#caesariatalks

1.) The Riddler is a genius. He has a genius level intellect - which I'm sure 99.9% of people (myself included) do not have. Which means that mistakes when writing him are going to be made. Patterns he'd normally see are going to be missed by the writer. Skills he would excel in that the writer doesn't know to write might be lacking. Small pieces of information he would know off the top is head may never be mentioned. And you know what? That's okay. No one should expect you to write the Riddler with the same level of intellect he'd portray. And if anyone does? I'd like to see them try. There's a reason why Paul Dini and many of the other writers working on BTAS and other Batman media don't include him or he's often underutilized - because crafting a compelling story around him that expertly uses riddles that aren't too silly or aren't challenging enough for Batman is hard to do.

The truth is: it's hard to write for a genius character.

2.) The Riddles Themselves: I'm a big believer that more often than not, the Riddler is talking in riddles, slipping them into basic conversations whenever possible. But once again, this leads to another problem: most people (myself included) don't know how to craft riddles very well. When writing for the Riddler, I rely heavily on Google to find riddles I can use, and even then, I've had to change an answer around just so I can properly find a riddle that fits the context of the scene. Riddles are hard to write. They require just enough creative language balanced with logic that's still capable of being solved. There's a special art to crafting riddles, and this makes using his most notable feature sometimes become lacking in writing.

The truth is: it's hard to write riddles.

3.) He has a whole team of writers behind him. It's SO important to remember that, especially in the context of the Arkham games, there is an entire team of writers working behind the scenes to craft everything about him, down to his dialogue, riddles, puzzles, and traps. People who spend hours of their day sitting in a room brainstorming these things, working together. And most people who write fanfiction do not have the time to dedicate to something like that, especially when fanfiction is a hobby. It's important to keep in mind that you, as one person, should not beat yourself up over not being able to put as much detail into one of his riddles or schemes or puzzles.

The truth is: it's hard to write for character with such a long comic book history all by yourself and get it perfect 100% of the time.

There's a reason the Riddler has been deemed one of the most difficult characters to write for. For everything that makes him compelling, he also has just enough traits that are frustrating trying to translate onto the page. Every time I get annoyed at myself for not being as smart as he is or feeling like he should notice something that I don't, these are the tips I keep in the back of my mind. At the end of the day, you are one person. And what you write is worthy of being written and enjoyed.

The truth is: the Riddler is hard to write for. Don't stress out about it.