ll follow with some more advice. Feel free to add any in the comments!
Pros:
Obviously, we see better with them on. Which means that as soon as we wake up, we can’t see!
Characters with glasses are often automatically seen as smarter with first impressions. (Don’t always have to be, though!)
A good way to show stress is for a character to throw off their glasses and sigh, etc. Like in the movies.
It can be provided as a comical aspect, losing their glasses, taking them off when they don’t wanna see something embarrassing, etc.
It can show how they’re feeling. Like if they brush up and wear contacts all the time, and one day they show up with glasses and ruffled hair, something must be up. Once again stress.
Cons:
There are a lot more cons, lol. I’ll try not to be so salty.
As the first pro, we can’t see without them. So remember when we wake up, go swimming, or shower, we can’t automatically see.
Rubbing eyes or doing makeup are also things you can’t really do with glasses on. (Depends what makeup)
They get broken really easily, they constantly have to be cleaned, they can get scratches, etc. So if your character ends up in a fight, aim for the glasses.
Glasses are expensive.
They fog up when it's cold, or get wet and blurry when it's raining.
General Features/Misc Tips:
People with glasses are likely to be related to someone with glasses.
🙌Glasses do not equal ugly!!! This is so important. Too many characters are considered nerdy or ugly due to the fact they have glasses. This made me really insecure when I was younger. Please don’t do it.🙌
As a general rule, people who wear contacts shouldn’t put makeup on after they put them in.
Also, you can’t swim wearing contacts!!!
Most people who wear glasses don’t appreciate the whole “lemme wear your glasses” “how many fingers am I holding up?” sitch.
You usually start to need glasses around ages 8/9 - but it can totally vary.
Contacts wear your eyes out after a while, so I don’t suggest you put your characters through the torture of wearing them for 12+ hours.
Hope you enjoyed this post! And hopefully, you gathered some new info :) DM me if you have any other questions about glasses. I’ll be happy to help <3
Follow my Instagram for more! Peace out dudes ✌
Author Things:
When you base 7 characters off of a set of 7 things, and then look up the traits of those 7 things and realize they’re EXACTLY what you needed them to be to make it work for the influence behind the 7 characters, even though you’ve been planning the characters for days already, but it all JUST WORKS AND YOU’RE JUST...!
taken from my bsky
