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 to write unique arcs for the same character over a series?
I apologize that this question is inherently vague; I am still in the very early stages of planning a series and don't have many details to offer as of yet.
One of the things that irks me most about ...
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How to write effective parallel juxtaposing character arcs?
TW; suicide, self harm
I have two characters, one being the Protagonist and the other being her Sidekick. They both have their own character arcs through my story that are somewhat similar — enough ...
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How can I establish a bond between a teacher and a student?
How can I establish a bond between a teacher and a student? My main character is being forced to betray another character, who is their combat instructor. I need to form a bond, so when the instructor ...
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Can you make a story compelling enough for a large audience if every character is evil?
Can you make a story compelling enough for a large audience if every character is evil? I thought about this, but most popular stories have some good characters, I am wondering if it's even possible ...
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How to write a symbolic character?
I was learning more about other types of characters a few weeks ago. I already knew most of the ones mentioned, dynamic characters, static characters, round characters, stock characters, I was just ...
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How to find the right starting point for your story?
I have my story plotted out, but as I’ve been writing, I’ve realized that my main character’s backstory is swimming with potential. I’ve been weaving it in, slowly revealing details and flashbacks ...
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What's the best way to visually sort data about characters?
I have a couple of characters that I want to group together on multiple pages. Each could be about different information.
Another example would be, with 1 page for each period of time.
Year 1: Alive:...
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Is there such thing as too much concept at a character and how do you know so?
I made lots of characters, though I put more focus to some than others. This is because of how at the base of these characters they have concepts that they revolve with. And I want to make sure I can ...
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What words can be used to describe being confused and in two minds?
What words can be used to describe being confused and in two minds? Some figures of speech or adjectives or maybe a paragraph?
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Writing a memory in a different perspective
When writing in limited third-person, would it pull a reader out of the story too much by having a memory from another character's perspective for a while? (Which I realise would make the story not ...
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Describing the individual differences between different members of my Enslaver Species based on the images provided?
Basically all enslavers are mind controlling alien abominations that are the size of buildings and sky scrapers. They can each control the weather, have limited telekinesis , infequent teleportation ...
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How do you show emotionlessness through a character's action and dialogue?
Accurately portraying a character's emotions is a huge part of getting an audience to like them as a person. But the character I am writing is essentially a living computer. They have no emotions to ...
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Is there a software for writing story with a timeline and event and character [duplicate]
I am looking for a software who have a timeline which can have event in it, items, character and a manuscript and if there is item and magic/skill it's even better
i can't afford to pay for using a ...
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Is it possible to write a story where every character has the same name?
I know this is probably going to get me a down vote, but I've had this idea for a while. I wanted to know if it would work or if it would be an awful failure. Every character is the same person from ...
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Is it bad that a character deviates from its inspiration?
I have characters at the back of my head that are inspired by other characters, from other stories I've seen in the media. They don't stay the same. Back then their character is quite similar to ...
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How do you write an extremely powerful main character?
How do you write an extremely powerful main character? I have this character who's a literal God, and none of his enemies are as nearly as powerful as him. It's like in the anime Overlord, and I was ...
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Is it possible to, and if so, how do you develop a story with only one character?
My story is simple (if it is any help, it is entirely in first person.) A man wakes up in an abandoned mineshaft, with no company other than the monsters that are there with him, and a few notes from ...
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How do you kill a loved character without angering your readers (spoiler alert)?
How do you kill a loved characters without angering your readers? I think the Last of Us Part 2 had a lot of detractors because of how they handled the death of one of its main characters. I think it ...
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How do you make a character inconsistent without annoying your readers?
I have a story where I want to make realistic characters, so I was thinking of making them act out-of-character at times, but I am not sure if that would lead to inconsistency, and how to do that ...
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Is there a way to make a character written mostly as a support to another character not shallow at all?
I've been told that a lot of bad female characters are written mostly to be a support to another character, as a love interest, a cheerleader, an end goal, etc. I was told that a character being ...
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Is it a bad idea to make a villain or a main character too unlikeable?
When I say "unlikable", I mean the character is too unbearable to read/watch. I was told that if people need to take breaks from whatever media they're consuming because of a character’s ...
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When is it too late to introduce major characters?
Would you consider it too late to introduce major characters at the midpoint of book 1 in a trilogy?
By major characters I mean characters that aren’t the protagonist, don’t have POV chapters (my book ...
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Writing, or rather, not writing PTSD
I am working on this short espionage story, and I have one character, an agent, who is unable to bring himself to do harm let alone kill another person. He's never done the deed himself. In my ...
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Stuck on how to expand my chapter
I am currently working on my first serious story/book. I have written in the past, but I never really paid attention to the structure or word count or really anything that made a story, a story.
For ...
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How to fake a main character's death without devaluing other deaths?
I am writing a fantasy novel in which I want the main character to die right around the middle of the book, only to resurface later with unexpected powers that apparently kept her alive -- something ...
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Why would a character's parents allow them to go on a lethal quest?
