I think the best piece of character design advice I ever received was actually from a band leadership camp I attended in june of 2017.
the speaker there gave lots of advice for leaders—obviously, it was a leadership camp—but his saying about personality flaws struck me as useful for writers too.
he said to us all “your curses are your blessings and your blessings are your curses” and went on to explain how because he was such a great speaker, it made him a terrible listener. he could give speeches for hours on end and inspire thousands of people, but as soon as someone wanted to talk to him one on one or vent to him, he struggled with it.
he had us write down our greatest weakness and relate it to our biggest strength (mine being that I am far too emotional, but I’m gentle with others because I can understand their emotions), and the whole time people are sharing theirs, my mind was running wild with all my characters and their flaws.
previously, I had added flaws as an after thought, as in “this character seems too perfect. how can I make them not-like-that?” but that’s not how people or personalities work. for every human alive, their flaws and their strengths are directly related to each other. you can’t have one without the other.
is your character strong-willed? that can easily turn into stubbornness. is your character compassionate? maybe they give too many chances. are they loyal? then they’ll destroy the world for the people they love.
it works the other way around too: maybe your villain only hates the protagonist’s people because they love their own and just have a twisted sense of how to protect them. maybe your antagonist is arrogant, but they’ll be confident in everything they do.
tl;dr “your curses are your blessings, and your blessings are your curses” there is no such thing as a character flaw, just a strength that has been stretched too far.
Hey everyone, Abby here with another advice post! Today I’m talking about motivations and how to make them unique to each character.
What is character motivation and why is it important?
What motivated you to get out of bed this morning? What’s motivating you to read right now?
Even if it isn’t immediately apparent, everything you do has a motivation behind it, big or small. Maybe you got out of bed this morning to turn your alarm off, or maybe because you have an ultra-important job interview happening today that you can’t be late for.
Character motivation is important because your characters have to have a reason to be doing what they’re doing. Even if it’s just because they feel like it - why do they just feel like it? If your character is going on a journey for literally no reason, there’s no reason for them not to be laying on their bed staring at the ceiling instead. If they’re doing it to rescue someone, to see the world, to pay a debt, they have a reason, and their journey has an understandable purpose.
In essence, motivation answers the age-old question of “why.”
Simple Motivation
Simple character motivation is this: your character wants or needs something, and they are motivated to fulfill that want or need. If they’re hungry, they’re going to eat. If they want they’ll ask someone for a hug or drop hints that they want a hug until someone complies. They’ll do their thing.
A simple character motivation is determined by one will. Your character has a drive to do one thing, and they will do that one thing.
Complex Motivation
Complex motivation is where it gets interesting, where we really see the dimension to your characters. Simple motivation is determined by a will. Complex motivation is determined by a will and at least one counterwill, when your character is pulled in multiple directions and they’re trying to satisfy everything.
Think of it with this situation: Character A’s S.O. cheated on them.
If A’s simple motivation was to be respected, this occurrence would be a sign of disrespect and would more than likely result in them leaving their S.O.
However, if A has a complex motivation, things get complicated. They want to be respected, but they also want to feel loved and supported in a way that perhaps they believe only their S.O. can. Because of these two conflicting interests, what we interpret as a simple decision has a lot more riding on it. Whether or not A decides to leave their S.O., they’re failing to fulfill one of their motivations. A complex motivation like this adds character dimension because we see how A prioritizes what they want in a relationship and what they’re willing to sacrifice or compromise at this level. Whether or not it’s something you as an author (or reader) necessarily agree with, we see depth.
How do we know what motivates our characters?
This question should be one of the first few that you answer when developing each of your characters. What qualities or ideas do they hold to the highest level in everyday life? We’ll stick with the simple motivation of being respected that we used before.
Great! We have a simple motivation. Now: take something your character cares about, and use it to challenge that simple motivation. They want to be respected, and something (that matters to them) makes them feel that they’ve been disrespected. What is their motivation in regard to this thing that happened, and does it challenge their simple motivation?
