Oooo, cool font

【Like a grown-up child who's always nursing a grudge, and a foster father who's constantly flying into a rage.】

This image fits FNAF Michael Afton so much,,

*** NOTE: if you are using the tumblr app, links may not appear correctly for you. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about that.

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)

not my tweet or my fic (and there’s a good chance of this comment being a bot) but yeah, don’t do this. sure, some writers wouldn’t mind having fanfics (or direct continuation) of their fanfics written by someone else. some may even be thrilled and happy. but the fandom etiquette is that if you want to write a fanfic or a continuation of someone’s fanfic, YOU POLITELY ASK THE WRITER FOR THEIR PERMISSION. not their readers.

Edit: Some posts may be deleted

Character writing/development:

Character Arcs

Making Character Profiles

Character Development

Comic Relief Arc

Internal Conflict

Character Voices

Creating Distinct Characters

Creating Likeable Characters

Writing Strong Female Characters

Writing POC Characters

Building Tension

Plot devices/development:

Intrigue in Storytelling

Enemies to Lovers

Alternatives to Killing Characters

Worldbuilding

Misdirection

Consider Before Killing Characters

Foreshadowing

Narrative:

Emphasising the Stakes

Avoid Info-Dumping

Writing Without Dialogue

1st vs. 2nd vs. 3rd Perspective

Fight Scenes (+ More)

Transitions

Pacing

Writing Prologues

Dialogue Tips

Writing War

Writing Cheating

Worldbuilding:

Worldbuilding: Questions to Consider

Creating Laws/Rules in Fantasy Worlds

Book writing:

Connected vs. Stand-Alone Series

A & B Stories

Writer resources:

Writing YouTube Channels, Podcasts, & Blogs

Online Writing Resources

Outlining/Writing/Editing Software

Writer help:

Losing Passion/Burnout

Overcoming Writer's Block

Fantasy terms:

How To Name Fantasy Races (Step-by-Step)

Naming Elemental Races

Naming Fire-Related Races

How To Name Fantasy Places

Ask games:

Character Ask Game #1

Character Ask Game #2

Character Ask Game #3

Miscellaneous:

1000 Follower Post

2000 Follower Poll

So this was an ask I received from @costangeles, and I thought that it deserved one of my Long Posts™ to properly answer it.

Complex characters are super, super important to any fictional work, whether it be an OC in your personal short story/novel/etc. or an OC in a fanfiction. If the characters in your work aren’t complex, the readers won’t care much about the characters and therefore won’t care much about the story itself.

Complex characters aren’t a suggestion, they are a necessity if you want your story to be successful and well-liked by your readers.

Since they’re so important, I decided to make a post on how to write them instead of just answering it on the ask.

1. Know the definition of a complex character

People take a look at the phrase “complex character” and think, “Oh, I know what that is! It’s a character that’s complex!”

They are right, in a sense, but there is so much more to complex characters than it states in the name.

According to this document (which comes up when you Google “complex character”)

“A Complex character, also known as a Dynamic character or a Round character displays the following characteristics:

1. He or she undergoes an important change as the plot unfolds.

2. The changes he or she experiences occur because of his or her actions or experiences in the story.

3. Changes in the character may be good or bad.

4. The character is highly developed and complex, meaning they have a variety of traits and different sides to their personality.

5. Some of their character traits may create conflict in the character.

6. He or she displays strengths, weaknesses, and a full range of emotions.

7. He or she has significant interactions with other characters.

8. He or she advances the plot or develops a major theme in the text.”

Now that you know the definition of a complex character, it’ll probably be easier to write them. Technically, I could just end it here and have the document give you all the tips, but I felt like I should elaborate on the few of the points just to emphasize how important they are.

2. Your Character’s Gotta Change

Your story/novel/fanfiction is outlining a gigantic event, right? One that’s harrowing and draining and tough on the body and the mind?

Just a note: ANY NORMAL HUMAN BEING WOULD CHANGE AFTER EVENTS SUCH AS THESE.

It’s not feasible for a character NOT to change after something like this happens.

I’m going to use my book as an example:

Andrew, the main character and the narrator of the story, is an angel stuck in Hell.

Do you know what happens in Hell? Demons torture people.

Do you know what happens to Andrew? He gets tortured.

Now, who wouldn’t change in this environment? Andrew had to adapt in order to endure the least amount of suffering as possible. At the beginning of the story, he is quiet and reserved, and easily spooked. Wary of new people.

But as the plot progresses and he’s rescued by the other characters in the story, he comes out of his shell and realizes that there’s no one to fear.

Your characters have to change like that. They may not have to go through literal hell, but they sure have to change after the event happens.

Some of you might be panicking right now because you don’t want to change your character, or can’t see a way that your character can change.

Don’t worry, I’ve made a list of traits that can be changed during the course of your story. All of these things can either go up or down as the plot progresses.

