Posts tagged characters
My main characters finally met. Officially... They still don't know who the others are, and are from different cultural backgrounds, too different for the others to seem normal. Although they ar...
I have 2 characters that I want to have a romantic tension with. The feelings are unrequited. Can I have it so that 1 chapter basically introduces and then ends the conflicting feelings or is thi...
While reviewing my story and notes about her, I realiyed that my main character doesn't have any major flaws. She is a hothead and she has to hide where she comes from, but that's it. She isn't god...
I'm in talks with a publisher about my comic book. In it, the main character is a hunter who hunts monsters, but in a way inspired by how real hunters hunt. My editor suggests that the character we...
I'm trying to flesh out a character in my book that is basically a "town rowdy" that takes sport in antagonizing people, especially the main character. At this point I'm having a hard time making h...
Just a general question, but would anyone actually read a side story to my main novel about a side character? He plays a big role in the story actually, but he doesn't get much recognition in the ...
I have a problem with the protagonist of one of my stories. In the story he's in, he dies at the end (self-sacrifice), so I readily made sure to flesh him out the most possible, because, at least i...
In my fantasy world there are other other sentient races besides humans. Some of them are "original", or at least not as common in mainstream stories. On the other hand, I have also included more t...
So I recently had a discussion with a reader and who pointed out a significant flaw in my work that I hadn't seen. When I first started writing my series, I had a trilogy in mind - based on explor...
How often can you employ this before it starts to seem too convenient and fake?
Wondering if anyone with great wisdom can help me... I have 2 problems really that have pretty much stopped me writing anything decent for a few weeks. I'm on my first ever novel and have no exper...
Dr.House, the God-Emperor of Mankind, Han Solo, and so on, and so forth. Something is appealing about anti-heroes, for instance: Superman is bland, perfect and ultimately a bruh superhero, whose c...
So the novel I'm writing is in (multiple) close third person perspective, or limited, as the whole action is seen through the eyes and thoughts of a given character. The issue I'm having is that it...
If I wanted to write a novel using three characters from a book published in 1910 - is this ok? I want to write the back story (my own invention) - in the vein of Wide Sargasso Sea. Any advice ...
So. I have a project I'm currently working on in which there are a number of characters who are connected to each other by various friendships/familial relationships, although they don't all know e...
For example, I am writing about my protagonist and her long time best friend. How could I convey closeness between the two characters in a way that feels like it could be a real relationship?
I have this weird problem: I know my characters, I know what they're like, and I know how they would act in any given situation and in the plot I use them in, but I don't know how to describe their...
It's easy to show hesitance, fear or angst, you can have a character smoking 5-10 cigarettes in a row, linger for way too long, act out, or something like that. But how can you show a character tha...
I'm writing a script for a short film so I'm trying to keep the things that are kind of dispendable, away. The story of the script starts at a bar, with the friend of the main character, a boy, h...
I have this chimera-type character whose name is Ryu, but at this point I think it best to change his name. But I've already grown used to his name, and I've written it all over my book pages. Is i...
I know this is similar to How to Handle a Character When She Is Lying About Her Name but the situation is slightly different in where my problem lies. I have a character who is introduced as Tabat...
I've been advised to sharpen my sidekick from an "intriguing second tier" character to the delegate for the readers. Is there a tried and tested formula succinctly captured somewhere? I'm looking t...
In my first big novel-kind-of-thing I'm currently working on, I have a run-of-the-mill, super-non-special "Hero" - the Antagonist. A Jon Doe, someone, who knows how to handle everyday stuff and can...
I mean, what exactly defines a flaw for a character? I know that the character's flaws should have at least some impact in the story, instead of being just a mere detail, but what makes flaw X bett...
I currently have the choice of two routes with my novel - to lead with a knives-and-poisons main conflict, with reference to the protagonist's emotional conflict, or to lead with him conquering his...
I have read in a few books about writing science fiction that a compelling concept should override considerations for character, and possibly other things like setting or plot. I have the notion t...
The character I describe is in fact reflective of somebody I know in real life--a kind of nihilist who finds all pursuits and goals "hollow and ridiculous", as the person says. This inevitably impl...
How can I portray a character who does not actively seek attention, but is still vain and self-superior? Since I don't know how much information you will need, I will list everything I think might...
How psychopathic should a character be especially if they are one of the "good guys"? So, due to some vicious trauma in the past, the character has developed some pretty sadistic merciless tendenc...
My heroine is seriously ill with something that can sooner or later take her life away at any moment. She takes medication regularly but refuses to undergo anything hardcore (like surgery or chemo ...
In my book, I am planning on having the main character be called "Samantha." However, she believes her name is too generic, so she goes by the nickname "Thana." My question: Is it bad to have a c...
I am currently writing a character that isn't who they claim to be. This character's true identity and affiliation will become known in the ending chapters. This character can be closely associated...
I am currently writing a medieval (low fantasy) novel set in a society akin to that of Western Europe during the Middle Ages. One of my protagonists is raised poor in a small village, but early on ...
I find it horribly irritating when I'm half way through a book and suddenly discover a character I imagined as skinny is now "folding his arms across his barrel chest" or a character I envisioned a...
I was wondering if anyone had any writing exercises that they use to help them get to know their characters better. I keep false-starting on my story because I have more of a hazy idea of who my ma...
I'm currently brainstorming a fantasy story, and I love the idea of my main character, but I'm having a hard time pinning down who she is as a person. I know her backstory, her family, her abilitie...
I write mostly fictions. However, I am an apathetic-type narcissist, which means I cannot understand other people's feelings and thoughts easily, if at all. As a result, all my characters who are ...
I've really enjoyed the CW's show The Flash ever since it came out, but they recently did something that kind of feels like a mistake on the writers' part. For those unfamiliar with the show, Barr...
I've come to the recent conclusion that my writing lacks conflict. This problem is especially hard for me because I don't like conflict in my own personal life, and am the type who doesn't usuall...
In the story I'm writing, I want to include a character who is a free radical. At some points she helps the main group and at some points she hinders them. She may even end up joining the main grou...
This is my first actual question, so I apologize in advance if I include something that is not suited for the forum, or if this is a duplicate of an existing west - though I DID try to find one tha...
I am writing a novel that contains spy elements. Although the plot is based in the near future, it alludes to recent past historical events. Specifically, it discusses the 1985 'Year of the Spy' an...
I am new to the site, so please let me know if I'm not following proper format or etiquette. I am beginning a story (only 4,000 words so far). I am having trouble adding in characters that can be ...
Before I started writing my fantasy story (80,000 words so far) I had a pretty strong outline prepared. Within the structure of my plot, I wrote relatively organically and my characters started to ...
I've recently been researching and discussing characters and character roles, mostly off the back of feedback on a romance story that described the "love interest" (if that is the correct literary ...
I was having a discussion over coffee with an aspiring author friend of mine and we had an interestingly productive but annoying argument about in-novel crushes. He said that he had never had roma...
I was asking myself this question while writing a novel that don't imply any death or even really dramatic event ! The novel tells about the main character's strugglings and conflictuous relationsh...
At first I was going to tell my story told from my main character's point of view, but now I'm wondering if I should make it coming from the point of view of a third-person narrator. I wanted the...
People advise to keep description to a minimum, or to make it worthwhile to the audience. I'm talking about description that isn't really necessary/important to the plot but is necessary/important ...
I have a main character, I'm attempting to disguise this fact. But it is tricky. Out of nowhere, the character rises up as a successful military leader. The events that lead up to that are plausibl...
