Anonymous asks: I have a problem about self-doubting my story and not liking my characters even if the readers like it, I want to love my characters too but I don’t know how.
Personally, the founding pillars of any story, to me, are the characters. They lead the charge of the plot, go through the development that we all look for, and bring the story full circle with dialogue and actions.This isn’t true for everyone, but they’re definitely a vital part of any story. Loving your characters doesn’t need to come naturally, but to get the best grasp of your characters, it does need to happen one way or another. So here’s how you can bring yourself closer to your characters:
1. Fill Our Character Charts and Prompts
I personally love this method, only because I love character creation more than any other part of the writing process. This will help you get not only the basics of your story, but also the minute details that can help build a character from the ground up. Here are a couple of examples of some sheets you can use:
World Anvil – not a strictly character based website, but has character creation charts
Something else that helps that isn’t just data entry is checking out prompt blogs which have a bunch of ideas for you to insert your character into. By actually putting characters in action, you can actually learn a lot from them. Here’s a few that can help you out, although I’m totally missing a lot of them:
Sometimes, if a character just isn’t sitting right with you, then it might be best to cut them entirely and start a new character from scratch. Maybe you’re writing a main character with a cocky personality who you just can’t get along with. Changing that character into, say, someone who’s quieter and then learns confidence over the course of the novel rather than having it at the beginning, might help as well.
Here are some signs that your character should be altered or removed:
– They don’t serve a direct purpose in the story, or are just there to have more characters in general
– Their dialogue struggles to be relevant
– You, as an author and individual, are uncomfortable writing them (i.e. a character who is racist or homophobic and uses language you aren’t comfortable with
– They struggle to stay on their plotted character development, or refuse to grow
– You find that reading through their scenes, you wouldn’t want to read about this character.
3. Look Closely at Your Narrative
Maybe the problem isn’t that the character fails to connect with you, but that the use of that character in your story is hindering them from succeeding. Some characters are great, but struggle to do well because the plot either doesn’t match their personality, or the plot can’t exemplify all the good qualities they have.
If that’s the case, then I would say refer to step two and insert a new character. While it’s fine to delete characters you don’t enjoy writing, be sure not to also cut any character that doesn’t agree with you. Put them to the side for a little while, give them a break for a little while as you focus on plot, and then see if you can find a place for them later
Something I found that makes a scene easier and longer:
Writing the dialogue first.
I never used to do this, but one night it was really late and I was half asleep but I wanted to get some work done. So I decided to just fill in the dialogue I wanted for the scene.
I found myself with close to 1000 words of dialogue. (I obviously tagged who said what, how it was said, etc.)
When I came back to the document, I just filled in the action, the background, descriptions and plot.
I ended up with between 3000-4000 words in one sitting.
Maybe this won’t work for everyone, hell maybe someone else has already pointed this out, but I just wanted to share this writinf tip.
This is exactly how I write. Near verbatim. On average, I’m more comfortable with dialogue so writing it first allows me to use what I enjoy writing best to propel me forward, especially when I get to tough patches. Going back in and putting in action is much easier for me.
I find it kinda odd how people talk about writing “flawed” characters like the flaws are an afterthought
Like “cool cool we’ve got this perfect hero now to just sprinkle on some Irritability and Trust Issues then microwave for 6 minutes on high until Done”
But I’ve personally found it feels a lot more useful to just… think of the flaws as the Good Traits except bad this time
The protagonist is loyal? Maybe that means they have a hard time recognizing toxic relationships and are easily manipulated by those they want to trust
The hero is compassionate? Maybe they work too hard and overextend themselves trying to help people and then they refuse to ask for help when they need it themselves for fear of burdening others
They’re dedicated to their ideals? Maybe they’re also too stubborn to know when to quit and they have trouble apologizing for their mistakes
If they’re creative, they can also be flighty. If they’re confident, they can be arrogant. If they’re brave, they might be reckless. If they’re smart, they could be condescending. Protective can become controlling, and someone who’s carefree could very well also be emotionally distant
In my opinion, the best “flaws” aren’t just added on afterwards. The best flaws are baked in deep, ‘cause they’re really just virtues turned upside down
Fic writers wonder why people don’t review. They honestly can’t understand the silence. Writers assume that readers:
usually have something to add/criticize/say
know how to articulate their own thoughts/feelings
withhold feedback because they’re lazy or apathetic
don’t appreciate how much time/effort/energy goes into writing
On the flip-side, readers assume that:
the writer already knows how ‘good’ their work is
someone else will review because this fic is ‘obviously’ awesome
if a fic is already ‘popular,’ their feedback won’t matter
if they comment, they ‘must’ leave an awesome, insightful, detailed comment that 100% reflects their love for a fic
since words aren’t adequate, it’s better to stfu and just click the kudos button/favotite/bookmark
None of these assumptions are accurate.
