What do they wish they could change about themselves?

What is a negative trait of theirs they have to overcome?

What is their most hidden secret?

What keeps them from achieving their goals?

What's their most prized possession and why?

Here are a handful of ways to open the very first scene in your book! There are plenty more to explore, but these are a set of very tried and true methods.

Autobiographic - your protagonist starts the book reflecting or talking about a past event. They’re looking back in time and sharing an important piece of information with the reader.

In trouble/conflict - a problem has arisen for the protagonist and a sense of urgency is established. This can be an intense conflict like a chase scene or a puzzling problem.

Mysterious opening - the reader is introduced to something peculiar (a fantasy location, unique magic, a cloaked figure, etc.) that raises questions in their mind. Their curiosity will keep them reading.

Scene-setting - the most common opening where you focus on introducing the setting and the characters in it before anything else.

The questioner - the protagonist is questioning something: “Who invited the guy in the trench coat covered in red?”

Beginning with a thought - the novel is started with a philosophical quote or meaningful thought from the protagonist. “What is living worth if she’s not doing it with me?”

Intriguing dialogue - the book starts with interesting dialogue that captures the attention of the reader.

Mood establisher - the novel opens with a deliberate mood that signifies to the reader what they should expect from the story. Ex. a spooky story may open with eerie words and a dark atmosphere.

How to write an inferiority complex

An inferiority complex can be described as a chronic low self-esteem, a consistent feeling of inadequacy.

Causes:

a low status in the social hierarchy

specific aspects about themself (physical or something else) that are looked down upon in society

being talked down on a lot

a lack of parental acceptance

failing to live up to high expectations put upon them

not reaching a goal they decided on themself

How to show a character's inferiority complex:

People act differently with this diagnosis, sometimes also depending on the situation and the person they are with. Here are some ideas.

show them focussing on negative aspects a lot

not being able to see it when something did work out well for them

talking badly about themself

withdrawing from friends and family

not being able to take a compliment or criticism

demeaning other's as a way to make other's feel as bad as they do

trying to get attention and even pity

can be shown through perfectionism

and not being able to cope well if something does not fit into the standard they have

I hope this helps you out!

Ways to Show that Someone is Tired/Exhausted

dark circles under eyes

red eyes

difficulty concentrating

fatigue

lack of energy

dizziness

irritability

headache

blurry vision

accidentally falling asleep

Prompts for Showing Exhaustion

-> feel free to edit and adjust pronouns as you see fit.

She looked-- for lack of a better word-- awful. Dark circles stained the skin under her eyes and her face drooped. She blinked slowly at their approach, forcing a smile onto her face.

"You look like death," he said, face scrunched in concern. "Thanks," they replied, "I feel like death."

Their eyebags were dark and sunken in, making them appear more dead than alive.

She stumbled, closing her eyes for just a moment too long before brushing her hair out of her face.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"You look dehydrated," their friend had commented. "Probably," they responded simply, "add that to my list of problems."

She watched his eyes flutter closed before he jolted back awake. A desperate attempt to stop himself from falling asleep.

To protect their loved ones.

To avenge the death of a loved one.

To save the world/town/community.

To find a lost loved one.

To solve a mystery.

To right a wrong.

To achieve a personal goal.

To gain power or influence.

To find their purpose in life.

To overcome a fear or obstacle.

To learn to trust again.

To forgive themselves or someone else.

To find love or companionship.

To start a new life.

To leave a legacy behind.

To make a difference in the world.

To simply survive.

To gain revenge.

To seek power.

To find redemption.

To follow their dreams.

To escape their past.

To find their true self.

To connect with something larger than themselves.

To understand the world around them.

To experience something new.

To simply have fun.

To make a mistake.

To learn from their mistakes.

To grow as a person.

To become the best version of themselves.

To help others.

To make a difference in the world.

To leave a legacy behind.

To be remembered.

To be loved.

To be happy.

To find peace.

To find hope.

To overcome despair.

To survive.

To thrive.

To live.

Copyright © 2023 by Ren T.

Here are a handful of quick tips to writing stronger characters and understanding them better as a writer.

Give your characters a title. This can help with worldbuilding and placing your protagonist into the environment. What do others call your characters? The emperor, the bastard son, the Grinch, the chosen one, the class clown, the evil witch, the popular girl, etc.

