12 Writing Exercises to help develop your character and their voice.
Editors note - There's a lot of boring writers drivel. So, to spare you from the headache if you're not interested, your characters individual voices and personalities are important for engaging stories and interesting plots. You can skip down to the end for the exercises.
Think about the people you know, the people you love. What's one thing they have in common, besides the obvious? They're all uniquely different. Everyone in the world is different in some way, even in media. Books and movies all have unique sounding characters that are different from each other. In Harry Potter, for example, All of the characters have their own voice, even the Weasley twins are different in their own ways.
Complex and unique characters that sound different, interact and speak differently, make for engaging books and dynamics.
I don't know anybody who would want to read a 50,000 word novel about two boring characters, who're exactly alike, and talk in the same monotonous tone. You can have a character who is "boring." who speaks monotonously and still have an interesting novel that people would read.
Having different characters who come together to create funny, interesting, or weird dynamics makes for a readable piece. Take your monotonous character, by themselves, they're kind of boring. They're not engaging to follow. But, introducing different characters to come and interact with your "boring" character, creates funny and memorable dynamics.
Think the anime Saiki K, or Veronica Sawyer from Heathers. If you took only those two characters, and stripped away all of the background characters, they wouldn't make for very interesting stories. Saiki would be happy, living his days in peace and quiet. Veronica would just be a normal edgy high school girl. But if you bring the side characters back, you bring the story and their conflicts back. Saiki goes back to being annoyed by his weird and goofy friends, wishing for peace and quiet. Veronica goes back to being tormented by JD and the group dynamic in the Heathers clique.
These stories utilize background characters to create conflict in their main characters' lives, and makes fun and interesting stories and dynamics with them.
Without further ado, here are 12 exercises to help you develop your characters, and get you thinking.
Ask your character what they want, and have them monologue about it.
Think about who, in your life, does your character remind you of.
Ask yourself, What does my character want, and what does my character need? How do they conflict with each other, and how does this affect my story?
A good exercise to help you write characters interacting, and practice dialogue is to do the ABCD exercise.
The ABCD exercise is writing a full page, or 500 words, of dialogue between two characters, character a and character b, talking about what they think character c thinks of character d. Then, write another page depicting how character c actually interacts with character d.
Write journal entries from the pov of your character.
Think about your character's habits, nervous tics, or tells, and write out a page where they do those things.
Think about something your character holds dear to them, and give the item a backstory.
Think about how your character interacts with other characters, and write a page for each interaction.
Think about a belief or opinion your character has, and write a page of dialogue, where your character is explaining their belief, and why they believe in it, to another character.
Write a page about your character reminiscing, or talking, about a cherished memory from their past, or childhood.
Write a page of dialogue about character a telling character c about character b, whom c has never met before, what kind of things do they say? What do they think of b? Then write another page from character c’s point of view, what are they thinking? How do their thoughts of b change? What do they think of character a? How do they imagine character a and b’s relationship?
Write a page about a character being forced into a situation with their greatest fear. Then, if you want to go a step further, write a page of the same thing, but introduce another character that the first holds dear to them, or wants to protect.
Environmental storytelling. Usually a term reserved for videogames but it is as equally important in books as it is anywhere else. What I mean is that you can tell a lot about a character without explicit dialogue by how they have a room arranged or how they keep their car interior, so on and so forth.
You can use the decoration of a room to show how neurotic a character is, what they prioritize in life, what they like, dislike, their emotional life, how they lead a private life, how they are truly like in the comfort of their own homes. How an office looks, how a desk is set up, or cluttered. These things will tell you more about the character who owns them than having lines and lines of dialoge. And this can be done in one or two paragraphs. For example this snippet:
Our first insult as we opened the door was the acrid scent of trash and decay mixed in with that of rotting food. In de darkness piles of unwashed pots and pans littered the sink to heights that should have toppled over, abandoned weeks ago. Empty takeout containers filled each counterspace available, along with cans and bottles of alcohol. Paintings that were on the walls hung askew and covered in dust, while the curtains at the end of the room blocked all but the faint sliver of sunlight that cut through the apartment, revealing a sliver of the true extent of our friend’s living state.
See what I mean? You can tell a lot about the person by this description. Here is another one:
The room was dim, light filtering in through the half-open shades, walls painted a healthy earthy green. A few plants hung near it from hooks, casting shadows all over the room. A desk that was rarely used by the thin layer of dust over the keyboard, and the smell of lavender that hung faintly in the air. Shelves lined up a wall of the room, one covered in trophies of track and field as well as snowboarding, while another was filled to the brim with books of varying generes. A cat tower sat in a corner, and the bed was neatly made, plushies and pillows of varying colors bringing vibrancy to the room, yet complimenting the rest of the colors.
