#corpseprize asks

my tips for character creation

stop making it hard for yourself, creating characters shouldnt feel impossible. dont use character sheets, especially dont start creating your character with them (why? because you dont need to know their last name or random things they dislike immediately)

‘what to do instead?’ you may ask

start with an idea and let it guide you. this can be anything. a picture of pinterest that sparks something, maybe a tiktok of someone telling a story. anything that gives you a slight image of a possible character

use better guidlelines (astrology, mbti, etc) i always make my characters a birth chart

choose about 3-4 main traits and work off of them (make sure they are different from each other—not happy and joyous but maybe happy and selfish)— how do these traits work together? (for every positive trait, give them a negative trait for example direct but can sometimes seem mean) what are the reasons? the backstory? how do these traits affect them? etc heres a video on youtube related to this

make sure eveything has reason and context (dont just write ‘selfish’, why are they like that?)

talk to yourself as if gossiping to friends about your characters and their backstories. believe it or not thats when the best ideas just find you

want (+reason) versus need (example: want: fitting in, need: accepting themselves for who they are and embracing it)

have a source of inspiration in your notes app, pinterest, tiktok, etc—a list of things that inspire you (character ideas, trait ideas, backstory ideas, habit ideas, people on tiktok that would be great character, etc)

instead of only writing what they're like to you as the author, write how they themselves and other characters perceive them

instead of only writing what they are also write what they are not (dont just list what they are like, write things they would never do, traits that dont associate with them at all) trust me, this helps to get a better idea of your character

an unexpected side of them we dont discover right away (example: the ruthless villain that has a pet cat they absolutely adore and would do anything for) you dont need this but it could be helpful for adding depth

activities once you have an idea of what your character is like

use prompts, quizzes, hypotheticals and let them reveal thenselves more (find these on the internet)

do things as them (make playlists as them, journaling—what do they think about most? what kind of situations make them feel a certain way? what do they notice? how does that make them feel? which themes come up a lot? what do they focus on? what do they fear (subconsciously)? how has their past changed them?) to get their pov straight and find out information about them

list people/characters that remind u of them. archetypes, things, songs, etc

some examples from pinterest

hm. have things that you know about your character that your audience will never know

let your characters reveal themselves once you already have an idea of them. you don’t have to know everything about your character to start writing because you’ll find out the most about who they are how they react in situations while writing

extra resourches that could help you

1. write abosolutely everything down. every idea. every word that sounds cool. every quote that pops into your head in the shower. every title. keep every picture and video that inspired you or could inspire you in the future. everythingggggg (i recommend either a section on your notes app dedicated to this or a writers journal) also write down stuff about your own life unrelated to writing

2. the art of noticing and being present. notice the little things. pay attention to details, people. be present. take your time

3. daily meditation to keep your mind open to ideas

4. read books with the perspective of a writer. what did they do? how did they do it? did you like it? how could you use their techniques? write down your opinions and reflections. take your time (again). find your favourite authors and the reason they became your favourites. (i recommend watching youtube videos about how to read like a writer)

5. dont just listen to any tip or advice youre given. think it through. think of examples. does it even work for your type of writing? keep in mine that anybody can say anything. its so important to analyse your own opinions on things

6. experiment. i used to think id write romance and hated sci-fi. guess what i write now? sci-fi. guess what i dont write? romance. this also comes with time. do what feels right at the time and experience will show. dont expect to be perfect as soon as you start. you never will be. nobody is. dont become a perfectionist. practise makes good, not perfect. nothing can ever be perfect. a lot of the most famous authors became famous after they died and someone else published their work that they never released because they were a perfectionist. now everybody loves their work. thats not true either. everybody has a target audience and there isnt even one author that doesnt have people disliking their work. even your favourite authors

7. learn the ‘rules’ to break them. there are no rules per say. you can do whatever. but there are tips, structures and techniques that a lot of writers like to keep in mind while writing

8. make it exist before you make it good. going over to read and fix your writing while writing will only sabotage you. have an idea of what youre writing and where you want to end up and just write. then perfect it later. in layers. the last thing youre going to fix are the sentences

9. read books about writing, watch videos about writing but again keep in mind tip number 5 (i recommend the book story genius) also i have a collection of favourites on tiktok full of writing advive ive found helpful (my username is corpseprize and the collection is called ‘writing content’)

10. read. read. read and read even more. same with writing. write, write and write even more. you learn through experience way more than trying to memorise every single ‘rule’ and piece of advice of the craft of writing

hm. surround yourself with writers and creatives and dont be afraid to ask for help

hm 2. you need exactly 0$ to be a writer. you dont need to buy anyones course that promises to make you a bestseller. you dont need a new fancy device for writing. you can find everything youll ever need and more for free on the internet. and you can write for free on so many different websites but i personally recomend writing by hand

making sure your book has the right pacing

pace heavily depends on your genre, the type of feeling youre going for, and the scene youre writing

macro pacing

(typically) fast-paced genres: these genres usually introduce conflict quickly and regularly change the situation

thriller

action

adventure

mystery

horror

the reader is here mainly for entertainment (and not so much character or philosophical meaning)

a typical thriller:

introduces the main problem within the first chapter

has a major complication every few chapters

ends many chapters on questions or surprises

spends less time on reflection and character

(typically) medium-paced genres: (can be both)

these balance plot progression and character development

romance

fantasy

historical fiction

sci-fi

dystopia

readers can tolerate slower parts of the book because they arent only here for the plot, they are also here for the worldbuidling, character development, and dynamics

the reader is here for entertainment and character, learning about life and the human condition