In my fantasy epic, the protagonist meets a young, female thief who eventually become his partner in crime. She is part of a family business that involves theft, and she wants to go to give her family ...
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How to describe a werewolf attack?
In my book, the werewolves don't shape shift into humans, they're werewolves all the time. There are some werewolves that don't attack humans, but the majority does - those packs that don't live ...
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How do I write a character with religious trauma
Currently I have a character in mind of, with religious trauma. And her parents are strict on her, so that she can be a pure child as the religion they follow intended. Now I myself have religious ...
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How can you do romantic character development without writing romantic dialogues?
How can you do romantic character development without writing romantic dialogues? I am bad at writing romantic dialogues, so I was wondering if it was possible to make so that two characters develop ...
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How do you come up with superpowers that haven't been overused? [closed]
It's hard to be really original during a time where you literally have TV shows and movies every few months, but some clichés seem to be recurring.
For example, in a lot of superhero movies, you have: ...
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How does a villain deceive the public into thinking he is the hero?
Lots of villains in media tend to be both incredibly charismatic and highly manipulative. With their powers of persuasion, they can often amass a large following of people.
So, here is my question
How ...
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Writing fantasy novel and reintroducing a character
When writing a book, when I introduce a character to the audience do I have to reintroduce them again if it's in a different character's point of view?
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What is the format for referring to un-named characters?
I have read some scripts recently which features a scene that refers to a group of background characters without naming them, but to distinguish between them uses "descriptive names" instead....
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How do you keep an antagonist as morally grey even after they cause serious harm/conflict?
If all an antagonist did was steal a pie, then they could probably be forgiven after a simple apology. But some antagonists kidnap, murder, conquer whole lands, and routinely hurt the protagonists ...
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Is dropping characters between book sections a terrible idea?
I've been worrying for a while about 'dropping' characters between the three distinct sections of my novel. I'm happy with the plot, and it makes sense for these characters to not be present as it ...
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What type of protagonists get happy endings?
Obviously, the decision on how to write the ending is driven by the overall plot. That said, there seems to be a pattern on which protagonists get happy endings*. I'm not able to put my finger on it,...
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How do I maintain a character's anonymity until it is revealed in the plot twist?
For my horror/thriller story, I want to start off with the prologue with a seemingly random character facing the main plot driving antagonist. I'm doing this by having the character have a nightmare ...
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If I have a character wearing a hijab, what are some things I need to consider?
I live in a country where the majority is Muslim. I am not a Muslim, but I have Muslim friends and I didn't think much of adding a hijab character. I have begun to consider the idea. I asked my ...
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Is it bad to have a character who is similar to an existing character if the stories are very different?
I am on the second draft of my book, and only now do I realize my main character has some extreme similarities to Katniss from the Hunger Games.
While there are differences, her backstory and ...
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How do you describe the sound of a body being dragged through the snow? [closed]
How to describe the sound of a body bring dragged through snow
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How can I write a young adult character as very excited without sounding like a child?
I want to show my young adult main character, as being very enthusiastic and excitable about her interests, mainly I want her to make a big deal about wanting to wear her mother's ceremonial (but ...
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What is the purpose of static characters?
So I decide to go on more about writing characters and how to develop them and make great characters.
We have the characters that change: the characters that have character arcs, backstory, ...
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Is it odd to have a bunch of characters with unique personalities and gimmicks in one place?
I'm writing a fighting/combat type of story like Bloodsport. In Pro Wrestling companies like the WWE and TNA and also fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Tekken it's very common for ...
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How do I get my characters to reconvene after having been separated?
Right now in the story, I have 5 characters. Three (Group A) got in a fight, one (Group B) got on a train, and one (Group C) who also got in a fight. Group A is in a data-center, Group B is in the ...
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How do you describe/insert an "uncommon" feature?
We have the typical common hair that's black, brown, yellow, etc. And we can call them brunets, blondes, redheads, and so on.
Even with eyes. We call them blue-eyed, brown-eyed, gray, etc.
What do you ...
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How to make a "perfect op" character not so op
As a challenge by a friend. I was dared to make a super "special snowflake syndrome" character likable despite the cliches.
This is what I came up with.
In a dnd-like world, supernaturals ...
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How to make a serious character interesting or likeable?
My mc is a paladin who has a fairly serious personality. He had to become the father figure of his siblings at a fairly young age, after most of his family was killed. Him being a paladin, he ...
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On a tough decision, how would a character choose?
Pardon the incorrect grammar. English is not my first language. Long post.
The context is this:
A man is delivering his dead friend's baby to its grandfather.
The old man hasn't seen his son in 10 ...
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How do I make a possibly offensive stereotype less so?
One of my main characters' family is Asian (specifically Korean-American). The oldest sister, Chelsea, is a child prodigy. When her toxic and shitty parents found out, they exploited the hell out of ...
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Is it wise to start a story with a character that never appears again?
I plan to write the prologue with a limited third person view of a man delivering a 5 year old girl to a secluded city.
His reason for doing this, even though he's not related to her, is because he's ...
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