As you saw above, how you describe the living spaces/personal spaces tells a lot more about characters than what a lot of dialogue can do. Yes, you can mention in dialogue that a character is chronically depressed or they love plants and animals and sports, but a visual description sometimes is better than a clunky line of dialogue.
As with everything, use it as you see fit and however it best fits your book/story. These are tricks and ideas that have helped me a lot in my own works and I can’t recommend them enough.
If you want more tips and tricks and advice. Maybe rants or random posts or what-have-you, follow me up. If you want convo, DM me, or if you have questions. And if you wish to support me, please by my book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble (Online) The City of Laohz: Kannon. I’d really appreciate the support.
I'm talking about all of the little details that add up to create a complete description. Texture is the color of a sword's hilt, the sound of distant rumbling thunder, or the smell of baked pies as one passes through a village. It's knowing the reason why the villain is so villainous, and hinting at secrets that are never revealed. Everything that makes the world feel like a place where people live, rather than just an exercise in problem-solving.
Chances are, you already have some texture in your game. If you are running a pre-published adventure or world, there are almost certainly many little details that you normally don't see in your homebrew adventures. The goal is to add enough texture into your game so that your players won't notice the difference between a store-bought adventure and a homebrew.
I use the word "texture" for these details because for me, they are the difference between a flat, predictable description and one that is alive and vibrant. When adding details to your game, your goal should be to have enough volume so that the descriptions blur together into a patina of verbal imagery.
Texture cannot exist in a vacuum; if one part of an image has texture and the remainder does not, it will be obvious. Players should not be able to pick out what is important to their plot based on the level of detail in your description. For example, pretend your DM gave you the following description:
You enter the wizard's study. There are some bookcases, a desk, and a chair. There are books all over the place, and a single red quill pen, eight inches in length, stands in a brass pot of ink on the desk.
Nine out of ten players will go immediately for the pen. Why? Because it was the only item in the room truly given texture. The rest of the area was painted in only in the broadest of strokes. If the DM was trying to set that quill up as a clue of some kind, he has now robbed the players of the opportunity to discover that on their own. Now, consider the following alternative:
You enter the wizard's study. A musty smell fills the air, and swirls of dust follow you as you move. A pair of oak bookcases sit on opposite sides of the room, each filled with leather-bound tomes in assorted shades of brown. On the left bookcase, one shelf has broken, spilling its contents over the shelf below and onto the floor. A massive desk, at least seven feet in length, fills the center of the room, with dozens of tiny brass-handled drawers. A large book lies open on the desk, near a single red quill pen, eight inches in length, standing in a brass pot of ink.
The DM has given the exact same description of the pen, but has instead hidden its importance by giving detailed accounts of the room's furnishings. He knows that the only important clue in the room is the pen, but the players do not. Their actions will thus deal with the entirety of the room rather than the metagame thinking that would lead them to the pen. One might decide to check out the broken bookshelf, another might want to check the desk drawers. If they eventually look at the pen and discover its relevance, they will feel that much more of a sense of accomplishment.
This example also illustrates one of the key features of texture: it is most often irrelevant. In other words, if the players have a mission to accomplish, most of the texture you put into your descriptions will have no direct bearing on that mission. But that's the point; if I go to mail my phone bill, the fact that I pass a parked police car on the way to the mailbox isn't important. It does, however, tell me something about the immediate area and what might be going on there. This is why adding texture to your game creates the illusion of reality; you are basically giving players proof that the world is turning with or without them.
Here are 5 simple ways you can add texture to a room or character description:
Color: People spend a lot of energy making sure the things they own are a pleasing color. Anywhere intelligent beings live, there is the opportunity for changing the color of the walls, the doors, the furniture, the upholstery, the curtains, etc. Of course, natural settings can also have a bewildering variety of unexpected color. Why talk about a tree when you can talk about an ancient, grey-barked tree with green mossy overgrowth climbing its branches?
Brokenness: Things break, often. Whether they have been repaired or not is a good indicator to the players about the level of attention a room receives. How well they are fixed might also be a clue; if the bookshelf was propped up with another book but generally left broken, it says that the owner doesn't care too much.
Juryrigging: Spaces are often not used in the manner for which they were designed. People tend to adapt a room or object to the purpose they require, rather than the crafter's intent. This is especially true of dungeons, where the current inhabitants almost certainly did not build the place. Think about how they may have altered the room's purpose, and what changes they might have made as a result.
Bodily Functions: Living creatures need to eat, sleep, eliminate, and possibly mate. If you set up a monster's lair in a location where the occupant cannot realistically achieve all of these needs, it will be far less believable. Likewise, NPCs also need to fulfill these functions, and often at the worst possible time.
Scars: Creatures who are surviving in the wild or who fight regularly should be scarred, especially if they do not have access to healing magic. Scars hint at a story that the player's don't know; they imply that the creature has lived an entire life up to the point when it appears "on screen". An Owlbear with a jagged scar across its beak is more memorable, and perhaps more fearsome, than one without.
