background preloader

Development

Facebook Twitter

The Inner Struggle: Guides for Using Inner Conflict That Make Sense. By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy I sat in on an amazing workshop while I was at RWA that made something typically vague very clear and applicable. Michael Hague's Using Inner Conflict to Create Powerful Love Stories. It was one of those workshops that discussed what I already knew, but Hague presented it in such a way that I clearly saw a super easy way to apply inner journeys to my stories. While the workshop was about romance specifically, the pieces of Hague’s inner conflict really work for any character journey. Let's take a peek at Hauge's basic inner conflict arc: Longing or Need: The thing the character longs for or needs in the story. If this doesn’t say “inner goal” I don’t know what does. (More on goals here) Wound: A past wound or hurt that is a current unhealed source of pain.

The wound might be some deep dark secret, or it can be how the character grew up. (More on backstory here) Belief: What the character believes due to the wound. Hague used Shrek as an example. Mary Sue Test. Background A Mary Sue is an unrealistic type of literary character commonly created by inexperienced authors. Although they vary, a typical Mary Sue has an unreasonable number of cool or special traits, especially ones the author wishes he or she had, and they tend to accomplish things too easily, solve problems too neatly, and become the center of attention whether they deserve it or not. This test aims to help authors evaluate whether their characters are in danger of becoming Mary Sues by drawing attention to potentially problematic traits. However, authors should remember that a Mary Sue is a subjective classification.

There is no such thing as a "Mary Sue trait"; any trait can be part of an interesting, well-balanced character. You shouldn't feel bad about checking a few boxes. In fact, if your character scores very close to zero, that may be a sign that he or she could use a little spicing up. When taking this test, be honest, but keep it in perspective and remember context. Scoring. Basic Tips To Create Better Characters With Tragic & Traumatic Backstories.

First, ask yourself why you're giving your character a tragic or traumatic backstory. Are you giving your character this backstory to build up/explain what kind of person your character is now? Or are you doing it mainly to make readers or other characters feel sorry for your character, or to make your character seem more badass/tough for having survived the ordeal? Or are you doing it mainly to give your character a reason to run away from home and/or have nobody to be attached to so xe can go hang out with the cool characters with nothing to pull xir away? The first one is a legitimate reason to give your character a tragic/traumatic backstory. The rest are spurious at best. Even worse, trauma/tragedy often is used as little more than a device to give an intended love interest a reason to want to lavish care and affection on xir. Benjamin Linus from Lost is a good example of a tragic/traumatic backstory used to good effect. The trauma/tragedy should make sense in-universe.

Common, Yet Terrible Character Descriptors - And How To Fix Them. When asked to describe their characters, many people tend to use the same over-generalized descriptors over and over. The result tends to be what I call a "Forer profile" - it's so vague that it can fit any number of characters - all of whom are wildly different - equally well.

And when the same character description could fit a sneaky trickster as it could a determined soldier as it could a grad student opening a florist's shop, that's a problem. So, I'm going to outline how to give more and better information on your character to give people a better idea of what sort of person they're reading about. For the sake of simplicity, we'll go with "animals" for most of this particular section. Question is, what do you mean by "animals," and how does your character relate to them? Does your character like cats and dogs? Here are other examples of useful statements: "My character volunteers at the animal shelter. "" Fun is entirely subjective. In short, it's not about what your character IS. So You Wanna Write/Play A Powerful/Talented Character That Probably Won't Be Perceived As A Mary Sue?

Many, many, many times I've seen people complain that they can't write or play powerful characters without these characters being labelled as Mary Sues. I really have only one thing to say to this: it's probably either because your characters are Mary Sues, or because you're presenting your character the wrong way. Sure it's not the former? Okay, then let's get on to how you can present your character so people probably won't grab the torches and pitchforks. This article is largely intended for fan characters, though most of it applies to other character types as well. Start by describing what makes your character tick, not what makes xir special. When you begin your character profile/pitch, leave out your character's appearances, superpowers, and canon connections as long as you possibly can.

If you have a well-developed character, you should be able to describe xir without mentioning xir powers, abilities, or canon connections quite easily. Remove irrelevant specialness. The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test. Stuck with a case of massive writer's block? Has your muse gone on indefinite hiatus? Or are you just bored?