(typically) slow-paced genres:

these prioritize character, atmosphere, psychology, theme, or prose

literary fiction

some horrors (depends on the kind. eery, atmosphearic horrors can sometimes be slow paced. jumpscare type horrors are fast)

philosophical/experimental/stream of consciousness

the point isnt what happens next, its how characters think, respond, act; the mood, prose, themes, wisdom, and perspective changes

the reader is here mainly for character, perspecive change, learning about the human condition

is your book more plot or character based?

plot-usually fast paced

character-usually slow paced

ask yourself what your reader is reading for and how can you provide that

thriller: suspense, entertainment

romance: hope, emotional moments, character

fantasy: escape, wonder, journey, creativity, entertainment, world

lit fic: insight, meaning, voice

pacing feels wrong when a book spends too much time on things its target audience doesn’t primarily care about

i recommend to look up the typical pacing/outlining of your genre (but dont take it as a rule, shift anything you like to fit your own vision—you can make a slow paced mystery and a fast paced lit fic. its often the experimental/rule-breaking books that readers like best)

fast-paced books tend to have a high rate of change

slow-paced books have a lower rate of change, but the changes are usually explored more deeply

extra tip: even if your book is slow paced, make sure you still make the start interesting. dont dump 50 pages of worldbuilding or backstory or your characters boring usual routine.

even if your book is slow paced, you can make gradual changes. it might not feel like much has changed in the past 20 pages but if you look back, a lot actually has (the mood, your characters thoughts, mindset, character dynamics, etc)

now onto pacing scenes:

(micro pacing)

ask: what should your reader feel in this moment? (tension, fear, calm, etc)

sentence length

short sentences-fast, fear, anxiety

longer sentences-slow the reader down and ground them, calm

amount of detail

more detail-slower pace

less detail-fast

more things to consider are scene length and paragraph length

you also dont want your whole book to fall into one category. if you make the whole book too fast (characters jumping from one scene to the next, no time to feel emotion) your reader just wont have time to think, feel, or care. on the other hand, making your book too slow (too much descreption, nothing really happens, unimportant details and scenes, no change) your reader will get bored. what you need is a good balance while keeping in mind the general pacing of your book and genre. there definitely doesnt need to be a dramatic change in your characters life every few pages, it could be:

new information revealed, revelations, a change of scenery, feeling, character development, relationship dynamic development or change, etc

time skips

dont write everything. trust that the reader is more than capable of filling in the gaps.

you dont need to show your characters morning routine in details, then them getting on the bus to go to school, then walking into school, then putting stuff into their locker, etc etc (see how even reading all of this was boring)

just skip the unimportant stuff leasing into the important scene and put your character right into it

but know balance. there should still be slow scenes that reveal character and atmospheare

leave room for details and time to feel/think when its needed:

instead of: the monster burst through the door. amy ran downstairs. she escaped from the window. she was scared

do: the window exploded inward. pieces of glass covering the room. something huge stepped through the opening. for a second she was paralysed, then she ran.

this creates tension

reread scenes and ask:

am i bored?->speed it up, make a change

am i confused?->slow down and clarify

did an important event pass too quicky, not leaving enough time to feel?->add detail, reaction, thought, feeling

where I get book ideas

remember, creativity is a muscle you can train

my main tip: personal anthology/writing everything down in my notes app—i always write down anything and everything that inspires me or could inspire me. (examples of notes i have: elements i like in books, character backstory ideas, dictionary of words i like, quotes ive read/heard, quotes ive come up with, title ideas, character personality ideas, and so on) i also add pictures and videos

im always in the mindset of a writer. i look at everything with the perspective of gaining ideas. that beautiful tree in the forest—what if it could talk and fairies lived inside it? the guy i had a thing with but turned out to be an asshole—hes now a villian in my book (that im probably gonna give a tragic ending to)

read a lot, interact with what you read and reflect—annotate, ask yourself why you liked something and why you didnt. get to know yourself as a reader and writer through experience, trial, error, time and patience, and reflection

whenever my mind is quiet and im present (meditation, showering, about to fall asleep, walking, etc) ideas and solutions to writing related problems just come to me

i trained my social media feeds to only give me inspiring and artistic content (examples: the lifestory of a photographer, journaling ecosystems, etc)

random pictures from pinterest

i read inspiring literature—whenever im in need of inspiration, i turn to ‘near to the wildheart’ by clarice lispector (the prose is so beautiful and so is her mind)—have a book you can return to whenever you need inspiration

my dreams—my writing style is very stream of consciousness/dreamy/weird/fantastical so my dreams develop into ideas pretty often

through other books (i write down concepts and ideas from other books and make them my own. writing down multiple ideas just keeps the ideas flowing and since youre in the energy of creativity and inspiration, even more ideas will find you)

constantly being in the energy of inspiration and creativity, focusing on it, prioritising it

rereading annotations ive made to books on my ereader

i also want dreams to be longer but idk how to do that. I already write them down and stuff, but getting dreams is still a very rare occurrence with me. 😞

is there also a way where u can influence your dreams so u can dream about things i wanna dream about? (does that make sense)

writing down your dreams is definitely the main thing but there are some other tips i could give you

write everything down in extreme detail also

patience — youre not going to get a long and vivid dream (or multiple) every night. at least not yet. accept that and be patient. celebrate the little wins (a glimpse of a dream even)

putting more focus on dreams, not only your dreams — this is the reason dream journaling works, youre putting focus on your dreams so your brain thinks its important. learn about dreams, think about them, read dreams youve had previously, etc etc (i recommend tiger123 on youtube he posts about dreams and hes funny too)

experiencing a lot (new things specifically) in your daily life — this way, your brain has lots of material to make your dreams of

meditation — literally helps with everything

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hii i post prompts on my tiktok