Those are just my opening thoughts on the subject. I'll be posting more examples of Campaign Texture in the future. In the meantime, dm me! I'd love to hear about descriptions from your campaign of which you are particularly proud of!
Very messy and bad lineart tutorial I made a couple days back. I hope this is helpful to someone even if it’s a bit incoherent LMAO
Take my advice with a grain of salt, of course. I wouldn’t want anyone to think that my way of doing art is the only “right way”. There is no right way to do art! Just make art!!! Dingus!!!!! /lovingly
i turn 25 this year, so here's part 2 of the lessons i want to carry with me into the next quarter of my life. i hope they're helpful for you too <3
#6: your parents are human too. they are also carrying their own history and trauma. there are many things they don't know. it's not about excusing, but rather forgiving them, maybe even understanding them. and once you can face them as an adult in your own right, if you're lucky, you'll realize they were always just trying their best.
#7: do it silly. if the only thing stopping you from doing something is the fear of looking silly, then do it silly. that's how you learn and start doing it good. more importantly, that's how you have fun. anyone who looks down on you for trying is only revealing their own small-mindedness. don't let them be the reason you gave up before truly giving yourself a shot.
#8: your body is your home. treat it with care. you might find yourself wanting to make it pretty, but not at the expense of your comfort, health, or happiness. the aesthetic should serve the other three, not work against it. no one gets to judge the decisions you make about your own body. no one gets to make those decisions for you.
#9: do things by yourself. eat by yourself. join clubs by yourself. go to events by yourself. then you know you are truly doing these things for yourself. then you know who you are when no one else is around. then you know who your real friends are because they're the ones who seek you out even when it's not convenient, who get interested in things because you're interested in them, and who you find yourself genuinely wanting to share your solo moments with.
#10: knowledge is your strongest weapon against fear. ask questions of yourself and others. many modern fear situations aren't immediate, so spend time calmly observing the situation. write down the fear as specifically as you can. then write what you know and what you learn about it until all that remains are the unknowns that require you to face that fear head-on. then face it with confidence, knowing that you've armed yourself as much as you can. your execution likely won't be perfect. not the first time, or even the second, third, or fourth time. but at some point you will realize that you're not scared anymore.
GUIDE TO AVOID SPOILERS FOR THE UPCOMING 'THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS' EPISODE
I'm an expert when avoiding spoilers. I have avoided spoilers for YEARS for some of the biggest hyper fixating fandoms through my life. I was able to avoid spoilers for the final boss of Pokemon Arceus and the ENTIRTY of Deltarune Ch 3 & 4.
THIS THOUGH?!! 2 WEEKS OF AVOIDING SPOILERS FROM ONE OF (if not) THE BIGGEST ANIMATION SERIES ON YOUTUBE?!!! This will be my greatest challenge yet...
For anyone outside of the countries for early showing or just not seeing the early showing at all, here's a few tips to avoid spoilers.
1. Go Off the Grid!!
Easiest way is to stay offline completely for 2 weeks starting June 4. Reading, playing single player games, etc. Although, I know this isn't always feasible for a lot of people.
For example: I HAVE to send time online for promotional and moderation stuff. So sites like Instagram, Youtube, Tumblr, and Twitter are unfortunately unavoidable for me. If you're in a similar situation, the next step should help lessen the damage.
2. Change the Algorithm!!
You can trick the website/app you're using into thinking you're no longer interested in TADC by simply looking and clicking on other fandoms and content. But, keep in mind, you want to start AT LEAST a month early. So starting May avoid lingering or clicking any fanart or mentions of anything TADC related. If you see a post from someone even mentioning a character from this series, SCROLL PAST IT!!! NO INTERATION WHATSOEVER!!!! If you want to be able to find it again later just quickly take a screenshot of the post and look back at the picture to find it after the drought. Doing this will make the algorithm believe you won't be interested in anything related to TADC and will therefore not show you anything involving it. The algorithm is designed to grab and keep your attention so it will show you anything if it means you'll stay on the website or app longer. Try to pick a new thing to focus on so the computer knows what to show you instead.
For example: I'm going to being purely watching Markiplier, Hermitcraft, and Let's Game It Out starting May and NOT CLICKING on ANY videos talking about TADC. This is how I avoided finding out about the final boss in Pokemon Arceus for 6 months even though people LOVE putting a picture of the boss in the thumbnail of their videos.
Obviously, there are still possibilities for leaks. Extremely popular and well clicked posts will be recommended to anyone, even those not in the fandom at all. When that happens, the best thing you can do is not read or look at it and click away/scroll past it as fast as you can. Moments like that are why it's better to just avoid being online entirely.
Good luck everyone!! I'll see you on the other side! (JUNE 19TH)!! o7