-Ambition

-Apathy

-Assertiveness

-Capability

-Compassion

-Confidence

-Consideration

-Courage

-Cowardice

-Dependability

-Determination

-Generosity

-Honesty

-Ignorance

-Impulsiveness

-Individuality

-Independence

-Insecurity

-Literally any bad trait

-Protectiveness

-Spirituality

-Tolerance

-And many more

3. They Gotta Have a Personality

This one is necessary for any character, but like with the phrase “complex character”, many people just put it into generic terms.

Think of any character from any book, movie, TV show, etc. 

Now, think about their personality traits.

Notice how, if they’re a good, well-developed character, they have a lot of them.

A personality doesn’t just mean “Oh, I like pizza”.

Liking something unimportant doesn’t make a person who they are.

Liking something is not a personality trait unless that thing is super important to them like sports or school or their family. (Athletic, bookish, family-oriented)

People are incredibly complex creatures that have a whole fuckton of things that are good and bad about them. You can’t just go online to one of those “character traits” charts and pick and choose like five of them. Your character should have a whole load of traits, otherwise they’re not a complex character.

Traits should be diverse. There should be both good and bad traits. Major and minor traits.

Take a moment and write down all of your character’s traits. They can’t be physical traits, and they can’t be minor things that they only “like” and can live without.

If there aren’t a lot of them or you can’t think of that many, then your character is not complex.

This is okay for side characters, but for your main protagonist it’s a big no-no. 

4. Your character has to be an active participant in the plot

THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT STAR THIS, HIGHLIGHT IT, UNDERLINE 100 TIMES

Here is the big question: Is your character moving the plot, or is the plot just happening to your character?

If you answered the latter, then you have a big problem.

I’m not even going to sugarcoat it; if your protagonist, the one you love with all of your heart and couldn’t bear to live without, is not advancing the plot, then they shouldn’t exist in the story.

Your character’s choices have to make the plot move forward. Their choices have to impact the story an cause consequences, whether they be good or bad in the long run for the whole cast of characters.

Unless your character is forced to be a passenger (whether it’s because of lack of physical/mental/magical ability compared to the supporting cast, or because they are actually forced), they should be the one in the driver;’s seat, not the one that was dragged along for the ride. 

If you still can’t grasp what I’m talking about, you should watch this video, which explains it perfectly.

Personally, I’m a firm believer that it’s the characters that make a story great. You can have the worst plot in the history of the universe, but if you have interesting characters, a reader can look past a boring plotline.

I am not a fan of listing off personality traits when you first start to create the character. I think it gives a very narrow definition of who the character is and doesn’t leave a lot of room for development and change.

To start, I come up with a simple phrase to describe their role in the story. Let’s say my character is Batman. I’d call him a “millionaire vigilante”.

Next, I think about where they come from. Where would the character have to come from in order to wind up in that place? Why would Batman become a vigilante? How did he become a millionaire? I would answer those questions. His wealthy parents were killed by a criminal, which left him with a strong opposition to crime and injustice.

Then, I fill in all of the holes in the story by asking myself more and more questions about the backstory. I add in an enormous amount of detail during this stage. Make the backstory as detailed as possible. Real people have detailed backstories and memories. The character should as well.

Next, I come up with a list of likes and dislikes. Now, I see people using a likes and dislikes list for food preferences and such. But, that is not what I mean here. Come up with a list of traits that they respect in other people. Come up with a list of traits they don’t like in other people. Keep their backstories in mind as you do this. Oftentimes, those would affect how they perceive the world and the people around them.

After this, I usually have a strong idea of who the character is, but they still do not have a voice. Every single person speaks in their own way. Some people try to be funny in every sentence while others are solemn. Some are quiet. Some never shut up. Think about the way they interact with people and hoe they’d want others to view them. Think about where they were raised and what sort of accent they’d have. Do they use slang? Are they loud? What type of sentence structure do they use? Are they precise or detailed? Do they exaggate? What about manneurism and body language? How does their communication change when their happy, sad, or angry? The more detail you put into this stage, the more unique dialogue and interactions you will get from the character.

After this point, I list off the traits. I make sure some of them are self-contradicting. It makes them more complex and, in turn, realistic.

Then, I try to take as many personality quizzes online as possible as the character.

                I see you guys in the tags and reblogs talking a lot about how you have a desire to write, but have no clue what to write about, or where to even start figuring that out. While starting any project can be incredibly daunting, I wanted to put together a little guide to hopefully make it a bit more accessible. Be warned, this will probably be a long post.

Step 1: Form an idea

All writing begins with this: an idea. Ideas can start as small as an object, or as big as a world or cast of characters. What’s important is that your idea genuinely interests you, and makes you want to explore it more.

