Hi!! I love your writing and depiction of our favorite couple in denial, can't wait for your next chapter of WWLB :) Can we have a link to your tips on how to write Shizuo as a character? And could we get one of Izaya if you don't have one?
Thank you so much. 🥺🥺🥺 I can’t wait to post Chapter 7!! It’s gonna be!!! A nightmare!!
And I actually don’t think I’ve ever given any tips on how to write Izaya and Shizuo! But I’d love to:
I think the important thing to remember here is that I am simply giving my perspective on both the characters and you’re free to tweak these tips to meet your needs as you see fit. <3 I don’t claim to be an expert on writing them lol. I don’t think anyone but Narita could be, technically speaking.
References- first off, I use the anime, manga, and (especially the) light novels to reference what their dialogue sounds like. Izaya speaks very matter of fact and with an air of smugness to his voice. The most striking thing to me about Izaya’s dialogue was often how blunt it was. He’s hilarious in the way that he can say the meanest thing while also just telling the truth. Shizuo’s dialogue is very similar in this regard but he’s more… judgmental about it? Like he’s not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings either, and most of the time he’d rather not be bothered giving his opinion, but he always says how he feels. He’s given to more emotional reactions to things and honestly I just remember him talking more frequently in the novels? Bit of a chatter box.
Relatability- Any time I’m writing any character, whether it be my own or for a fanfic, I try to put myself in that character’s shoes and follow a thought process in my writing that I might conceive if I were them. For example when I’m writing Shizuo I write out something nonsensical like it being Izaya’s fault that it’s raining in the context that it somehow makes sense. If that makes sense. XD ex: I’d come up with some elaborate scheme that Izaya formed to make it rain at that exact second to piss Shizuo off. It just makes them feel more human as I’m writing them.
Dialogue- Dialogue is my bread and butter and I use humor to flesh out a lot of my OCs personalities a good chunk of the time. I let dialogue flow naturally and a lot of the time I probably leave way more in there than I need to. Dialogue is just fun! And having characters share a normal conversation is the most entertaining thing to read.
Character Background- Knowing as much about a character as there possibly is available helps me infer other things that might be true about them. That’s how I form headcanons and I try to keep a fair balance of being self indulgent and logical about it. Idk if I actually succeed in my intent but I don’t really care if I do lol, I just write what I like, and as long as I personally see that the characters seem like themselves I don’t care. I write for me and I recommend everyone else does the same lol. Nobody will ever see the characters the exact same way you do. You may come close but opinions are like assholes. XD
Don’t Overthink it- Every line you write doesn’t have to perfectly define your writing abilities any more than it needs to define how well you depict a character. Sometimes, Izaya can just say “no.” Without any clever little quip. Once you release this idea that the characters can say normal lines that everyone says, you can write them a lot easier. And as long as you get the important parts, you’re doing great. Because real people don’t always say the same thing in every situation. You don’t have to always write the perfect line of dialogue.
That’s just some general stuff. XD I also recommend studying dialogue from your favorite fanfic writers! @sachigram has the BEST Izaya dialogue in my opinion. And of course there’s specific fics I like to read to get me in the mindset of writing in what I see as their perspectives. Of course, don’t steal people’s stuff!! But when you read something and get the feel for a character you can kind of work off how they might talk lol.
For Izaya, I write him being sarcastic, bitter, or even rude a lot of the time. He’s usually calm, and any other emotions he has are concealed as calm. I like to write about his body language because I feel like a guy like him has a lot to express and since he can’t do it with his mouth he does it with his arms and legs.
For Shizuo, I try to find a happy balance between the chillest guy you’ve ever met and the most belligerent manchild you ever did meet. Coming up with Shizu-isms and broken Shizuo logic is some of the most entertaining ways to write that I’ve come across. XD I love writing Shizuo. But I honest to God enjoy them both! Writing about them feels like writing two people I know very well!
Also ofc, practice makes perfect so if you really want to get better at writing them- write them a lot!! Your perspective on them will grow the more you do. ❤️