We see characters at their most engaging when they’re being pulled in what feels like a million different directions, forced to choose between things that matter to them. This is why we so heavily emphasis character motivation.
A while back, I posted a compilation of advice that I’d received from other writers before trying to cut down my 120,000 word YA fantasy manuscript. Six months later, it’s at 100,000 – a far more acceptable number. It was a brutal task, but a necessary one and I’m here to share the key strategies that helped me cut the big chunks:
Cut Characters – Big cast? Remove subplot-only bois and mains who either don’t influence the plot or whose role could be carried out by another.
Cut Scenes – If they don’t directly advance the plot, cut completely. If they serve some purpose, try merging scenes to reduce intro/outro/location content. One long scene is shorter than two short scenes.
Reduce Locations – Within a chapter, visit as few locations as possible to avoid extra descriptions. This is also relevant across the book, as you won’t need to go into detail about a location more than once.
Cut Pre Scene and Post Scene – This can either be by starting the scene later (getting straight to the point) and ending it earlier or condensing the pre and post scene content. As a rule of thumb, a pre-scene should be 500 max.
Have Clear Motivations – If your characters’ motivations are too complex, explaining/showing them will take up too much space. Nuance can grow over time.
Get to the Heart of Your Story – Carrying on from the last point, maybe try writing a pitch and synopsis so that you better understand what’s at the heart of your story, that way you can whittle down anything outside of that with the brutality needed for reducing word count.
Now, go forth and kill your darlings!
Then come back for part 2 where I’ll be talking about the line-level (micro) cuts that really do add up!
After some time off to finish uni and recover, the writing tips are back! I had some requests for this post so whether you’re new to writing or looking to start, here are my top tips.
1. Start a Passion Project
If you’re hung up over your first story getting published, you’ll start to hate it. Your first project should be something you love enough to finish it for you. I honestly recommend fanfiction as it’s a great way to get early feedback and become used to critique, but an own story is just as good as long as you join a critique group.
2. Join a Writing Community
Whether that’s on Instagram, Tumblr, a real-life society, or somewhere else entirely, there are many reasons to join the writer’s community with a platform of your own. It’s the best way to find Critique Partners (CPs), Beta Readers, as well as a wealth of tips that will improve your writing.
3. Explore Planning Methods
You’ll need to use trial and error to decide what works best for you. Try fully outlining, diving straight in, Beat Sheets, Flash Cards, Ten Steps Ahead, or even just making lists of what you want to show. One will work for you, but it’s different for everyone.
4.Write
Write as often as you can. Nothing makes writing stronger than practice. It doesn’t have to be “good” or neat or pretty, but words should go on the page. Don’t let your insecurities keep you from filling that blank page.
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We all know I am a huge plotter – like excel spreadsheet level – but I wasn’t always like this. I’ve used many methods in the past and here are the best ones:
The Big Plot Points
In this method, you simply write out the big points like the catalyst, the midpoint, the climax and any big plot twists in your story. This helps you keep in mind the focus of your story as you write it, without actually plotting.
Baby Steps
More detailed than the Big Plot Points, Baby Steps involves writing all the little plot points down in chronological order. Think of it like a list of directions that get you from the first page to the end of the story. You can stray from the path, but this helps you know exactly where you’re going and what you want to achieve along the way.
Next 10 Steps
This is one I used a lot when writing fanfic in conjunction with the Big Plot Points. Here I would literally plan out the next 10 things that I wanted to happen in the story and treat it as a mini arc. If I’d known more about story structure, I could have done this 4 times and ended up with 4 acts (1, 2a, 2b, and 3). Instead, I did it 6 times and ending up with 170k words… don’t be me.
Save the Cat! Beat Sheet
An industry classic, the 15 beats of Save the Cat! can help you outline all the key moments that shape a story without interfering with panster discovery fun. This method breaks each of the 4 acts mentioned above into bite sized chunks to ensure that all elements of a compelling story are there. I would highly recommend the book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody if you want to learn more about this essential method.