                There are a million ways to gain inspiration for ideas, but my favourite method is a sort of brainstorm/mind map of all the little and big things you find interesting. Any tropes, characters, places, concepts, objects, animals, other stories, etc. you love—write them down. Then, start connecting the pieces. Each connection is one concept or idea you could explore further.

                If this doesn’t work for you, try using some writing prompts or check out 15 ways to spark new ideas.

                If you are a planner, proceed to Step 2. If you are a pantser, skip to step 7.

Step 2: Create your Protagonist

Now that you have a sort of concept or inspiration to work off of, you need your main character. There are about as many ways to create characters as there are characters themselves, and each method is going to work better or worse for every writer.

                At the barest minimum, all your protagonist needs is a Goal to work towards, a Reason for wanting it, and a Flaw that keeps them from having it right away.

                These three things can form a baseline character. Consider what the thing they want, why they want it, and what’s keeping from it says about them as a person.

                Rapunzel (from Disney’s Tangled) wants to see the ‘floating lights’ on her birthday. She wants to because she believes she will learn more about herself through seeing them. Her fear over disappointing and disobeying her ‘mother’ keeps her from it.

                My favourite character creation technique is actually Here—it takes you through creating character in order to create story.

                If that one doesn’t work for you, try this one. It is more focused on defining traits and figuring out the personality of the character first.

Step 3: Your Plot is your Protagonist’s Arc

As stated in the character creation technique I shared in Step 2, character is plot. By that I mean, the character’s journey is the plot of the story. We’re here to see the protagonist transform because of the circumstances incited in the beginning.

                So to form a plot, we need to know who the character is at the beginning, and what they need to learn by the end.

                Your character’s arc is A but B so C:

                A – your character and their flaw

                B – The conflict they go through

                C – how they change

“Obsessed with success, Jenny Beech works tirelessly to earn the approval of her strict parents and graduate top of her class, but when the new girl in town pulls her into a whole new world of excitement and fun, she must stand up for herself against her impossible standards and learn how to be a teen again.”

                This one sentence has everything we need to know about this story and character: “Obsessed with success (character trait/flaw), Jenny Beech works tirelessly to earn the approval of her strict parents and graduate top of her class (goal), but when the new girl in town pulls her into a new world of excitement and fun (conflict), she must stand up for herself against her impossible standards and learn how to be a teen again (change).”

                If you have these three things, congratulations! You already have a story. If you’d like, you may begin writing it now (skip to step 8). Or…

Step 4: Theme

                I did a whole post on theme you should check out here. Essentially, the big takeaway is that your theme is a lesson to impart to the readers—which means it is not a question, it is an answer.

                For the example given above, our theme would likely be something like, “Teens need to balance their additional responsibilities as they mature into young adults with the joy of being young and having fun.” Or, “Friends and a close social network is more important than having the best grades.” Or, “It’s important to take frequent time away from work in order to maintain one’s humanity.” Etc. Etc.

                Theme is conveyed through what your characters need to do to succeed (or what they do that causes their failure). If Jenny lets loose and suffers consequences for it in the end, we’re saying that she should have stuck to her studies rather than letting herself have fun. If she lets loose and is rewarded with a greater relationship with herself and her parents, we’re saying that was the correct thing to do.

Step 5: Outlining

                Now that we have a plot and a theme, we can outline our story. An outline is like a roadmap of what you’re writing. It can be as specific or broad as you want. My outlines tend to follow this structure, and I improvise the little stuff in between, but if you need to get all your ideas within your outline, that’s good too!

                Just make sure your notes make sense to you so when you need to know where to go next, you have a handy tool just for that.

Step 6: Worldbuilding

                Worldbuilding is probably where you’ll spend the most time because there’s just so much. However, I also find it one of the most fun parts. The minimal thing you need to know is your world’s normal, and how that normal is disrupted in the inciting incident.

                Jenny’s normal is school work and trying to impress her parents. The disruption is the new girl in town.

                Rapunzel’s normal is the tower and her hobbies. The disruption is Flynn breaking in.

                I did a more in-depth post on worldbuilding here, but the basics is just ask questions, explore consequences, and do plenty of research.

                Which brings us to…

Step 7: Research

                This can also be done after your first draft, but can’t be skipped entirely. It’s important when trying to convey experiences that may not be wholly your own, or unique perspectives, that you understand the context behind those things in the real world.

                Once again, ask questions, talk to people, and remain open to what you find.

Step 8: We can start writing now

                Now that you have all your planning ducks in a row (or have a good inspiration to jump from) it’s time to start writing! Either go from the outline you built, or just try out scenes. I have some tips for actually writing the dang thing that I’ll put here:

the last time I reblogged this post right before I got a great job, in a permanent work-from-home position, with benefits, retirement, and a salary literally 3x what I was making before, doing something I really like. 

So you know. 

More Skywalker Sibling time! Now with a sequel