Use your settings to enhance your character. You can use the locations of your novel to mirror or contrast your character. Do they blend in or stand out? What they focus on can say a lot about them (ex. a fearsome character mishearing things on a dark street, a princess in a ballroom only focused on the exit.)

Know your protagonist's motives and goals before you start writing. What is something they need that fuels their actions throughout the novel? Money, freedom, an artifact, food? To protect their sister at all costs and survive the Hunger Games? 

Now that you know their motive, make it more complex. A character's motive can be made more complex by putting them in high-stake situations that force them to make decisions. For example, Katniss wants to protect her sister, a very common motivation. However, present-day conflict makes her to do it in the most extreme way by volunteering in the Hunger Games. The plot forces her to make an extreme choice fueled by her motivation.

Your protagonist should be active. It's okay to have your story's events sometimes happen to your character (this is referred to as the character being passive, ex. a tornado sweeping them away) but your protagonist should be active a majority of the time. This means they should always be making decisions, thinking, reflecting and progressing through obstacles.

With both positive and negative aspects to their personalities, charming characters can be difficult to write convincingly.

Whether you're writing a romantic love interest or a compelling con man, here are some examples for giving your charming characters depth.

How do they behave?

Attentive listeners: they pay close attention to people around them

Take pride in their appearance

Are happy to share personal space

Speak with a strong voice and an energetic tone

Are often hospitable and give off an air of welcome

Always give the impression that they are happy to see you

Demonstrate empathy

How do they interact?

Have a firm handshake and make strong eye contact

Are often encouraging

Compliment freely

Use humour to create a fun atmosphere

Communicate physically (through touch and gesture)

Make a point of using a person's name

Initiate conversations

Describe their body language

Have a relaxed stance with a straight and confident posture

Inclusive and attentive

Mirroring: they will mirror the body language of the person they are interacting with

Will lean forward to show attention

Lightly touch to create connection

A slight head tilt to show interest

Rarely cross their arms or legs

Maintain eye contact

Describe their attitude

Carefree

Good sense of humour

Friendly and playful

Self-aware

Opinionated and confident

Exhude an impression of honesty

Good intuition

Highly social

Polite and respectful

Eager to please

Potentially manipulative

The positive aspects of charm

Charming characters put people at ease, praise them freely, and boost their confidence. They make friends easily, talk their way to favourable resolutions, and are often the centre of attention.

They have impeccable grooming, conveying trustworthiness and concern for others, leading to a sense that they have your best interests at heart.

The negative aspects of charm

A charming character can manipulate others for personal gain. They can be overbearing, exerting their will on less confident individuals.

Ship Dynamics

How to create quick chemistry

How to write a polyamorous relationship

How to write a wedding

How to write found family

How to write forbidden love

Introducing partner(s) to family

Honeymoon

Date gone wrong

Fluffy Kiss Scene

Love Language - Showing, not telling

Love Language - Showing you care

Affections without touching

Giving the reader butterflies with your characters

Reasons a couple would divorce on good terms

Reasons for breaking up while still loving each other

Relationship Problems

Relationship Changes

Milestones in a relationship

Platonic activities for friends

Settings for conversations

How to write a love-hate relationship

How to write enemies to lovers

How to write lovers to enemies to lovers

How to write academic rivals to lovers

How to write age difference

Reasons a couple would divorce on good terms

Reasons for having a crush on someone

Ways to sabotage someone else's relationship

Ways a wedding could go wrong

Arranged matrimony for royalty

Hi Anon :)

Thank you so much!

How to create quick chemistry

The secret behind a quick connection between two people is a shared experience.

This experience can be huge or incredibly small.

Let's go with huge first.

Two people who've never or just recently met get caught in a sudden tragic event. They share the strong feelings they have because of that event that no one else who wasn't there can ever fully understand, which automatically makes them feel like they also share a lot more than they actually do.

It's doesn't even have to be tragic or a near death experience. It goes with any shared strong emotion, which could also be happiness because of them winning something together, for example.

And it even works with smaller emotions.

Think about a party and two drunk people getting into a fight in the corner and it's so ridiculous and you look around and there is that one person that also sees the fight and they look at you and they roll their eyes and you share a laugh across the room. You basically became friends for a second there.

