Discover Top Posts Tagged with #developing a character

Stevidot Fusion: Sphalerite

This is about as cleaned up as it’ll get from me. I’m really not sold on the hair (looks like someone just drizzled chocolate syrup all over it), but it’s at least not horrendously lazy like my gradient from before.

So, yeah. I’m gonna write about her this week. Once again, this is Gem Ascension continuity, meaning I’d best continue down in a cut.

#steven universe #steven universe oc #steven universe fusion oc #stevidot #stevidot fusion #peridot #su peridot #gem ascension #gem re:ascension #post-gem ascension #sphalerite #ga fanart by me #first look #listing possibilities #developing a character #ga spoilers

Hello! I've been having trouble starting my stories. I have this one story where I write scenes that I'd like to put in, but the beginning doesn't flow well at all. I also have trouble having a sticking personality for my characters, for some it's hazy and it's not clear of who they are. Do you have any tips of how to fix this? Its hard for me to write because of this. Thank you!

Hey! I’m going to address your two concerns individually for the sake of clarity.

1. How to Start a Story

When you sit down to write something, it’s almost guaranteed that your opening lines are going to be bad. And that makes sense. You don’t know how your story is going to turn out, and you don’t know what tone it will take on. You gotta just write something down and go from there--you can go back and fix it later.

If you want, you can try starting from a little later than the beginning, and just write the beginning when you’re finished with the book. And, honestly, you’ll end up rewriting it anyway. But if you’ve already written a thing and you just can’t get the beginning to flow, I’d consider this:

The beginning of your book is your thesis statement. It sets the pace for the rest of the story. Is your story a high-paced, action-packed thriller? Then you probably want to have a snappy, attention-grabbing opening. It is a slow-paced fantasy adventure? Then take your time, set the scene, let the reader get comfy in one place.

The beginning of your work should establish the themes that come up later. Establish your characters, establish your themes, and do it in a way that mirrors the rest of the book’s tone and pacing.

2. How to Establish Character

Character-building is hugely individual. It sounds to me like you don’t have fully formed characters yet, and that happens a lot. There are tons of character quizzes online that you can take to determine a character’s favorite food, their Myer’s Briggs, their fashion sense--and while those things may never come up in the novel, they help you have a more solid understanding of your character.

One of the things that I personally like to do is write things that have nothing to do with the story with my characters just to get a feel with how they interact with each other and with the setting. Basically, I write fanfiction, but with my own characters in my own world. All it does is help me get a feel for how the characters work and how they interact.

Show us how they act, and show us why. Is your character a grumpy old man? Then maybe open with him barking at some kids. In the beginning of your story, establish the things about characters that other people might see right off the bat, and then we can uncover things about them as the story goes on. But it’s important that you as the author knows everything under the surface first, so you can choose what to reveal and when.

Set up their backstory, their family history, know what kind of toothpaste they use, and whether they take milk with their coffee. Get to know them, and then they’ll act more consistently in your work.

Thanks for writing in!

-mod Gloria @gloriawriting

#Ask #startng a story #beginnings #establishing character #developing a character #making a character #creating a character #character development

Character Tropes pt. 2: Idiot Father and in Charge Mother

The Idiot Father, or the Bumbling Dad, trope is a trope I personally despise. It was an intentional subversion of the 50′s father, and was really popular in the late 1980′s and through out the 90′s and 2000′s, and is even still in most family sitcoms to this very day.

The trope relies heavily on family stereotypes. The mother/wife always taking charge, nagging her husband to death about every little thing she perceives as wrong. The father/husband being more interested in sports games than his own children, always forgetting about anything in regards to romance with his wife, and doing everything wrong. All with the in-laws driving both spouses insane.

Examples

The Simpsons

Everybody Loves Raymond

Home Improvement

Committed

Glenn Martin, DDS

Family Guy

Rick & Morty

Malcolm in the Middle

When writing families in your stories, whether it be for a book, comic, or cartoon, avoid this trope at all costs. If you can make this trope work, good, but to make it work you’d have to make the marriage functional.

