The Character Comma

Writing tips for all things Character and Comma! The Character Comma focuses on character-centered writing advice, but there's a healthy mix of everything. STATUS: SEMI-HIATUS You can ask questions, but you might have to wait a bit to get an answer.

[thecharactercomma]

Character Creation Sheet

Logistics

Name:

Age:

Gender (if applicable):

Hair:

Eyes:

Style:

Sexual preference (if applicable):

Relationships

Family members:

How well do they get along with their family?

Who is their best friend?

What their friendship history?

What is their romantic history?

Are the in a relationship?

What do they dream of in an ideal mate?

Personality

Do they have any quirks?

What are their core values?

How do they peel an orange?

What do they want in life?

What are they passionate about?

What are they afraid of?

What do they regret?

How happy are they?

What’s holding them back?

Plot

Plot role (MC, friend, mentor, enemy, etc):

What do they add to the plot that no one else can?

What is their plot goal?

Is it their goal or someone else’s (an order/command, etc)?

How does their goal coincide with the MC’s?

How motivated are they to complete their task?

What are they willing to do (steal, kill, etc)?

Helpful links for filling out the sheet:

(creating a character from scratch) (appearance) (friendship is magic) (swoons and wounds) (outline for a distinct character) (three goals for every character)

–E

[rabidfletcherwriting]

Dialogue—My Characters Talk Too Much

Are your characters more than verbal, talking more than they do anything else? Determine if your characters talk too much and learn some fixes for getting them to shut up.

I have this problem where when I first start writing a story, most of it is dialogue. I suppose that’s the easiest way for me to get to know my characters, but it’s important to identify your weaknesses and improve them. We can’t always rely on patient editors.

[heathermjackson]

1 Key Question for Worldbuilding (+ A Handy Checklist)

I’m a newbie to hardcore worldbuilding. Up until recently, I’d only developed stories that took place in the real world. I may have put fantastical creatures in the stories, but the setting was Ear…

I’m writing my first novel set in the future and worldbuilding is crucial. These questions help…

[writersrelief-deactivated202404]

Take A Leap: 5 Acts of Courage To Get You Over The Publishing Hump

Some days, you feel like you’re almost there—success is just over the next hill! But other days, it seems like the only thing over the next hill is another, bigger, steeper hill. After receiving your umpteenth rejection, feelings of frustration may begin to drag you down. You start to stumble and wonder if success will ever happen. 

Click on the image to read on about the 5 Core Actions That Can Help You Overcome Publishing Obstacles!

[fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment]

Non-Human Characters

Hello fellow writers! Alright, this is my first try writing something like this, but I’ve personally had a hard time finding any tips on this sort of thing, so I decided I’d try to fix that! This is going to be a really watered down tip sheet on writing and creating non-human characters, and all the fun little extra bits that come with it. I’m going to focus on writing a non-human character in contexts where they will interact with a human, though, because it’s easiest for me to focus there.

Keep reading

[litreactor]

Ten Tips on How to Pitch Your Book to Review Bloggers and Not Get Ignored

Here are ten tips that will set you apart and get you noticed when it comes to approaching book bloggers for reviews.

[elsinore-snores]

some really beautiful african architecture because honestly this site is so western-centric

mako

unknown

cameroon

burkina faso

mali

Ndebele

burkina faso

please add more if you can!

[datimeizmeow]

Morocco

Tunisia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Dogon

Senegal

[obsidianguise]

The architecture from Burkina Faso and Cameroon was the inspiration for some of the buildings in Wakanda which is amazing

[soundtrack0fmylife]

Brazzaville, Congo

Bamako, Mali

Hausa house, Nigeria

Lomé, Togo

Yaouné, Cameroun

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

Accra, Ghana

Northern Ghana

- Now zoom in and take at look at the architecture in Wakanda….

[thecharactercomma]

Your Character: A Masterlist of CC Guides

Character creation and development:

Character creation questionnaire

Character foils

Core values

Core values 2

Creating a character from scratch

How eating an orange reveals character

Fears, weaknesses, and pet peeves

Flaws

Flaws and Vices (list)

Inventory

Nicknames

Outline for a distinct character

Personal effects

7 Key Traits of Enduring Characters

What does your character know?

