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Questions tagged [characters]

Questions that involve people in a work of fiction, including character development, motivations, design, points of view, and representation.

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How do I get my writing to be more thrilling?

I started writing not too long ago, but I've been struggling to actually make the readers get into the reading. I've been told that my writings are too "straightforward" or "too direct&...
AESOP's user avatar
  • 23
0 votes
2 answers
62 views

How can I make my character slowly fall in love with someone that already likes them?

I want to have one of my characters slowly fall in love with a boy who has liked her from the start, but I'm not sure how to Show that he likes her but not make it too obvious and make her slowly ...
FarFromBliss's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
85 views

Help me understand my main character better to easier get inside their head

My main character is an ISF. I'm not using their MBTI character type to dictate their entire personality as I understand that all people are complex but when I'm creating a new character I like to ...
Thuy's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
4 answers
131 views

Novel begins with a number of chapters concerning the father of the main character, but does not include the main character

Table of Contents: Prologue 24 Years Ago: Omissions of the Past A number of chapters of backstory (life) of father of main character, but son, who is the main character for rest of book is not in it, ...
Judith's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
1 answer
113 views

How do I describe a character who had a leg ripped off?

I’m a new writer writing a fantasy story. A character had a leg ripped off below the knee and I’m not sure how to describe that. It’s in a first person perspective by one of the other characters ...
Htr_Bat's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
3 answers
163 views

Who should be the antagonist when my novel is meant to be educational?

I am writing a science fantasy novel, but I think I should re-write it completely. Let me explain the situation. Here's the concept of my novel: The story takes place in an alternate world where a ...
Dannyu NDos's user avatar
6 votes
8 answers
3k views

When writing a tragic hero for a tragedy, do the readers have to sympathize with the characters?

I've been told that a tragic hero is a protagonist with a tragic flaw or a character defect that ultimately leads to their downfall and that the audience should sympathize with the character, even as ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is it possible to write a character that remains mysterious until the very end without sacrificing character development?

Is it possible to write a character that remains mysterious until the very end without sacrificing character development? I was thinking you can't do it to a main character, so I thought about an evil ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
0 answers
86 views

Is it possible to make characters who are neurotic, who have low agreableness, low conscientiousness, low extraversion likeable?

Is it possible to make characters who are neurotic, who have low agreeableness, low conscientiousness, low extraversion likeable? I thought the only way to do this is to find something that the reader ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
4 votes
5 answers
187 views

Why is it bad to use a side character merely as a plot device?

I was writing a mystery novel about a detective who is investigating a murder case. The detective has a partner, who is a side character in the story. The partner is not given much of a personality or ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
59 views

Does it make sense to kill a character in the middle of a character arc, or in order to not finish the character arc?

Does it make sense to kill a character in the middle of a character arc, or in order to not finish the character arc? If you notice that a character arc is forcing yourself to write yourself into a ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
1 vote
1 answer
70 views

Portraying recovery from trauma in the right way

How do I show a character going from being unhinged as he gets desperate to heal and isolate himself from his trauma (yes, this happens) to actually healing from it? My story features people who are ...
Christiana's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
72 views

How do I write a story about forbidden love? [closed]

I have two characters, a boy named Kai and a girl named Raya. They also are stuck in a love triangle with another boy named Alejandro but Kai and Raya aren't allowed to be lovers. Raya and Alejandro ...
Raya_is_probably_a_novice's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
3k views

When should you reveal the motivations of a villain?

A common mistake in creative writing is to create a villain without a clear motivation for their actions. Every villain should have a reason for their behavior, even if it is not a justifiable one. ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
1 vote
3 answers
72 views

Is it possible to create unique voices in your story if all your characters use simple words and sentences in their dialogues?

Is it possible to create unique voices in your story if all your characters use simple words and sentences in their dialogues? I believe that simple dialogues may not allow for the same level of ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
1 vote
3 answers
106 views

How can you prevent your characters from being too predictable?

How can you prevent your characters from being too predictable? I am wondering how to do that, because if your characters have clear motivations and clear personalities, then it should make them ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

My characters either feel clichéd or don't have distinct voices or mannerisms, does that need fixing and if so how?

