#writing development

[astridsdreamspace]

Returning to the basics isn’t a step back; it’s what keeps good writing from going hollow. A new post is up, and we’re starting the month fresh. Come read and maybe try the ten-minute exercise. 🖊️ #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

Back to Basics: Why We’re Starting Over (And You Should Too)

[katsumi-karisagi]

i think i'm struggling right now because my project has no scope. somehow, it feels both too large and too narrow at the same time.

i want my readers to experience elnir's journey alongside him, but it spans across his life time. if i write in chronological order like i want, the book will be much too long.

however, if i were start the story in the middle, i could simply allude the the relevant pieces of his past when the narrative calls for it. i'm afraid that i would fall into cliché flashback tropes this way.

i am currently writing the piece with a loose outline, but more along the lines of stream of conciousness. i write scenes that call to me and slot them into place chronologically on a larger document.

additionally, my characters seem to be a little flat. they have some depth, reasons behind their actions, and histories. but they just don't feel as compelling as i'd like.

i think what i ultimately need to do is set the outline to the side and focus more on the character development. afterall, the entire project started with a skyrim OC. it's supposed to be character driven.

i've seen some character development excercises that i'd like to try out. maybe i'll share the results here.

if you have any advice, i'd love to hear it. 💖

[gofancyninjaworld]

the manga fulfils an ambition: taking characters beyond a role

This is a partial thought that I hope others will add to (pokes @jokepool). From one of his very first interviews about One-Punch Man, ONE has wanted to do something other than a traditional narrative with the story. In particular, he's wanted it to be a story that's developed through viewpoints rather than a central objective narrative.

With One-Punch Man I wanted to try doing that through the worldview itself, rather than through specific plot points.

-- ONE, interviewed in the Hero Encyclopedia, link

I think that in both the manga and the webcomic, ONE has created a story that veers from funny to dramatic in a flash depending on whether or not we're next to Saitama. The thing in the webcomic is that the characters very much play out roles. Saitama is the hero who can't have a good fight, Genos is the try-hard who can't quite get ahead, Bang is the teacher who wants to correct his wayward disciple, Amai Mask is the hero eaten by a terrible secret, etc etc. All beautifully well realised but you know who they are, what they're doing within the story and 141 chapters in, that's who they've been.

More below the cut.

A crack forms...

The manga has been breaking with that, slowly but surely. There have been hints here and there but the big break in characters being portrayed in set roles to being the heroes of their own stories with things they want to achieve in their lives and conflicts/challenges that they need to overcome for themselves comes in chapter 84.

We see Bang not just as the stern teacher disciplining Garou. We also get to see him as the hero he is and, interestingly, it builds on the indecisive, muddling along nature that we first saw in the giant meteor incident. More on that later.

Mr Revenge, Mr Try-Hard we see think and decide on a bigger long-term life goal for himself. One that has nothing to do with what anyone else expects of him. Just like that, Genos has the epiphany that defeating the Mad Cyborg can be a waypoint rather than an ultimate destination for him.

...and widens

After this, we've only see them grow bigger. It's not just a flash in the pan. In two different ways.

Via character revelation

That Bang is concerned for his student we already know. But the manga gives something else. We finally get to see Bang as a character in his own right, a man who used his great talent to be a very selfish person and who has been struggling to do better.

How he's grown, how he relates to his brother, how he's struggled, how he continues to struggle are all things that aren't necessary for a character merely playing a role. Indeed, here's the entirety of Bang's backstory in the webcomic. Two panels, that's it.

He has his own story now. We realise we've been shown things about how his not being present for his students has had a profoundly negative effect on *all* his students, not just Garou and now we can tie the little oddities we've seen about Bang into a coherent whole.

Despite everything, Bang has complex and layered reasons for his current course of action. He wants to show his brother what he's made of the fresh start Bomb gave him. He loves his disciple and wants to give Garou the same fresh start as he was given. And yes, he's had to acknowledge that he can't be everything to everyone and has chosen to stop muddling through as both a hero and a teacher and be there for his students.

With a much fuller picture of Bang, now he's not just a character we don't mind seeing more of. He's a character we could legitimately have a whole story about without feeling that 'hmm, when's Saitama going to show up?'