Your character as a paradox

Your character’s closet

Dealing with large character casts

Types of Character:

Creating a likable villain

Strong Female Characters

Supporting characters

Throwaway characters

Mary Sue / Gary Stu

Loner Characters

Character Arc:

Building a character arc

Series Characters

Steps of change

Swoons and wounds

Character dialogue:

How your character asks for help

Character-specific dialogue

Cursing

Speech patterns

What we say vs. what we mean

Who has control

Relationships:

Power imbalances

Pacing your romance

How to avoid unintentional romantic subtext

On the page:

Creating a strong first impression

An exaggerated first impression

Characterization through appearance

Description

Showing emotion

Staging

Thank God I have (insert character here)

Torturing your Character (and reader)

[writingdotcoffee]

10 Things About Rough Drafts I Learned From My First Novel

There’s no feeling quite like the moment you realized you’ve completely finished the rough draft of a work in progress. A mix of pride and accomplishment and utter dread at how bad it might be.

Emily Wenstrom sharing her experience from finishing a novel

[writerswritecompany]

Write Your Novel In A Year - Week 7: The Moment of Truth

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Read last week’s blog here and look out for next week’s instalment of Write Your Novel In A Year!

[fyeahnanowrimo]

The Half-Blood Prince Guide to Question Arcs | Better Novel Project

This is a guest post by Jed Herne, author of the forthcoming novel, The Aeon Academy. Click the link above to read the full article.

A question arc in your novel can help build suspense:

Suspense: a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in awaiting a decision or outcome, accompanied by apprehension or anxiety.

The desire to know the answers to riddles or mysteries will keep many readers hooked.  Let’s look at how a question arc captivates readers in Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.

What are Question Arcs?

When readers have a question and are waiting for the answer, you have a question arc.

Question arcs run from when the question is first raised to when it is fully answered.

[thecharactercomma]

Shake yourself out of a writing slump! This writing prompt generator contains dozens of unique writing prompts for character development, new stories, fanfiction, and more... so you're guaranteed to find something that pleases the muse!

Hey everyone, my new Writing Prompt Generator finally has enough prompts that I feel I can share it!

I’m always adding new prompts, so hopefully you’ll find at least something that hooks your muse!

Special thanks for @witterprompts, @corvidprompts, and @creativepromptsforwriting for letting me add some of their prompts to the generator! :)

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Science can help you beat writer’s block

Steps to stimulate creativity and fight self-doubt.

[letswritesomenovels]

A tool to check creative and technical writing for potential improvements.

This is a really cool site you can use to check your work for things like filler words, adverbs, passive voice, and lexical illusions .

It’s not a substitute for actually editing your work, but you can use it to point out features of your writing that you find difficult to spot on your own.

[nanowrimo]

Writer’s Kit: 3 Things to Help You Reach Your Writing Goals

We’re getting ready for Camp NaNoWriMo this April! What’s in your writer’s toolkit? Today, Sofia Mascaró, NaNoWriMo winner, tells us what three things helped her reach her word-count goal:

It was very close to November when I first heard about NaNoWriMo last year. I’d had several ideas that I’d wanted to write over the years, but I’d never found the inspiration and the strength to start. And just to complicate everything, November is a crazy busy month for me due to the huge number of papers and tests the college professors love to give us when the year is about to end. 

So when I decided to join—“Just to try” I said to myself—I never expected to reach the goal of 50.000 words… and the funny thing is that, though I did hit that 50K, even with so many words, I only reached the halfway point of my novel, Midnight Obsessions.

Because of the NaNoWriMo challenge, I decided to finally do something that I love. There are a few things that helped me that might help you as you set out to write:

Keep reading

[writerswritecompany]

Past Or Present? Which Tense Tells A Better Story?

Different tenses suit different stories, certain genres, and different authors’ styles. The tense you choose to use should also suit the personality of your main viewpoint character. The Past...

[thecharactercomma]

In case you missed it… Writing Inspiration Pinterest Boards!

I announced this a while back, but I’m bringing it up again to let everyone know that all my main boards now have over 50 pins each! Some of the larger boards have many more, and I’m always adding to them.

The Pinterest boards are set up so you can pick and choose what to follow depending on your genre. Enjoy!

Writing Advice Boards

Writing Tips: General

Writing Tips: Character

Writing Tips: Editing & Revision

Writing Tips: Publishing & Promotion

Writing Tips: The Character Comma

Writing Quotes

Gifts for Writers

Character Inspiration Boards

Characters: General

Characters: Fantasy

Characters: Sci-Fi

Characters: Medieval

Characters: Supernatural & Non-Human

Characters: Angels, Demons, & Gods

Characters: Robots & Aliens

Characters: Steampunk

Characters: Ancient Greece, Troy, & Rome

Setting Inspiration Boards

Settings: Nature & Landscapes

Settings: Urban & Suburban

Settings: Dystopia & Abandoned

Settings: Fantasy

Settings: Medieval

Settings: Sci-fi & Space

Settings: Misc (cool stuff that doesn’t fit in the other boards)