Check out the random generators - with a click of a button, you can create characters, names, settings, items, and more for your creative works! The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test How to use this test: First, if you're unsure of what a Mary Sue is, please read this page. Answer all questions for which the answer is 'yes' or 'technically yes' unless the item mentioned is so commonplace in the universe you are writing for that it doesn't really make your character remarkable or unusual.

If it's established that anyone can have technicolor hair (as in many anime shows) pink coifs don't apply as "unusually" colored hair. Make sure that you answer the questions properly depending on what type of universe your character is in:Fanfiction - a story set in a world you didn't make up.Original Fiction - a story set in a world you created yourself.MMO/RPG - Role-Playing Game/MMORPGs. Introducing Characters - First Impressions. Introducing Characters - First Impressions by Melanie Anne Phillipscreator StoryWeaver, co-creator Dramatica When your reader/audience first meets your characters in a story, it has the same effects as when you are introduced to someone in real life.

First impressions have a tremendous impact that you can use either to establish or mislead your reader/audience as to the true nature of each character. You might tell your reader/audience all there is to know about a particular character right up front. But for another character, you may drop little bits of information over the whole course of the story. And, of course, you want to note how a character's outlook and feelings change as the story unfolds. Then there is the question of who shows up first? Who is your Main Character? You know all about your characters while your audience knows nothing. Sometimes an author may want to have a character with a dark side, or a hidden side that will be revealed only later in the story.

Writing Characters | Creative Writing Course. In this fifth session in my free creative writing course, we will be looking at writing characters. In creative writing we become, in a way, like God. In short stories, novels and poems, we construct a world then fill it with people who take on a life of their own. Iris Murdoch described a novel as ‘a fit house for free characters to live in’.

How far a literary construct can have free will is an ongoing philosophical debate; more pertinent to writers is whether plot should follow character or the other way around. Character, Plot and Message There are three kinds of stories: those that start from character, from plot or from message. If you start thinking about what a story is going to be about before you decide who’s going to be in it, you run the risk of populating your world with 2D puppets who are there simply to serve the plot.

A character-based story is when the characters are so memorable and well-drawn that the story would not exist without them. Starting from Character Conflict. How Male and Female Characters Think. How to Write Characters. Try Dramatica & StoryWeaver Risk Free* *Try either or both for 90 days. Not working for you? Return for a full refund of your purchase price! About Dramatica and StoryWeaver Hi, I'm Melanie Anne Phillips, creator of StoryWeaver, co-creator of Dramatica and owner of Storymind.com.

If you have a moment, I'd like to tell you about these two story development tools - what each is designed to do, how each works alone on a different part of story development and how they can be used together to cover the entire process from concept to completion of your novel or screenplay. What They Do Dramatica is a tool to help you build a perfect story structure. How They Do It Dramatica has the world's only patented interactive Story Engine™ which cross-references your answers to questions about your dramatic intent, then finds any weaknesses in your structure and even suggests the best ways to strengthen them.

How They Work Together Try Both Programs Risk Free! We have a 90 Day Return Policy here at Storymind. How Not To Write Female Characters. There are already a lot of articles around on how to write female characters. That’s all well and good, but I think it’s a lot less restrictive to have an itemized list of things you shouldn’t do. It also might be easier to digest than lengthy essays. Also, this list is intended for people with more testosterone, but since I’ve seen young female authors screw up their own young female protagonists, estrogenites are perfectly allowed to read this too. Like all my advice, this is subjective, in no particular order, and should be taken with a small pile of grains of salt. I know very little about good writing and am not qualified in the slightest to give pointers on it, but being female I think I’m qualified to give pointers on writing characters who share my gender.

I’m going to assume you’re taking your work seriously and expect your readers to do the same. Female characters should be characters first and female second. Some examples of good female characters Zukünftigen Artikel?!?! Guide for Writers: Characters. Most stories are remembered for their characters, not specific plot points. If you want to write a memorable story, create memorable characters. They do not need to be believable — they need to be dramatic. It Takes Two Often, the best stories are deceptively simple: there are two main characters for the reader to follow. The central character is the character a reader or viewer “follows” through the story. The opposition character can be “good” or “evil” depending on the role of the central character. Grand Central Characters A grand central character is a complete character. What is the character’s active goal? An active goal is a specific, measurable goal. While the goal is known to the character, his or her emotional need seldom is.

The reason the character fails to see a need is usually a character flaw. Finally, as the story progresses you should reveal the backstory of the central character. Creating Characters Character creation — and development — requires the hubris of Dr. Other - How to Create Realistic and Believable Characters. How to Create Realistic and Believable Characters 1. Before you think of your character, you need to think of your character's purpose.

