Questions tagged [characters]
Questions that involve people in a work of fiction, including character development, motivations, design, points of view, and representation.
991
questions
-1
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0answers
36 views
Brain transplant movie or documentary story writing [closed]
Do you feel the following story line given below can effectively create a good english movie or documentary on brain transplantation?
Title of the movie or documentary is: Brain Transplant
Let's take ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
How can I write an authentic depressed character? [duplicate]
I'm currently rewriting a novel in which the main character is depressed. They have their friends pass on, most of their life is miserable, and they don’t have anyone to turn to.
My question is, how ...
0
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0answers
25 views
How do you give an extroverted protagonist a dynamic character arc and make it interesting?
When looking through various stories I have often noticed that stories with dynamic protagonists are often introverted and shy in some way. More specifically, I've noted that writing an introverted ...
0
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3answers
43 views
How can I show characters dealing with rejection?
From my own experience reaction to rejection is very internal. I'm having troubles with coming up with actions that rejected people do, that would be perfect description for what they feel. It would ...
2
votes
4answers
119 views
How do you write a character that has a different worldview than your own?
I'm trying to figure out how to write a character that has a radically different worldview from my own while still keeping it logically consistent. I know there are a lot of questions about how to ...
2
votes
2answers
99 views
How to make the main character fall in love with the love interest? [closed]
So I'm new to writing stories and I have thought about the plot too, it's about a girl who gets a chance to work in another country (She's a physiotherapist).She visits their and her patient is an old ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
What are ways to develop a leadership character arc or a character becoming an unexpected leader?
Good morning! I have a character in my novel who I would like to start out as unsure of her place in the group but develops into one of the leaders if not the leader.
The setting is post-apocalyptic ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
Dissociative Identity Disorder or Schizophrenia?
I have a ten-year-old character, called Theodore, who suffers from mental disorders. He one night unconsciously kills his twin brother, Matthews, by smothering him with a pillow. Unaware of his deeds, ...
2
votes
3answers
128 views
How to avoid using "she" repetitively in action?
I really like to write but I have a problem. I am starting to write about and I want to make it mostly in 3rd person, but I don't know if I can do that and not repeat the prounon she or he a lot.
I ...
2
votes
3answers
164 views
Writing confusion in a character who transports to a new world without sounding annoying
I'm writing a fantasy story in which a character accidentally travels into an unfamiliar fantasy coded world. However, I'm finding it difficult to find the voice for this character during this ...
2
votes
2answers
113 views
How to write believable characters of professions I'm not familiar with?
I'm quite familiar with certain groups of people. In my career I often dealt with scientists, actors and artists. Therefore I'm quite confident describing such people in my stories. I am familiar with ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Novel character description [closed]
I am trying to describe a male main character that grew up in a less friendly family. Can I say he is a cold and quiet introvert or less engaged?
2
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0answers
69 views
When writing an American Indian character, how to ensure an accurate and sensitive portrayal as a cultural outsider?
(Similar question can be found here, but I think mine is broader in scope, as that question only asks about names.)
Background
I've been tinkering away at a few of my short story ideas with a friend ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
Writing a speech about a fictional character
I don't have a story or plot or anything, but I want to write a speech about an important fictional character. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do this. I don't really know how to come up with the ...
1
vote
1answer
45 views
Writing ideas for regrets someone would have after death and how to overcome them [closed]
Not completely sure if this is the right place for this question, but I had an idea for a story involving teens that have died with regrets/undealt with trauma being sent to an "afterlife" ...
0
votes
2answers
99 views
Writing scenes where everything goes absurdly wrong?
I'm writing a short story where a mysterious rich man has just died and his friends are gathering to find out his will. The dead man was quite eccentric and wanted to send them all on a wild goose ...
4
votes
2answers
101 views
When a new character speaks, do you describe them in the same paragraph, or in a new paragraph?
