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Q&A

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Q&A Is it ok to have many characters who only appear for a few chapters?

At least 40% of the characters in my novel appear for only 2-3 chapters and I don't really have the chance to develop them. Is this too many? How can you determine you have too many characters appe...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by puffofsmoke‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to make clear what a part-humanoid character looks like when they're quite common in their world?

How can I describe an unconventionally part-humanoid character, so the reader knows clearly what they look like, while in a world where these people are normal and it's not unusual at all for chara...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Nadeshka‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Describing paralyzing fear in the first person

I would appreciate some suggestions that would help me describe intense terrifying fear that my main character feels when the airplane he is on suddenly goes into a seemingly out of control dive th...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Tris‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it bad to have no gender variety?

The majority of stories, movies, shows, comics, and other media I've read or seen have a pretty even split between men and women, and that's fine, I don't have a problem with it. But if I want t...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I respectfully write black characters in a 1930s Arizona setting?

I'm writing a cartoon script aimed at a children/young-adult audience (similar to the audience of Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, and Over the Garden Wall). It deals with the daughter of a Bonnie-...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Avital S.‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Creating and keeping track of characters

I admit to finding this an insurmountable task. My novel has dozens of characters. My first problem wasn't keeping track of them, but creating them. Modern Day: My 20th century characters were ...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Characters jumping out of their stories

I just read an article online and thought "this is great, I should forward the link to Phoebe." Phoebe is one of my characters. I've already had characters tell me how they would speak or dress...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Writing couples with age difference [closed]

Basically, all I want to know is how I can get my readers to root for a pairing where the difference in ages is about 15 years. I don't want them to spend the entirety of my novel pondering over th...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Jack Rabbit‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Protagonist Goal and achieving it [closed]

My MC is a famous singer/songwriter who is bad at writing lyrics. Her goal is to write commercially successful, deep, serious songs. How do I design the character arc in relation to this goal? Also...

0 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Empress Molly‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Can my characters interact with my narrator? (and vice versa)

I know that this idea is not totally 'revolutionary' as this type of narration has been used in Breakfast of champions, for example. But, Unlike Vonnegut, I want the 'Narrator talks to the characte...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Uncertainty‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What meta-properties should a character have in general? [closed]

What are the properties a generic main character from a character-driven/psychological novel should have? E.g. relations, motives, personality, knowledge.

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Marina Miyaoka‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Unfair Motivation for a Judge to Dislike an Accused [closed]

I have a scene where a character is applying to be released from prison pending trial. I want an arbitrary / unfair reason for the judge to dislike him. It has to be something that is not justified...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Poul‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I make my character be a part of something without it seeming forced?

I'm writing a Star Wars fanfiction because I wanted to practice my writing on something I love, and I decided to make a character named Alexander Ray Rullero. He's not the main character, as in he ...

0 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Frostco1‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is the "hero guy saves girl" trope misogynistic?

(Question about my hacker (hacking??) novel.) Just an FYI, I am a woman. Edward is a cyber spy and works with an organization named Vox Populi to curate and release all data online, especially t...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How and when should I introduce my main character's superpowers?

This story includes a select group of individuals who contain superpowers and the main character is obviously one of those few. I don't want to throw it out there straight away and am trying to hin...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Kyl‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Crafting an organic female platonic relationship [closed]

There has been a story in me for quite a while. It is of two girls, set in a feudal/medieval era. They met as children. One is a antisocial bookworm, highly opinionated with a quiet steely composu...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Vigneswara Prabhu‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it a bad idea to have a character that has an "imaginary friend"?

In a story I'm working on, I'm adding a side character to travel with the two main characters because I realized I didn't have very much planned for actually showing who the main characters are and...

0 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by M.Wallace‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question fiction characters
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Q&A Character is onscreen for three seconds

I have a character Joe who leads the task force hunting my MC. His reputation is known to the MC and he is well aware of how effective he is. Joe is also a good friend of another character, Fred, a...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Rasdashan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How best to have a conversation a character does not overhear?

I have a scenario where my main character, who has considerable training and situational awareness has been captured. He has faith that his people will rescue him when the time is right. He learns...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Rasdashan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question plot characters
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Q&A Fiction: Living next door to a CEO [closed]

A CEO moves next door to a 3rd year college student who babysits and tutors for a rich family to keep the rent paid in her expensive apartment. It seems strange for a CEO, who probably has a ton of...

0 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Kat‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A If two characters are blood relations will it seem coincidental?

I have a character who is a seasoned CIA agent and is part of the task force that is bringing in my MC. I have another character, a semi retired assassin who was one of my MC’s instructors. I wan...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Rasdashan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What are good techniques to describe eyes? [closed]

I would like to describe the beautiful brown eyes of a character, much like a real-life friend of mine. Are there good techniques for describing eyes? How does one go about describing eyes in writi...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Sobia Ellahi‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Painting ritualistic murder in a "good-guy" light?

My good guys murder people. They slowly carve runes onto them to help defeat the bad guys. Sure they try to use "society's worst" people for the rituals, but realistically that doesn't always happe...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by scohe001‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Write an unnerving, yet likable, character (video game)

OK, I'm not sure if this question is OK for writing SE. But here goes. I'm an indie developer trying to make a story-driven game. I want to make the main character slightly unnerving. Not creepy ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Shadow‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Effectively conveying an unreliable narrator

I have been working on a post-apocalyptic novel for about a year. My female narrator/protagonist, named Eris, was isolated for almost all of her life until meeting a rogue group of survivors and h...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is the character called that is only there so we can have information from the main characters?