Is their purpose to hinder your character? Help him? Is he the main character? 2. 3. 4. Quick Tips: · The most important thing is to treat your character like a real person. . · Remember that your character is not a real person. . · Make sure your main character changes through his experiences. . · Give reasons for your characters' personality traits. . · Stay within the boundaries of your character's personality! Characters - The Attributes of Age. Characters: The Attributes of Age By Melanie Anne Phillips Introduction Writers tend to create characters that are more or less the same age as themselves. On the one hand, this follows the old adage that one should write about what one knows. But in real life, we encounter people of all ages in most situations. In addition, there are many considerations to age other than the superficial appearance, manner of dress, and stereotypical expectations.

The Attributes of Age People in general, and writers in particular, tend to stereotype the attributes of age more than just about any other character trait. Anatomical vs. Before examining any specific traits, it is important to note the difference between anatomical and chronological age. Jargon Far too often, characters are portrayed as speaking in the same generic conversational language we hear on television.

Characters, therefore, tend to pick up a basic vocabulary reflective of both their ethnicity AND their age. Outlook Comfort Symbols. Alignments, Allegiances, and Loyalties. So, you want to write about a villain who stops being so villainous, and perhaps even becomes a hero? Or do you want to write about a hero who becomes more of a "dark" hero, or even an outright villain? Or a character who just plain switches sides? This is a subject that is often handled badly, with the character progression coming off as forced and contrived. So, here are some tips that should help you write a more plausible shift, whether you're writing an OC for a roleplay or fanfiction or a character for an original work.

First, don't think in terms of "good/evil deep inside. " If you're thinking in terms like "good/evil deep down inside," stop right now. There's a grain of truth to this, but for the most part it's much more complex, and people usually change allegiances or become better or worse people for more complicated reasons. First, there are some people who put on a "good" front to get what they want and drop that front as soon as they actually have it. Foreshadow! Improve Your Character Writing. Look through the eyes of the opposition. By now, you’re probably used to seeing the world through the eyes of your protagonist. Now, try seeing the world and your protagonist through the eyes of characters who disagree with or even outright hate your protagonist.

Get in-character as these characters for awhile and grok the world from their POV for awhile. Can you, in the shoes and mindsets of these characters, justify the things you were having these characters do in-story? If not, chances are good that these characters’ actions won’t come off as believable to the audience, either. You might also create two new characters, both of whom are neither wholly good nor bad. Like something you like.Dislike something you like.Like something you dislike.Dislike something you dislike. And set up each character so that each one: Don’t just make their likes and dislikes frivolous, either - make them important and meaningful. Step out of your comfort zone. Make the stakes and risks real. Plotting, Conniving, and Manipulating. Write Better Ensemble Casts. Writing Masculine Characters. Write Better Chosen Ones. Writing Cute Characters.

Wonder Baby Syndrome. Writing Children. Your Character May Be Boring. Female Characters and Their Stories. Create and Write Better Non-Protagonist Characters (NPCs) Writing Sympathetic Morally-Ambiguous Characters. Writing Mentally Ill and Insane Characters. Writing Characters Who Are Good Leader Material. Things To Know If Your Character Will Be Augmented Or Experimented Upon. How Not to Create a Villain. Creating Great Heroes and Heroines. Basic Tips To Write Better (And More Likeable) Badasses. How to Write a Character From Start to Finish. Character Development. Creating the Hero. Craft Compelling Characters. Handling a Cast of Thousands-Part I. Handling a Cast of Thousands-Part II. Handling a Cast of Thousands-Part III. Writing a Series Character.

The Worst Thing That Can Happen to Your Character. Characters With Conflict & Backstory. Avoid Overactive or Inactive Supporting Characters. Essential Elements of Character Creation. Developing A Manipulative Character. Make your Villain Stand Out. Write Better Bad Guys. Create an Antihero That Readers Will Love. Write Better Characters. What Body Shape Are You? The Most Important Things To Know About Your Character. Developing Characters.

Secrets and Lies for Your Characters. Writing a Novel with Unforgettable Characters. Write From the Opposite Gender. Characterisation. Mind-Blowing Heroines. Creating Convincing Characters. Creating Compelling Characters. Convincing Male Characters. Unforgettable Support Characters.