#fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment

[novicepen]

I fucking love putting foreshadowing in my book insinuating an event completely opposite to what will actually happen. Fuck with the reader's mind.

[writinginslowmotion]

Six (well, more than six, oops) images to describe my character, done for the FYCD challenge! Images found on Google. 

[gracefully-ruthless]

Here Comes NaNo!

Nanowrimo is two days away, and in response to fuckyeahcharacter development, my main character is Ren Quincey, seventeen-year-old mechanic on the mercenary ship Decadia. Follow her into danger with an ancient order determined to retake the galaxy they had once ruled over... But want do they want with Decadia, her crew, and especially their mysterious captain?

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Fuck yeah character development - fridge edition

Pick a character. Any character. What’s in their fridge/pantry/place where they keep food?

One of mine has five take out containers- two of which are edible and the rest are growing science projects, greek yogurt, and white wine. :D

[fixyourwritinghabits]

I'm writing a novel series and like I like to write my characters out first so I know everything about them but with my main female character I keep having problems. I don't understand why bc I'm a girl but it's so hard I keep trying to write the same personality and same thing of every main female character I've ever written and I hate that bc I want to create new and original characters not copies of the ones I've written before and idk what to do.

First things first, breathe. Character development is hard. It's harder if you stress about it.

Second, just because you share the same gender identity as a character doesn't mean you'll magically have insight into their personality. W

Third, you said you write the same personality and same thing for all your female MCs, but you don't like it anymore and want to create new characters. Well, the simple answer is to stop doing what you've done before. Since that's easier said than done, here's something new for you to try. You're going to use your imagination to answer some questions I just thought up. 

It's their birthday. What flavor cake do they want?

It's Saturday morning. What is the first thing they want to do?

What's the weirdest/strangest song in their music library?

Soap or body wash? Why?

There's a spider on the wall. Do they kill it? Why? 

So there are some questions to get you going. Close your eyes and imagine you're interviewing your character. Ask them these questions and others. Always ask why they like or prefer something. While you're asking them questions, pay attention to their body language. When you're feeling tired, tell them you're done for the day, and open your eyes. It sounds really weird, I know, but it works. Don't expect yourself to be good at this immediately. It took one of my friends a few weeks of practice to feel comfortable with it, but she's fine with it now. 

This isn't to say you can't have overlap. Do my MC's and I share some of our likes or habits? Of course. However, there are plenty of things they like that I despise, and vice versa.

Don't think you'll learn everything about them up front. I've been working on my WIP for almost two years and I'm still finding out things about my MC's. I'm beyond big revelations at this point, but I'm still discovering small things. They always find a way to surprise me. Give yourself room for them (and you!) to grow. 

[ohnoitsthebat]

My Tumblr Crushes:

mrs-spidey

master-of-the-unforgiven

simplydaydreaming

fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment

obsessivereaderandwriter

ofteacupsandporn

thewritingcafe

miss-jennifer-cormier

punksinthebronx

[sapphygolucky]

FYCD POV Challenge- Asher

I did a writing challenge, see? 200 words a pop. Basically, you had to write a description of the character from the pov of someone who likes them, someone who dislikes them, and someone who's neutral towards them. I put it under a readmore because it kinda got long winded, heh.

1)      Taylor 

Asher’s the quirky artist kid. If you had to define his aesthetic in a couple of words, it’s that. Paint mixes into his hair a lot, and you can’t go a few days without seeing some on his face, splattered on like stars or brushing across, almost curving into a comet. He likes to do that, of course. Painting, I mean. When he does it, he slips into space, and that is probably the most beautiful I've seen him.

He lights up like gold whenever he gets out of that zone. It's like he doesn't realize what he's doing until he finishes doing it, and is so completely in awe of his masterpiece. He's not usually that proud a kid, but when you see him with something like that, a painting or something he had made, it's almost like he's showing his life's work.

He puts himself into everything, and you can see it on his face. You can see it in the determined look he gets in honey eyes, in the way the joints in his hands move and work, in the way his face lights up into New Years' once he finishes something.

I can't believe he's mine.

2)      Jacob

There's seriously something about that weird blond kid. I don't know if it's the look on his face- dazed and dozing, or something in his eyes. Hah, they kind of remind me of some infected piss. I swear, the exact same shade.

He's not really a BAD GUY. I mean, I guess he's half decent. There's just something about him that, inherently, makes me want to punch him in his stupid face.

You know, maybe it's his voice. It's kind of high pitched. Like, you know that one show about the webshow host and the high school student who can't get a grip on life? I can't remember what it's called, but he sounds like the high school girl. Super airheadded, like some bubbly blond.

And dear God, who can smile at everything? He's smiling half the time I'm speaking to him, even when I insult him! Fuck, there's something wrong with his head, I swear. There's no way that a human can, physically, smile at everything and anything. And he's so buddy buddy. He acts like he knows everyone, even if he doesn't know their name. Who does that?

And Xavier says it's weird that I wail on him.

3)      ?

He said his name was Asher.

He bumped into me in the hallway. My first impression was that he shouldn't be nearly as bony as he was. As soon as he picked me up off of the ground, though, he gave a wide grin. I noticed were that his teeth were crooked, but his smile was still incredibly genuine.

He talked as he ushered me to my next class. I hardly had a chance to get a word in, but I wasn't sure if I minded. He was an alright person, even if I didn't quite get a proper word in. He talked about anything and everything under the sun, up until we got to my classroom. I finally got a proper look at his entire body as he turned, grinning at me just like before.

His glasses were crooked, and I swear I could see paint on the lenses. His clothes were much too large for him, and they too were stained by color. I wasn't sure if he'd brushed blond hair this morning. Despite his messy exterior, there was something about him that shone brightly, in both his eyes and his smile.

He must have been a sun.

((All in all, I've noticed that he ends up associated with a lot of celestial metaphors. Even in plain lit with Asher, I describe him as a sun, a star, something like that. Jacob is also super fun to write. His language is so fun. <3

[gunitnekoh]

"Island getaway or giveaway?"

"When you said ‘island getaway,’ my brain went to the warm, sunny, fruity-cocktail-on-the-beach place. Not here. Who the hell thinks of this as an island getaway?”

I don’t think I could have been more frustrated with my co-worker if I tried. Here I was dressed in my travel wear and my bags looking like the biggest dumbass in the middle of a home renovation center.

My co-worker grinned at me like I was a particularly ignorant child, “No you miss understand. They’re practically giving islands away. I was thinking about putting one in my kitchen. It could use a change and I wanted your help. Don’t worry I’ll treat you to drinks later.”

Unbelievable. My co-worker and I work the same low wage job but somehow she had money to renovate her home and pay for MY drinks. I had to admit that half the reason I hung with out was some sort of morbid fascination and the hope that if I observe or just hang around her long enough maybe I her money luck with rub off on me. The only down side was that I may get her intelligence level too. Ugh. Whatever. “Ok. Let me see the counter top samples.”