If I have a character, typically it is a bad guy, but not always, and you see this in movies a lot, but there is always another character with one of the main characters, so we can have some dialog...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by johnny‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question characters
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Q&A How to balance a character‘s duty versus his conscience

I have a character, a secondary antagonist who is following his sense of duty and pursuing a former asset. Said asset is injured, tired and cornered, seriously considering making a stand and going...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Rasdashan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How best to avoid the appearance of Deus Ex Machina with established character?

My characters are in a difficult situation that can be somewhat relieved by a colleague. MC is wounded, leading secondary protagonist to take a bullet for him. She is gravely injured, MC takes SP ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Rasdashan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question plot characters
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Q&A Is it reasonable to have weary character climb rope to safety? [closed]

My MC, injured (having been shot earlier) is extremely tired after carrying his partner, who took a bullet for him, towards safety. She suspects that the ex-fil location they are heading towards ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Rasdashan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question plot characters
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Q&A How to avoid mentioning the name of a character?

I am writing a short story which features a character known only as Old Man, but there is a part of the story where someone calls the Old Man by his name. Only once, and I was wondering if there wa...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Kalama Xander‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do you create a huge array of characters?

Suppose you are part of a development team working on a fighting game, and you're given the role of creating about 30 or 40 unique characters from many different backgrounds from the ground up. It'...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by noClue‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A When should a supporting character be scrapped?

So I'm wondering if this supporting character, who I use for exposition purposes, can be made more vital in some way. When does a supporting character become necessary for the plot? What criteria d...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user33983‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can I make a character who isn't a jerk seem like one?

I have an MC who, because of certain circumstances, everyone sees him as harsh and cruel at first. As they get to know him through the first few chapters, they eventually see he's nicer than they t...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Kale Slade‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Point of view switching

I want to write a story mainly in third person, occasionally switching to first person. How would I do that most effectively?

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by DMHubble‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Writing a cancer survivor

It is very important that my protagonist is mute. A lot of this character's motivations are informed by - though not entirely focused on - him having suffered laryngeal cancer and recovered due to ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Soren K‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Introducing characters in a screenplay

In one of my scenes, I introduce "GUEST" at a party. Later, each guest is introduced by name. So if I capitalized GUESTS, do I have to capitalize their name later?

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Sylvie‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Ways to make money off trash? [closed]

Besides becoming a garbageman, selling dumpster finds and curb furniture on eBay/Craigslist, or selling metal to scrapyards, what are some ways to make under-the-table money off of trash? Legally ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by CS Jones‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question plot characters
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Q&A Snowflake Method: Step 3 - What is important to a character story line?

I'm attempting to use the Snowflake method to try and get around issues I tend to have with writing. I can pump out words, tons of words; not a problem. But, at the end of the day it's a relatively...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Kirk‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Characters' motivation and feelings on defending against an alien invasion [closed]

I got really good answers to my last question, so I decided to post a new one:) In my novel, a few humans suddenly find themselves tasked with defending humanity against an imminent alien invasion...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Sean Robins‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Do multiple potential love interests dilute tension and diminish drama? [closed]

My MC is focused on his profession; barely giving his personal life a thought. His last serious romantic relationship with a woman was when he was 22. Time for that later, he believes. Retire at 45...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Rasdashan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question characters
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Q&A How to write a corporate character that likes to toy around with his colleagues? [closed]

I want to write a male, corporate working, character who is always cheerful and smiling, no matter whatever the situation he is in. As a result, reading his thoughts or motives is almost impossible...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Mike Chang‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question characters
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Q&A What are some examples of an inciting incident that would force a character to go on a quest or adventure?

I've noticed that my novel is missing a really strong inciting incident and I can't think of anything strong enough to suffice. The only inciting incidents I'm familiar with seeing in nearly every ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Nsim‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to give characters a unique voice

When writing dialogue all the characters sound the same. I'm not sure I even know what giving a character a voice means, but my dialogue sucks so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by pandalarry‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A I'm looking for advice on character development

I'm currently working on a team based story with a lot of characters and am looking for ways to really make their personalities stand out from one another. When I'm writing out their character pro...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by pandalarry‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it bad if I sidetrack to a backstory that’s not really necessary but is interesting?

My story is about two children and one of them dies in the first chapter. I give a four page backstory of how his parents came to the town they are in now, it is unnecessary but very interesting....

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Angel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What would a FtM transman's, who was born in 1990, life be like? [closed]

I am writing a story with a trans character (female to male) set in the 1990's. My main character's parents are supportive from the beginning, but did transpeople have access to hormone injections ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by CA Pichowsky‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question characters realism
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Q&A What, exactly, is a character study?

Critics and writers use the term "character study" a lot, usually to describe works that are especially 'literary' such as The Remains of the Day. Despite its usage, it appears that no one really h...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by William Oliver‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question genre characters
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Q&A Third Person POV: What level of telling is acceptable for character motivation?

The novel I'm writing is third-person limited POV in style. This means that the narration's coverage is limited to what the POV character can observe, think, feel, while others' thoughts, feelings,...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Matthew Dave‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Character motivations facing death?

Would it be boring/unrealistic/silly/cliché if most characters only had this main motivation for most of a story: saving humanity/their country/their familly/themselves. The setting is medieval fa...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Dreamk33‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Would a research team of this size be too small or too big? [closed]

I'm working on a story that revolves around a research team in a remote setting. They would have supplies so they don't have to leave the area they have to research for about a year. So far, I am p...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Scott.Bell‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question research characters