cool and unusual punishment

Writing Tips: Characters (And Ranting) With Chrona

(A/N: So it's midnight and this chapter is about 2000 words and a few opinions longer than I thought it would be. Call me out if I said anything you disagree with, respectfully. You know the drill. To be honest my commenters are pretty good, but hey, you can never be too careful. Night.)  

So if any of you have known me long enough you should know never to expect consistency from me, ever, because I don't know her. Chrona's Corner? Dreamland Lore? Who knows what else?

... ehhh actually no lie I've been thinking about them both but I don't know what character to do next without spoilers since I've effectively given away multiple twists from Amalgama and the big one for Lux (don't worry both books are just RICH with pain and character development though) and Dreamland is... hard to know where to start with. Last time I attempted to worldbuild on the fly people were treated to a 4k ramble about angels weak spots and behaviors and I'm liable to explain basics or interdimensional diplomacy and obscure Evelscan cuisine history with little to no preface.

That said, there is one thing that is relevant to y'all and doesn't spoil any of my books, and that is general writing tips. I always like to say that characters make a story because if your characters suck I'm probably going to hate your book. Even short stories do a lot to establish and build on character, and they're much more concept driven and have a lot less time. Wattpad writers also tend to... write the same character over and over again? There is a lot of focus on concept here because concept sells best but I'd argue character is more important even on here just because you want your readers to keep reading and 

reading a story with a host of bland characters is like ingesting cardboard 

for hours.

So, before I begin, let me just say that the first and most important writing tip is to feel free to ignore writing tips. No one knows your characters like you and a lot of things are very case-for-case. A lot of famous stories and great characters blatantly ignore these principles and as writers, it is our job to put our foot down when we know what's best for our kids. Most things are about a sense of moderation that comes with practice. Given that, these are general enough that I highly doubt most characters shouldn't abide by at least a few of these principles. 

Also I totally have broken these myself so hey we're all learning here.

Dos and Don'ts of Character Building 

(with Chrona)

DO

...work from real life.

The best place to draw ideas from is reality, hands down. People are fascinating and you should absolutely capitalize on this. I'm not just talking people you know (in fact, in the don'ts, I'm going to get to how careful you need to be with 'inserting' characters), although I wouldn't shy away from it- a lot of mannerisms my characters possess come from my friends or I, down to inside jokes or conversations (the "Naval Brigade" of Deja Vu is a shameless ripoff of the unorganized conglomerate my friends had in middle school and a lot of one-liners, especially in the DragonClan trilogy, were filched). 

Often, strangers can be just as interesting as people you know intimately. People who pass you by in liminal spaces or exist for a few minutes before blinking out of your life all have stories and lives of their own. Look for interesting outfits, posture, just watch people and take them in. Furthermore, listening to people talk in general will help your dialogue so much. Normal conversation has a certain flow to it and certain people hang back, step forwards, act different in groups- I could go on. The point is that you will learn a lot from listening and watching people.

Just try not to be a creep about it. We might suffer for our art but I think I speak for everyone when I say I don't want to get punched in the face by a total stranger.