Typically, when you encounter this trope, the main question that pops into your mind when you see the couple interact is, “Why the hell are you two married when you have nothing in common, and everything about how you interact tells me you hate each other?”.

I cannot think of a way to make this trope actually work, but if you can think of a way, please let me know.

This trope is over done and any humor that once accompanied it is gone.

When writing a happily married couple, you want to ensure that their marriage is functional. Here is a list of Do’s and Don’t’s.

Make them communicate on a regular basis

Have them do household chores equally

If they have children, make sure they both are invested in their children and make sure they have faith in each other to give appropriate permissions and punishments

Give them expectations of each other, but make sure the expectations are within reason

Make sure they accept each others flaws

Give them different views and interests, but make some the same or similar

Don’t

Have them argue over every little thing

Have one partner more in control over family and household obligations

Have a partner more invested in their children than the other

Have one partner push their insecurities on their partner or children

Give them vastly different interests or views

#writing tips #writing #writing a character #developing a character #tropes #tv tropes

Hi!! I love this blog and you give such good advice!! I'm having trouble starting the story, I don't want it to be boring, but I don't want it to rush in either? Also, do you have any advice for writing a characters personality? Like their words and actions, I'm having a difficult time doing that. Thank you for answering, I really appreciate it!!

Hey there! 1. First off, starting the story: • A graphic about ways to start stories: https://writing-central.tumblr.com/post/162561340373/credit-lifeofastorytellercom• An ask like yours: https://writing-central.tumblr.com/post/157111331588/whats-an-interesting-way-to-entice-a-reader-when• My quick advice: Begin with a brief bit of exposition (and by brief I mean like a couple pages, max) like introducing your MC, the world, etc. Then, plunge into an inciting incident that introduces the conflict, with more developmental info interspersed if need be- as will probably be the case with scifi, fantasy, and dystopia. 2. Developing a character's personality:• Know your character thoroughly. https://writing-central.tumblr.com/post/144468873398https://writing-central.tumblr.com/post/146948633158• For character development: https://writing-central.tumblr.com/post/163851270748/tips-from-a-ya-editor-by-anne-regan-five-tips-for• My quick advice: Know your character through and through. Know their background, values, positive and negative traits, hopes, goals, etc. Pretend they are a real person. Then, put yourself in their shoes. Not what you would do in that situation. What they would do. A pessimistic, snarky girl would react differently to a sickness diagnosis than a hopeful, religious older woman, and they would both act differently than you.It might help to practice writing what your friends or family would do in various situations because you know them. Or base a character off of one of them.

Workbook pt. 4: Character Questionnaire

It is a good idea to fill this out for all of your characters, even some of the most minor ones!

Name:

Age:

Height:

Eye Color:

Physical Appearance:

Strange/ Unique Physical Attributes:

Favorite Clothing Style/ Outfit:

Where does he or she live? What is it like there?

Defining Gestures/ Movements (i.e., curling his or her lip when he or she speaks, always keeping his or her eyes on the ground, etc):

Things about his or her appearance he or she would most like to change:

Speaking Style (fast, talkative, monotone, etc)

Pet Peeves:

Fondest Memory:

Hobbies/Interests:

Special Skills/ Abilities:

Insecurities:

Quirks/ Eccentricities:

Temperament (easy going, easily angered, etc.):

Negative Traits:

Things That Upset Him or Her:

Things That Embarrass Him or Her:

This Character is Highly Opinionated About:

Any Phobias?:

Things That Make Him or Her Happy:

Family (describe):

Deepest, Darkest Secret:

Reason he or she kept this secret for so long:

Other peoples opinions of this character (What do people like about this character? What do they dislike about this character?):

Favorite Bands/Songs/Type of Music:

Favorite Movies:

Favorite TV Shows:

Favorite Books:

Favorite Foods:

Favorite Sports/ Sports Team:

Political Views:

Religion/ Life Philosophy:

Physical Health:

Dream Vacation:

Description of his or her house:

Description of his or her bedroom:

Any Pets?:

Best thing that ever happened to this character:

Worst thing that ever happened to this character:

Superstitions:

Three Words to Describe This Character:\

If a song played every time this character walked into a room, what song would it be?:

#writing tips #help with writing #writing blog #character creation #developing a character

Emotions

When writing about emotions, there’s two ways to go wrong. Too much description and not enough.

