1) CREATING YOUR CHARACTERS.

꒰ what does your character believe about themselves or the world that is hurting them? ꒱

obviously, it’s important to know your character's personality traits. is your character shy, cynical, overworked, guarded, romantic, stubborn? that’s pretty basic! but i think what makes a character TRULY compelling is not just their personality, but their fatal flaw. (ohhhh boy, here’s where my psychology nerd is gonna come through, so be prepared lmaooo 🙂‍↕️)

when someone experiences something painful, or traumatic, it can warp the way they see themselves, relationships, love, safety, vulnerability, etc. and that belief can start shaping their choices, even when they don’t realize it. in other words, it creates a traumatic disbelief.

a few examples of negative cognition: i’m not enough. love is conditional. if i need people, they’ll leave. i have to be perfect to be worthy. my emotions are a burden. if i let someone in, they’ll hurt me.

lets use motherhood and matrimony as an example! reader was in an abusive relationship. because of that, her false belief is that she is not good enough. she believes she is destined to disappoint satoru no matter what she does. that belief shows up in the way she hesitates, doubts herself, and struggles to fully trust that she is safe. that’s why intimacy is hard for her. that’s why she questions whether she can really stand beside satoru and help run gojo corp. that’s why love, even when it’s gentle, can still feel scary. her wound is getting in the way of what she wants: love, safety, family, and a sense of worth. so her emotional journey is not just “fall in love with satoru.” it’s learning that she is worthy of that love. it’s learning that she is not a burden. it’s learning that she can be loved without having to earn it.

a few questions i would ask yourself when creating characters: what does this character want? what do they actually need? what are they afraid of? what false belief is stopping them from accepting what they actually need? what does healing look like for them?

okay! next, lets talk about making these characters come to life.

2) WRITING SCENES WITH YOUR CHARACTERS

꒰ what is the purpose of your scene? ꒱

a scene doesn’t always have to be dramatic or plot-heavy, but it should have a reason to exist. it can reveal a character, develop a relationship, create tension, plant information for later, show a shift in emotion, or move the story forward. so ask yourself, what is this scene trying to do?

i’ll use the beginning of my off the record fic as an example, because that first scene is doing A LOT!

i’m introducing reader and satoru, establishing the setting and showing their dynamic through dialogue. i’m letting my readers see that she’s overworked and composed, while satoru is playful, observant, and already paying attention to her more than she realizes. i also set up the wedding through conversation. instead of just saying, “reader has to go to a wedding.” this allows their dialogue to feel more natural. then, satoru assuming she has a fiancé gives me a natural way to transition into a flashback. (that’s very important to me because i think flashbacks hit harder when something in the present TRIGGERS them. it feels more natural than randomly stopping the story to explain backstory imo)

a few questions i would ask yourself when writing a scene: does your character realize something? does a relationship shift? does a wound get poked? does tension build? does the reader learn something important?

if the answer is yes, then your scene has purpose!

3) WRITING EMOTION

꒰ trust your readers. let them read between the lines. ꒱

emotions are complicated. they’re vague. like... look, the part of our brain that handles language and the part that handles emotional regulation are on opposite sides, and they are NOT always working together perfectly, which is why it can be so hard for someone to properly explain HOW they feel. that’s why i rely a lot on sensation and body language. when i’m writing an emotional scene, i stop and think: what is my character feeling right now? and then i ask: how would that feeling show up in the body?

if they’re scared, maybe their heart is racing. maybe their hands tremble. maybe their breathing goes shallow. maybe they go very still. if they’re sad, maybe their body feels heavy. maybe there’s an ache in their chest. maybe their throat tightens. maybe they keep blinking because they don’t want to cry.

sometimes the strongest emotions are the ones the character is trying NOT to show. and that leads into dialogue.

4) WRITING DIALOGUE

꒰ don't think about what is being said, but what is being unsaid. ꒱

good dialogue is built on tension. tension goes a LONG way. think about what your characters are CHOOSING to say. what are they are avoiding? what are they withholding? and what do they wish the other person would understand without having to say it?

here's an example from my fic off the record.

“—I thought your name was Satoru Geto.” He blinks. “Huh?” “…Satoru Geto,” you mutter carefully. “That’s the name on your employee record, no?” “…is it?” His gaze slips away, fingers scratching at the back of his neck. “Yeah… um. About that. Geto’s actually my best friend. I just used his last name because the initials matched.” He’s flopping back against the seat with a small shrug, one arm slinging across the top. “Made it easier to sign off on stuff that way. Gotta work smarter, not harder, right?” “Right,” you deadpan, turning back toward the window. “So your plan was to just let me keep calling you that.”

we don’t have to directly explain how they’re feeling. we can infer it. reader is upset because satoru didn’t tell her his real last name. but instead of having her say, “i’m upset that you lied to me,” she keeps her words controlled and dry. that tells us something about her. she’s hurt, but she’s trying to stay composed. meanwhile, satoru feels guilty, but he plays it off with humor. that tells us something about him too. he deflects. he jokes. he tries to make the situation feel less serious because being honest is uncomfortable and he doesn't want to make it worse.

so, if i had to simplify my advice? it would be this:

first, figure out the emotional core of your story. then, figure out your character’s false belief or wound. after that, make sure each scene has a purpose. when writing emotion, show how it feels in the body. and when writing dialogue, pay attention to what your characters are avoiding just as much as what they’re saying.

also, DON'T be too hard on yourself!! writing is a craft, and you only get better by doing it over and over again. every scene teaches you something. every draft teaches you something. you don’t have to be perfect. you just have to keep going. i’m still learning too. there are plenty of times where i stare at a scene like… girl, wtf are we even doing here? 😭 but that’s part of the process!!