Is it bad that your characters don't have distinct voices or mannerisms? I tried to give them some distinct voices and mannerisms, but they sounded too cliched or parodic in that they looked like a ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
2 votes
1 answer
126 views

I have inadvertently made my character depressed... what should I do about it?

I have inadvertently made my character depressed. She's a minor character in my science-fantasy novel, and exists to tie together some of the plot lines. As I wrote her, this 18yo woman turned out to ...
Monty Wild's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
103 views

How to write someone who wants desperately to have emotional bonds but pushes others away because they feel they don't deserve it?

So, the viewpoint and main character in my novel is a character who had a very bad beginning. Born as a slave, she was torn from her parents and subjected to many horrors, few of which I elaborate on, ...
Kale Slade's user avatar
  • 2,643
0 votes
1 answer
54 views

Do you have to have shown people your characters are talking about when discussing politics?

Do you have to have shown people your characters are talking about when discussing politics? Let's say there's a political intrigue, and there's this character who mentions a far away nation who might ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
2 votes
4 answers
252 views

How could I write a tragic, depressed character without making them completely unbearable/hateable?

In the middle of my epic, the deutertagonist's love interest gets brutally killed off and she is forced to watch. For the third quarter of the story, she is trying to deal with the pain and trauma. ...
Crafter's user avatar
  • 485
0 votes
2 answers
79 views

How do you continuously add characters to a story that originally started with a small cast?

How do you continuously add characters to a story that originally started with a small cast? Is there a way to do this organically while making sure their presence in the story feels natural and not ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
3 votes
2 answers
106 views

Should a first-time novel writer have more than 5-7 characters?

I have never wrote more than a short story in my life yet. That being said, I am planning to complete a novel soon. I feel like I might have too many characters. I have around 28 minus the ones not a ...
Conan Highwoods's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
88 views

How to have subtext with a character who's blunt, direct and straightforward?

I know what makes dialogue interesting is what characters don't say as much as (or more than) what they do. How do I achieve this with a character who prides herself on 'saying it like it is', and not ...
aurorajack's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
63 views

How do I write a scene of someone reading a book without rushing it?

Right now, I have described the differences between the world the character lives in and the world the character is reading about, but it seems really rushed, like he'd only been reading for a few ...
koala's user avatar
  • 75
0 votes
1 answer
45 views

Is it ok to make characters fit unique and parodic archetypes?

Is it ok to make characters fit unique and parodic archetypes, especially when trying to write a dark, gritty and realistic story? I was watching a video on the famous film director Akira Kurosawa, ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
2 answers
66 views

Is it more challenging to write a good story where the gods are too powerful when they're not the main characters?

Is it more challenging to write a good story where the gods are too powerful when they're not the main characters? I don't think I've ever heard of a good story where the gods are omnipotent and they'...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
2 votes
3 answers
119 views

How much is too much for an upper middle grade book? (TW suicide mention)

One of my main characters is named Lucas. Lucas can turn into a cat. He struggles with controlling this power. He’s also from the bad side of town; his parents are neglectful and eventually disappear ...
Evan's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
4 answers
180 views

How do I stop my villain from just showing up out of nowhere?

I suffer from “villain shows up out of nowhere syndrome”. My story involves a group of survivors trying to trek through a wasteland and reach a safe zone while my reoccurring main villain continuously ...
Parker's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
2 answers
136 views

Can I make an irredeemable character likeable?

In my fantasy epic, the protagonist is a destined chosen one who will defeat the dark lord (at least that is what the sorcerer propaganda says.) About 3/4 into the story, he eventually meets the ...
Crafter's user avatar
  • 485
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

Can you ignore your own death flags and spare a character if you changed your mind?

Can you ignore your own death flags and spare a character if you changed your mind? I am wondering if ignoring a bunch of death flags you set up for killing a character can backfire if you change your ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
1 vote
2 answers
91 views

How do you introduce new characters if you try to cut all the non-events?

it states that every scene should (must) change something in your characters' lives. Otherwise, it's a "nonevent" and should be cut. I got this advice in the past. One of the things I like ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
0 answers
42 views

What kind of character is Mister Blonde from Reservoir Dogs?