“He was mad.”

Yes, but how mad was he? What sort of mad? Was he annoyed and pouting on the couch? Was he shaking and red faced, ready to scream? This doesn’t communicate the anger properly.

“He was so mad his face was as red as a ripe tomato, his eyes burned with fury, and his body shook violently like a sky scraper during an earthquake.”

This is a good start to describing things in detail but it’s too much. This is describing how this character looks, not how he feels and not what he’s doing to show his anger. It doesn’t communicate the anger correctly, either

“His face was bright red as he turned on his friends. He shook violently as he hurled furious insults their way.”

This is much better. It does describe his appearance, but actions will always speak louder. When trying to portray an emotion or emotional scenes, you don’t want to be too descriptive or drag things out.

For example, writing about a funeral. Describing the funeral it’s self may seem like a good idea. Give the reader an idea of the scene and all. However, the reader typically will be more focused on the main character, rather than the funeral, especially if the funeral is for someone close to the main character.

Instead of writing about the funeral in length, describe the character. Describe how they view the situation. Is the whole thing a blur? Does it drag on far too long for their liking? Do they even attend?

What are they thinking through out the whole thing? Are they contemplating revenge for a murdered sister? Are they thinking of the happy memories with a child taken too soon? Are they contemplating following their spouse through any means?

Do they choke up when they see their child in an open casket? Do they cradle the urn filled with their spouse’s ashes close to their chest? Do they breathe deeply as their eyes fill with tears as they speak about who their best friend was? Do they remain stoic, still in shock?

Funerals, it’s best to focus on the emotion of the main character. However, with a more happy scenario, like a party, it may be best to focus on the emotion of the environment and how that makes the main character feel.

“The living room was cramped as upbeat music blared and drinks were spilled as the party goers danced together. People were making out in the corners, some people were already passed out drunk, and others were high on ecstasy or some other hard drug. A few couples had already snuck upstairs for some more private fun.”

Describe how your character would feel in such a situation. Would they be accepting random drinks and dancing? Would they sneak off to a bedroom with someone? Or would they be tucked away in a corner, wishing they could go home? Would the alcohol and drugs freak them out, or would they be partaking and laughing? Would they have an anxiety attack or would they end up dancing on a table, giggling?

Practice writing a sad scenario then practice writing a happy or excited one. Practice writing about a a character who gets angry and lashes out. Use the same character for each of these, especially if you’re still trying to get to know your character.

#writing tips #writing #help with writing #writing a character #character death #developing a character #character creation #emotional writing

The Antagonist is Always Right

The key to writing an interesting physical antagonist is to have them not be a cardboard cutout doing things in the name of evil.

Most people we consider to be evil in history did things because they believed themselves to be in the right.

Believing yourself to be correct and in the right can allow you to do things that most would find despicable. And that's something that often makes physical antagonists compelling.

Let's compare antagonists from two different games. Diablo from the games of the same name, and Lucien from Fable II.

Diablo is literally called "the Prime Evil" in the third installment of the series. He and all of his fellow Lords do things simply out of a desire to be cruel and evil, and refer to it as an evil. It makes for an intimating, but ultimately flat antagonist.

Lord Lucien is different. Very different. A simple man who lost his wife and daughter before the events of the game. A man who tries to restore an artifact of the Old Kingdom with slave labor in order to create a utopia where no one will suffer the loss he did. Where nothing goes wrong. He starves prisoners, uses slaves, tortures his slaves into obeying, he shoots your character and their sister at the beginning if the game... And he does this because he believes himself to be in the right. He's more interesting. He's a bit of a look into how grief and pain can drive people to cause so much harm.

Physical antagonists do not always have to be in depth, like the Archdemon from Dragon Age: Origins. However, when writing the physical antagonist as a person, its usually best to try and make them justify their actions instead of having them go, "I'm evil, so what?".