I'm making my own book, but I'm not sure what to do in the following situation:
If you were to write a line of dialogue when introducing a new character, then describe the same character, do you ...
0
votes
4answers
81 views
How to avoid making the romance in your novel predictable? [duplicate]
I'm currently writing a YA novel, and one of my sublots is a romance between the protagonist (A) and another supporting character (B). I introduce the two to each other early on, and they start out as ...
0
votes
0answers
57 views
How to make the main character and a vital person to story meet?
So for my story the main character has to meet a friend who will help them survive. However my problem is the main character is distrusting and the friend is very cautious and a bit selfish. Sort of ...
0
votes
2answers
92 views
How can I balance a male character saving his love interest without making the female seem incompetent (and vice versa)?
Stories for many, many years made frequent use of the damsel in distress trope, where female characters are depicted as needing men to save them in big, dramatic displays. People eventually realized ...
1
vote
3answers
98 views
How to write characters with identities and experiences different from your own?
I am currently writing about six teenagers during their senior year at an American high school. I am struggling to write authentic experiences for characters whom I do not share the same identity.
One ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
How would you describe a character that is ‘dogmatic’ without referring to religion or politics?
I am trying to develop a character who has a very rigid world view but I want to use more than just a single adjective to bring out this character’s “quality”. I also do not want to inject any ...
3
votes
4answers
278 views
Should you avoid introducing characters that talk one time and never talk again?
Should you avoid introducing characters that talk one time and never talk again? I wrote a scene in a chapter where the main characters talks to a technician, and then the technician is never seen ...
2
votes
3answers
144 views
How best to write an anxious character?
A character is shy, anxious, anti-social, nervous, etc. So, when speaking, she often pauses or makes noises like “uhm”, err”, “uhh”, etc. I’m asking a couple questions:
What would be the best way to ...
0
votes
3answers
107 views
Should I jump right into the story without MC introduction?
I'm writing a crime story. Basically it begins with a friend of the main character asking him for a meeting and then introducing the case to him.
What I would like to do is to show something about the ...
2
votes
2answers
171 views
How do I create OC's that I don't hate?
Before I start with writing my story, I would of course like to have some OC's (original characters --ones not taken from an existing work). I am struggling to make OC's that I don't hate. I somehow ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
How to decide how far my antagonist is willing to go?
in my short story the antagonist is someone confident and street-smart who is hiding their gambling addiction from a friend staying with them, as they are looking to take advantage of their friend (...
0
votes
0answers
79 views
Should I give a character POV scenes just to establish that they are cheating on a main character?
I have a character that is a love interest that cheats on one of the main characters (3rd-person POV). Should I write his POV for the cheating scenes to show the reader what is happening? It is the ...
2
votes
4answers
128 views
How can I keep a spy character portrayed as competent and yet have interactions between protagonist and antagonist?
I have a character that is a spy, and part of their job is sneaking around and getting into places without being noticed. However, in order to have conflict in the plot, have characters interacting to ...
0
votes
0answers
85 views
Deciding potential scenes and keeping the tension in my short story
To give some background, my short story is written from the perspective of person K. His school friend A (they are both in their mid-twenties now) invites him to stay in Vegas for a short time, and K ...
3
votes
2answers
131 views
Could my character avoid going crazy?
I wasn’t sure where to put this question so forgive me if it isn’t in the right place. Anyway, I have a character who might go crazy, the thing is, I don’t want her to. She is arrested for treason and ...
2
votes
3answers
132 views
How do you write character development in later entries of a series after relationships become established?
When starting a series there is initially a lot of fertile ground for storytelling because the characters don't know each other very well and are still establishing an equilibrium. As a result, there ...
2
votes
2answers
118 views
How would authorities handle a disappearance caused by paranormal means?
A story of mine starts with a character disappearing in his radio studio while on air.
Nobody else was in the building with him.
A pair of sunglasses that he always kept in his shirt pocket was the ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
In a canon divergent fanfiction should tertiary characters be OC or cannon?