It's all about shared emotions.

They feel this connection between them that can easily fall apart again as soon as they get to know each other better, but this small feeling of understanding the other person will probably stay.

Ways to Describe Speech

-> feel free to edit and adjust pronouns as you see fit.

His voice was deep like the rumbling of the earth.

She had the voice of a singer, smooth and rich like chocolate.

Their voice reminded him of spring rain.

He often paused in his speaking, like a car radio that had lost signal.

She had a lilt to her voice that made it seem like she was asking a question.

Their voice was monotonous, threatening to put her to sleep with every word.

He couldn't put her voice into words. It was... otherworldly.

Her voice was brittle, as if she were on the verge of tears.

Their voice was authoritative. Their words carried like a loud command.

His voice, unapologetic and unwavering, made her shrink back.

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Their words were cold with anger.

Other Words to Use to Describe Voice:

Firm

Formal

Frank

Hesitant

Humorous

Passionate

Playful

Writing With Color: Helps with writing about culture, ethnicity, and religion. Overall, it gives advice on how to write about diversity.

Name Generator: As the name says, it helps you build names for your characters. Very useful if you cannot think of names for your characters!

KathySteinemann: The 'archive.pdf' section helps you with synonyms in case you struggle to find the right word for your sentences (also to avoid using redundant words).

Spwickstrom: Similar to the previous one, this one provides grammar tips. Extremely helpful when finding phrases, verbs, conjunctions, adjectives, and so on.

Servicescape: The perfect website if you're experiencing writer's block. It provides writing prompts. It helps you spark creativity when it comes to writing.

Part IV

How to show bitterness

tightness around their eyes

pinched mouth

sour expression on their face

crossed arms

snorting angrily

turning their eyes upward

shaking their head

How to show hysteria

fast breathing

chest heaving

trembling of their hands

weak knees, giving in

tears flowing down their face uncontrollably

laughing while crying

not being able to stand still

How to show awe

tension leaving their body

shoulders dropping

standing still

opening mouth

slack jaw

not being able to speak correctly

slowed down breathing

wide eyes open

softening their gaze

staring unabashingly

How to show shame

vacant stare

looking down

turning their head away

cannot look at another person

putting their head into their hands

shaking their head

How to show being flustered

blushing

looking down

nervous smile

sharp intake of breath

quickening of breath

blinking rapidly

breaking eye contact

trying to busy their hands

playing with their hair

fidgeting with their fingers

opening mouth without speaking

Part I + Part II + Part III

Ship Dynamics

How to create quick chemistry

How to write a polyamorous relationship

How to write a wedding

How to write found family

How to write forbidden love

Introducing partner(s) to family

Honeymoon

Date gone wrong

Fluffy Kiss Scene

Love Language - Showing, not telling

Love Language - Showing you care

Affections without touching

Giving the reader butterflies with your characters

Reasons a couple would divorce on good terms

Reasons for breaking up while still loving each other

Relationship Problems

Relationship Changes

Milestones in a relationship

Platonic activities for friends

Settings for conversations

How to write a love-hate relationship

How to write enemies to lovers

How to write lovers to enemies to lovers

How to write academic rivals to lovers

How to write age difference

Reasons a couple would divorce on good terms

Reasons for having a crush on someone

Ways to sabotage someone else's relationship

Ways a wedding could go wrong

Arranged matrimony for royalty

Hi Anon :)

Thank you so much!

How to create quick chemistry

The secret behind a quick connection between two people is a shared experience.

This experience can be huge or incredibly small.

Let's go with huge first.

Two people who've never or just recently met get caught in a sudden tragic event. They share the strong feelings they have because of that event that no one else who wasn't there can ever fully understand, which automatically makes them feel like they also share a lot more than they actually do.

It's doesn't even have to be tragic or a near death experience. It goes with any shared strong emotion, which could also be happiness because of them winning something together, for example.

And it even works with smaller emotions.

Think about a party and two drunk people getting into a fight in the corner and it's so ridiculous and you look around and there is that one person that also sees the fight and they look at you and they roll their eyes and you share a laugh across the room. You basically became friends for a second there.

It's all about shared emotions.

They feel this connection between them that can easily fall apart again as soon as they get to know each other better, but this small feeling of understanding the other person will probably stay.