writing for dummies

characters [4]

oh boy.

writing characters is complicated. humans in general are complicated. you know how there's really small, stupid stuff that you hate? well your characters need stuff like that too. you know how there's really small, stupid stuff that you love? your character will also need stuff like that.

i think the hardest part about writing a story is keeping the characters the same throughout. i know i've gone through several fazes of writing, and all of them have drastic differences. go ahead and look at suicidal maniacs. it was one of my experimental fics. everything was just me testing the waters and finding my own writing style.

you can see me change my characters' personalities all throughout that fanfic. i will admit that is the worst piece i have up. it also happens to be the one that blew up the most. funny how the universe works, huh?

back to the point.

your characters will all be unique. some may love seeing dogs with hats but hate the word "lettuce." some may hate the color purple and love doing art. set things in your head about your characters' likes and dislikes and you'll be set to go.

let's also talk about embarrassing them. you will receive hate for this. if they're not a "bad b" 24/7 then people will criticize you for it. but just ignore that. being embarrassed from time to time means your HUMAN.

if your character cracks a joke and nobody in the made up room laughs, it means they're HUMAN. if your character trips over something out in public, it means they're... you guessed it, HUMAN.

humans are the most embarrassing species on the planet. and,if i'm being honest here, embarrassing your character just adds a little—what's the word? ah, yes— ✨sparkle✨ to you work. don't be basic. go down the route of making your character human. regardless of what the people reading your story might say about it.

everybody will see flaws with your characters one way or another. and that's the way it should be. if your character doesn't have a flaw, you're doing something wrong.

but remember that you can't please everybody. there will be those party poopers who absolutely just shit on your work. and that's okay. if they're giving you advice, just keep it in mind for next time. but don't let that be the reason you gave up writing.

and if they gave you no advice... they've probably never written anything in their life. it's always the people who have nothing up that have the most to say.

recap of this "chapter": give your characters flaws and make them seem human...

unless they're not human. in which case, it's free ball game.

ONE MOR THING. ONE MORE THING

do not use stereotypes/archetypes. one or two sprinkled into the mixture is fine. but every single thing? yeah, no. think outside of the box. m'kay?

from: your favorite author ;)