I've been thinking about the movie a lot, and I'm wondering what category Mister Blonde would fall into. All of the characters are anti-heroes, because they're all criminals. The other heisters, ...
ThisKobold's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
68 views

How do you write a complex, multi dimensional hedonistic character

Exactly as the title says. Getting really caught on how to write a detailed hedonsitic character who derives pleasure from ?kind of? immoral things; copious amounts of sex and drugs, killing etc. I ...
heuer's user avatar
  • 3
4 votes
3 answers
351 views

Should you always write a strong antagonist?

I've heard that a mistake that people often make is that they put 100% of their effort in building a character that they like and based on their own world views and philosophies and then end up ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
1 vote
2 answers
128 views

How do you write a perfect AI character with no human emotion while making it a dramatic character?

https://youtu.be/4BxfV1sBRJs?t=195 “In order for your character to evolve in a positive way, he has to start out with something lacking in his life, some reason that makes the change necessary. He is ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
3 answers
149 views

Should I go out of my way to write certain female archetypes out of my stories?

Should I go out of my way to write certain female archetypes out of my stories? I think some archetypes for female characters are offensive. For example, there's the femme fatale archetype. The femme ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
17 votes
13 answers
10k views

For a fantasy world, what word can I use instead of "human" in order to include elves, dwarves, etc.?

I've been creating this fantasy world where many different races coexist, so most aren't human. I'm trying to write all the worldbuilding details down, and I'm stuck on a phrase "She is the ...
Bibi2801's user avatar
  • 179
1 vote
2 answers
78 views

Can I write from the point of view of a mentally unstable main character?

The main character of my novel is suffering from depression which resulted in shock and she has attempted suicide twice already. All of this has made her unbalanced mentally. I was wondering if I can ...
Oyeranti's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
116 views

Is it necessary to describe a character's physical appearance in a novel

I am writing a novel and I realized that I did not describe any of my characters, like practically, no reader would be able to place or imagine the character which I feel is not right. That is why I ...
Oyeranti's user avatar
7 votes
7 answers
6k views

Is it okay for the male and female characters in your story to sound the same?

So my philosophy is "if you can't do it, don't bother", and I couldn't write realistic female dialogues so I decided to not bother at all with gender differences and make them sound the same....
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
-3 votes
3 answers
143 views

Is using functional labels when describing autistic characters highly offensive?

I was watching this video and it seems like it's deeply offensive to people in the autism spectrum to read someone use functional labels for autistic people. Examples of functioning labels are "...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
2 votes
1 answer
163 views

Underlying microagression to poc characters?

I would say now that I don't intend to be offensive. I apologize if I come across as ignorant, for I am not speaking as an African-American but as another POC entirely. The scene is between two ...
Cautiouslycurious's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
96 views

Writing a third person limited protagonist without any inner dialogue

I want to write a protagonist that thinks as I do; that is to say, without any inner monologue. I don't even think in images either. It's just abstract thoughts for me. If a place reminds me of my ...
user57479's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
210 views

Why is it wrong to have your LGBT character find a love interest as soon as possible in your story if, in your setting, people are not LGBT-friendly?

I was watching some video about how to write LGBT characters and I was told that it's wrong to have your LGBT character magically find a LGBT love interest. However, my particular problem is that the ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
3 votes
3 answers
134 views

Is it a bad thing if there's no character development whatsoever within the first half of a novel?

Is it a bad thing if there's no character development whatsoever within the first half of a novel? In my novel, there's this character who's just living alone and doesn't really interact with anyone ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
0 answers
284 views

Properly writing characters with Dissociative Identity Disorder

In my story for a game, one of the main antagonists has Dissocistive Identity Disorder. His alters are already written, but I am asking for some advice on how to properly portrayed a character with ...
Crafter's user avatar
  • 485
2 votes
2 answers
88 views

Are repeated background characters good?

My story has several occasions where the two main protagonists interact with background characters. I'd rather not make a different background character for each one, as each needs a decent amount of ...
RedzGoose's user avatar
  • 123
3 votes
1 answer
72 views

Limitations of a Clairvoyant Ability

I've heard that in fictional magic systems, what's most important is not a character's power(s), but its limitations. That's an issue I'm running into with one of my novel's main characters, who has ...
IntoTheVoid's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
127 views

How do you write a character with multiple personalities?

I have a character with multiple personalities, but the character is mute and cannot speak. He can only behave. Is there a way to show that this character has multiple personalities and is behaving ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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