I sit on a rock, looking deep into the waters below. But I only see myself. A form of me I never got used to. Rough, ugly skin. Tangled hair and a ghostlike face. The thing I hate most though, is the deformed, tail-like figure from below the waist.
It's almost like if I'd never had legs. Yet, I vividly remember that day, walking on two distinct legs on the deck of a boat. I was twelve then. I remember my father putting his pirate cap on my head, which slipped down to cover my eyes. And then... I remember... Water.
I think about that day very often, though the thought of that crew only makes my thirst for revenge grow severe. I hear the other mermaids splashing, playing in the water, or see them sunbathing on the rocks, but all of our watching, waiting.
My eyes move from a young siren to the distance in front of. Warm winds blow over my face, waves slapping on the foot of the rock where I perch. I feel the blood drip down from the palms I so heavily cling onto the jagged rock with, just as a moving figure sails into sight.
A ship.
A shout is heard, followed by another as several sirens swim innocently towards the ship, including me. I crane my neck to get a look at the captain, but to my dissapointment his face is not the one which appears in my nightmares.
"Walk!" He shouts over the top of his voice, which tells me he's got his ears covered to resist our song. And then, the plank on my side of the ship creaks with little footsteps of a young, brave girl who takes the one last breath they'd allow her to take on the ship.
She doesn't scream when she's pushed into the water.
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I know the title is bland-- but hey! Give me a chance. This is my first time giving writing advice so I thought of starting with a topic I consider myself to be actually good at. Characters.
Characters are not just puppets you tie with strings to move around as per convenience of the plot. They're people, with choices, desires, obstacles and flaws. So today, I'm going to show you how to shape them imperfectly.
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ᯓᡣ𐭩 Step 1: A rough sketch.
Sum up your character as a mix of different traits, tropes, or existing characters. This helps because you know and love your comfort characters, so you'll know your character better. However, don't rely fully on one or two characters, or don't make your charcter an exact replica of your favourite one. Feel free to experiment, mix up, and add your original ideas!
Since you've probably not understood my advice... because I'm bad at explaining, feel free to dm/ask me if you have any doubts! (I'm trying to keep this as short as possible)
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ᯓᡣ𐭩 Step 2: The lineart
Confine your character. Give them unique traits and flaws. Quirky habits and rational/irrational fears. Don't necessarily give them a backstory yet.
Most importantly, give your character strengths and weaknesses. Especially weaknesses. Making your character overly perfect usually makes them boring. Your reader won't feel connected to them and if your reader doesn't feel connected to your character, they won't bother to read the story.
Remember, your story thrives on the connection between readers and characters, not a fancy plot or magic system.
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ᯓᡣ𐭩 Step 3: Filling colour
Go through your character's personality, write it down if you want, and then decide their appearance. Their name, surname, and other details. This step can be done after "Step 4", but I prefer doing it before so I have a character to visualise in my head who's no more faceless. Maybe decide things for them that wouldn't even be mentioned in the story, like birthdays.
Having a clear appearance of the character in mind now gives you an image of your character as a person, not just an expressionless puppet. You can have fun experimenting with different colours, styles, and maybe even draw it out if you're an artist!
Get creative!
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ᯓᡣ𐭩 Step 4: The background
Add the world around your character, if you don't already have one. Give them family members, friendships and other relations. How do their parents/friends treat them? What is their relationship with their siblings (if any) like? How did this affect their upbringing?
A person's background and upbringing reflects a lot in their character. The same is true for fictional characters. Therefore, when deciding the past of your character, don't have it simply exist as a little tragic backstory. Don't simply kill of their parents because, "they can't do cool things with their parents being alive." Have your character's backstory shape the way they are today.
Like, maybe they flinch everytime someone touches them, because they were used to beatings/sa? Maybe they stutter at random words because they were made fun of for their voice in the past? Little things matter.
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ᯓᡣ𐭩 Step 5: Shading
Give your character a side no one, or only a few, knows about. Write the voice inside their head. What thoughts do they not speak aloud? Is it because they're afraid? Doubting themselves? Or because they're sure no one will listen?
What thoghts keep coming back to your character's mind? Not just of the past, but the future, or maybe the present? Are they an overthinker? Do they keep secrets? Are they good at keeping secrets?
It's really helpful to write down your character's thoughts or inner monologue, as a writing exercise that makes you understand them better. Maybe write a scene about them talking with another character, or just themselves. Write a scene from their childhood or future. It doesn't matter if the scenes are important to the book or not, or even if they're part of the character's life. They can just be little headcanons or AUs for them.
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That's it! Feel free to be original, unique and don't care about sticking closely to these steps. These are just words of advice, and I would be glad to know how you feel about it. Tips and critisms are VERY welcome!
Who wants to make a new oc today? (And probably share them in the comments?)
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I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE I GOT THE INVITE YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
⟢ PICK THREE DETAILS MAXIMUM! your reader doesn't need to know every piece of furniture. Give them the broken clock on the mantle, the smell of cigarettes embedded in the couch, the water stain on the ceiling shaped like Italy. Their brain will fill in the rest. You're not writing an insurance inventory!!!
⟢ Use the senses people forget. Everyone does sight and sound, but what about: the metallic taste of fear, the way humidity makes your clothes stick, the phantom itch of being watched, that gross feeling when you touch something unexpectedly wet. GET WEIRD WITH IT
⟢ MOTION IN YOUR DESCRIPTIONS!! (Please?) don't just tell me the curtains are blue, tell me they're "shuddering in the AC blast" or "hanging limp like they've given up." Static description is a sleep aid. Make things MOVE
⟢ Your narrator's voice should COLOR everything! A depressed character won't describe the sunset as "beautiful mauve and amber streaking across the sky," they'll think "the sun's dying again, doing its whole performance art thing with the clouds"
⟢ Stop with the mirror descriptions! :( "She looked in the mirror and saw her auburn hair and green eyes" NO. Banned. Forbidden. Find literally any other way. Have another character notice. Show through action. Slip details in naturally. The mirror thing is lazy and we all know it
⟢ Similes and metaphors: COMMIT OR DON'T DO IT! "like" is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. "Her anger was like a storm" is BORING. "Her anger rolled in with the methodical inevitability of a hurricane, and he was standing in a trailer park in Florida" now we're TALKING
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