Via character development

You can't accuse Genos of muddling along. When he makes up his mind to do something, he doesn't waste any time putting it into action!

How to say this compactly? I could talk about all the incredible things that Genos has been doing this Monster Association show down, but the fundamental change he made to his approach in his quest to become the eventual has been to open up. It's something Dr Kuseno noticed very quickly when he made his house call.

The openness hasn't meant sweetness and light. He's empowered himself to contradict Kuseno, much to the latter's shock. He's empowered himself to specify exactly what he needs from Kuseno, even as he's aware that it's troubled the doctor. He has shouted back at Tatsumaki, so the latter has given him the space to help her. The S-Class heroes he said he'd never work with, he goes and tasks them with coming to help, politely but so firmly they find themselves doing just that.

Brutal as this battlefield has been to Genos, the rate at which he's been learning and growing from every experience is quite something. She may have had to save his life first, but the empathy and compassion he extended to Fubuki was completely sincere. We even see him start to develop his own personal philosophy of what proper action should be. Not just the easy bit of helping those who are weaker than oneself, but truly anybody. Because everyone deserves a helping hand.

Even when there seems to be nothing to hope for, Genos still doesn't crumple in despair the way he once would have. This is not the Try-Hard. This is a guy who has Someone to become and somewhere to be and is going for it. Even if cheap and easy triumph isn't immediately forthcoming, the work he's doing to become a greater person is not going to go to waste. With that kind of initiative, Genos has his own story that's going to be satisfying in its own right rather than just being Saitama's foil.

Of course, they're not the only two who are pushing away from the webcomic roles and showing themselves to be dynamic and three-dimensional characters. Not to mention that characters interact with each other in more varied and interesting ways. But we've been following these two longest and to see how they come to life has been fantastic.

ONE's vision for pushing One-Punch Man beyond a simple narrative continues to grow.

Well, what do you think?

[oc-dev]

welcome to oc-dev! here i will post a lot of “tag your oc” posts, where you reblog and put in the tags which oc it applies to. i’ll also ask various questions that you can reblog to answer about your oc. feel free to answer in character if you wish, or simply describe the original character of your choice. i’ll occasionally drop some of my followers some random questions in their ask box, list some development prompts, and soon i’ll host an oc spotlight for an oc i thought stood out for the month. let me know if you have any other questions or suggestions!

[dunne-ias]

Did you know I won a short story contest once? I got to read it out loud in public and the local city manager or whatever the equivalent is laughed and then shook my hand (he was in the short story and I was not kind to him).

Did you also know that in the 15+ years that have passed since then, my writing has progressed almost none at all? I still haven’t written a novel. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I don’t go to my high school reunions. Also, bullies.

[seraphinitegames]

Hoping this ask gets through :) Was wondering if (possible how often) during the writing process you make changes to the direction of the story. Either because you get a stroke of genius on a new idea, or because you realize that the way you have written a character conflicts with the direction of the story. For the later, do you end up changing the character to fit the direction of the story? Or do you end up changing the direction of the story to fit with the character? BTW can't for Book 2!!!

Oh, really good question!

There was actually a major change for a couple of branches made recently because of Book Three. The direction the characters were going just didn’t fit with what I’d had planned.

I also had to backtrack on a small thing in one of the romances that I’d placed in Book Two because it just wasn’t going to work in the long term like I’d hoped.

I always change the story to fit the characters. Character-writing is one the bases of Wayhaven, so I think it’s much more important to develop the story around the way the characters are developing rather than try and force things to fit.

When you start writing, it’s amazing how much the characters you may have had planned for years change so much when you start bringing them to life instead of just character sheets and ideas! It’s one the most exciting parts of writing, I find :D

Gotta go with the flow for it to be the best! It’s always a case of learning and adapting as your creativity grows and the characters/story take on a life of their own.

Thank you so much for the interesting ask! :)

[redwritesreads]

does anyone have any advice for coming up with a plot when all you've got is a a bunch of characters you know really well and the vaguest of premises? I always have this problem where I know the emotional journey I want the characters to go on but fall short on what to have them physically do throughout the book