I am thinking of writing an X-Men fanfiction, but I believe my query could apply to fanfiction set in any long running work with a large number of characters.
My fanfiction will concentrate on the New ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
How do you introduce a new character in later entries of a series?
I had an outline for a book series in which I introduce a new character in one of the later volume to act as an introductory viewpoint character for people who are just picking up the series for the ...
-2
votes
1answer
86 views
Does having some same characteristics invoke copyright?
I want to make a manga. The complex story uses characters from toys that I played with as a child. These characters were Legos and not rendered in 2D.
And, I mixed some parts of their body so they ...
0
votes
3answers
103 views
How do I convey my character is of mixed European-Asian ancestry through description?
I have a protagonist who is biracial (mixed-race Caucasian-east Asian ancestry) living in the United States. I have a good idea of what their face and appearance looks like; they’re the kind of person ...
3
votes
5answers
750 views
How do I show that my character is intelligent?
I have a fantasy story in which the lead character is designed as your typical bland everyman protagonist whose purpose is to give the reader someone to relate to and ask questions about the ...
-1
votes
1answer
80 views
When should one of my four main characters die?
I'm writing a book series (I may or may not publish it, not sure) that I'd like to have as 5 books long. I have four main characters, and I want part of the story to be three of them dealing with the ...
0
votes
2answers
140 views
How do I write a fight scene between two characters when one is strong but slow and the other is strong, tough, and fast?
I am writing a fight scene between two monsters. One is heavily armored but comparatively slower, whereas the other is a Lightning Bruiser: fast, tough, and powerful but compared to the first ...
0
votes
5answers
161 views
How late is too late to describe a character?
I haven’t supplied much description of my main character, mainly because it didn’t come up naturally. Her parents are described, so you can get a basic idea, fair skin, light eyes—but I never list any ...
1
vote
3answers
161 views
What works fine in a movie but doesn't in a book?
As a writer I'm not only looking up to great books, but I take many inspirations from movies as well.
I wonder though if there are any techniques that don't translate well between those mediums. Are ...
10
votes
7answers
3k views
How can I diversify the personalities of supernatural predators?
I'm working on an urban fantasy story that has a species of monsters that regularly prey on human beings, as in many, many other settings (e.g., various monsters in Buffy/Supernatural/The Dresden ...
2
votes
3answers
232 views
What are readers ACTUALLY interested in when it comes to character?
I am writing fantasy.
When I look up "what authors should know about their characters" I get advice like "know what you character fears", "know your character's central ...
2
votes
3answers
200 views
When writing a YA novel, how necessary is it to include LGBT characters?
I am attempting to write a YA novel, and I keep wondering if it is important these days to include at least one LGBT character. So far, no LGBT character has 'organically' come up in the story, and ...
1
vote
2answers
113 views
What are non-obvious ways to make the reader sympathize with the protagonist?
I was thinking of ways to make my audience like my characters.
I always try to figure out my target audience and make the main hero as relatable as possible.
Quite often do I embrace their integrity. ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
What word could describe a person with integrity or the difference between a person with integrity and one without? [closed]
I am trying to get the perfect word to separate those having integrity and those who lack it. I am trying to describe someone who accepts full ownership for their choices even the more regrettable ...
0
votes
3answers
147 views
How do you create lies that contains truth inside?
There is one thing I did not like to admit: I don't know how to lie.
I could make up some random excuses but it wouldn't be convincing enough. And there is always a saying that I can't manage to get ...
0
votes
1answer
90 views
How do you realistically create a breakup/betrayal scene?
This happens in a war setting.
I have a female protagonist who, in her childhood, met a prince who was banished and felt betrayed. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the female lead decided to help the ...
0
votes
0answers
56 views
How To Write a Heel Realization
Can someone teach me how to write both a heel realization and mental breakdown at the same time? I’m trying to write a highly emotional and heartbreaking scene where the central antagonist both ...