The reality is that:
there is no reason for a writer to post their work except to get feedback that validates their vision, helps them improve and/or gives them an outsider perspective/interpretation of their work (which can be absolutely mind-blowing)
like, you can and should write for yourself, but if that’s 100% the case, every good fic would be wasting away in a private word document
‘readers’ are not always ‘writers’
‘writers’ can naturally put their ideas and emotions into words
‘readers’ usually don’t know what to say, which words to use to express themselves, and belittle the importance of their perspective
many ‘readers’ don’t write, so they can’t empathize with the struggle of writing a fic for a silent but attentive audience
Basically, readers don’t understand writers and vice-versa. Both parties are wired differently. Readers who also write are more likely to review because they empathize with both sides of the equation.
The Solution
Writers
Be patient, understanding, and persistent
Appreciate those who do review
Don’t get bitter, discontinue a beloved story, or assume the worst of your readers
Realize that everyone is really trying their best
Readers
Be patient, supportive, honest, and empathetic
Realize that there’s no minimum! Even two words (like ‘good work!’) can have a huge impact
Review Templates
Things to say when you’re tongue-tied:
Verbs
I liked the part where/when…
I wonder why…
I smiled/laughed when…
I was confused when…
I think that…
I predict…
I was sad/happy/angry/[other emotion] when…
Nouns
[character] did/said/felt/will do [this thing]
because… (if applicable)
[insert plot point/event]
Example: I think that [this guy] ran away from [his friend] because he was trying to protect him.
And that’s it. You don’t have to say anything else. One sentence is more than enough, but you’ll notice that once you get started, you’ll have a lot to say- so say it!
Author’s style
Your writing is:
Detailed/descriptive
Vivid
Concise (to the point)
Funny
Serious
Surreal
Unique
Compelling
Provocative
Leaves me wondering about a lot of things, and I’m curious about what happens next
Confused me a little at times (talk about what confused you! The author will be more than happy to clear things up!)
Do’s and Don’ts
Don’t
Worry about grammar/typos in your review
Suggest a direction for the story (most writers know what they’re doing and you just gotta trust them)
Think that clicking the kudos button is all you can do! Your opinion is important!
Tell the author to do more of [this] and less of [that]
Ask them to update without leaving any other feedback
Do
Leave short comments if you can’t think of anything else to say (“I like this” is more than acceptable, seriously)
Inform the author of typos (be specific)- many fics are un-beta’d. The writer will appreciate your attention to detail.
Express your own perspective even if it isn’t ‘correct-’ I think [character] did this because she was jealous, which explains why…
Understand that your unique interpretation of motives/symbolism/foreshadowing/anything is extremely valuable
Be honest, but diplomatic
Bookmark/rec works if you enjoy them, esp to help lesser-known writers
You can copy/paste from this post into your reviews. It’s hard to find the right words sometimes, but for writers, anything is better than silence.
your writing is a skill, not an inborn talent (unless, yeah, maybe it is). not everyone can do what you do and love
everyone says they want to write a book. everyone has what it takes to write a book. not everyone does it anyway. you be the small percentage of success you read about
your writing will always seem brickshit horrible because you wrote and read it a million times
you love this writing thingy. quitting it will be like cutting off your fingers one by one.
someone out there will want to read what you wrote.
someone out there wants to know what is on your mind.
someone out there appreciates your art. they will share it with their friends. they will share it with their loved ones. they will share it with their future self because maybe what you wrote saved them.
if you give up now, you know you will just come back to it again, whether it’s years from now, months, or next week. you love writing, that’s why you planted the seed of thought that you are going to write this book, and whether you come back to it or not, your unwritten stories will come back to you.
“My biggest weakness is coming up with names for characters and places in my story. Naming is usually the last step for me while creating a character or story world and yet I keep going back and forth with them. How can I overcome this block? Titles are the worst. Any advice?”
Author problems: when you have the right idea but the wrong words and you’ve been trying to force them to fit like mismatched puzzle pieces for 16 drafts and counting
I found this little trick the other day, if you need to write something down and don’t feel like opening or creating a document you can open a new tab in your browser and type this in the address bar. Works in most modern browsers.
data:text/html, <html contenteditable>
This will give you a blank page and you can start typing. If you click ctrl + s or cmd + S (Mac) you can save it as a text file on your computer.
Just Sha 