Enjoy Editing
Finally if outlining is not for you, you’ll need to become well acquainted with editing. All drafts take editing, but many pansters will spend more time on this stage than plotters, but then plotters spend more time plotting! There’s nothing wrong with being a complete panster, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you wish to forgo the plotting stage entirely.
As always, hoped this helped!
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Looking to develop your villain further? Trying to build a villain for the first time? Look no further for here is a simple guide to building a fearsome villain for your story. Disclaimer: I’m a fantasy writer, this will be fantasy based.
Step 1: Choose a Motivation
While this can be anything, some common motivations are: Power, Legacy, Revenge, Respect, Protectionism, Hate, Love, Indifference, Drive for Utopia, and Infliction of Pain. Now you might be thinking I can understand why the last one is villainous, but some of the others seem okay! Remember, a villains motivations should be understandable, and their goals can be noble, but it is the means that make them “bad.”
Step 2: Decide if They Really are “Bad”
Despite my previous statement, some villains are just trying to achieve noble goals by noble means. This is actually a really good way to get your audience thinking about your theme if it ties in well. The flipside of this is my personal favourite – make the heroes bad too.
Step 3: Design Their Personality
There are a few traits you’ll want to consider in particular and in the extremes. Make sure to chose the side that your hero will struggle with more. Villains should be handcrafted challengers, designed to ruin your hero.
Intelligence vs Stupidity - A villain who can scheme intricate plots is terrifying, but extreme stupidity leads to recklessness and unpredictability, good for control freak heroes.
Short Temper vs Controlled Emotions - Short tempered villains are a threat to anyone close to them, while those that can control their emotions can be highly manipulative.
Calculated vs Irrational - This again leans into the trade off between the unbeatable factor and the unpredictability factor. Both are equally fearsome.
Charismatic vs Black Seep – Why do their followers believe in them? Is it because they can talk the hind legs off a donkey or was your villain an outcast come to take their revenge.
Don’t underestimate the stupid, short tempered, irrational black sheep. They often have intelligent advisors pulling their strings while their stupidity causes chaos like no other.
Step 4: Ask Yourself Why?
Not just Why did my villain set out on this path? orWhy don’t they see the harm they’re causing? but also Why have I reached the end of a post specifically using ‘they’ pronouns and imagine a white man with black hair and dark eyes? Because many of you will have done just that, particularly for the intelligent, manipulative villain with more power than you could ever imagine. Ask yourself why intelligent, charismatic villains with goals outside of revenge and love need always be a man. Some villains are just heroes who don’t understood the cost of their actions. Ask yourself why they shouldn’t be diverse and stereotypical caricatures.
This post is quite long enough. I reckon I’ll do a part 2 if you guys like it :)
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If you’re familiar with my account, you’ll know I talk a lot about toxic relationships in literature, but what, on the flipside, constitutes a healthy relationship?
Trust- If A says they’re going to hang out with friends, B should not be ‘checking up on them’ or demanding texts while they’re away. Jealousy isn’t cute.
Honesty - But, of course, trust needs to be earned. This is with honesty. Lying to protect someone is still lying and that is not a good foundation for a loving relationship.
Independence - In a healthy relationship, both parties have the freedom to do things on their own. Co-dependent situations, even ones built on love, are not healthy.
Respect- “I won’t let you do that” –> “I respect you and trust your judgement.” Even if A doesn’t like B’s decision, they should have enough respect for one another to discuss the decision until both parties understand one another.
Communication- If you want to discuss decisions you’re going to need good communication. Arguments don’t need to be screamed in a “passionate rage” for things to be said with emotion and heart. Yes people get emotional, but that is not the time to discuss important things.
Equality - Power imbalances can lead to toxicity. If both parties have mutual respect and understanding for one another, this can be avoided, but the 200 year old immortal x the 18 year old girl is a little weird don’t you think? What’s next, 90 year old mortals and 15 year old boy?
Empathy - When arguing, both A and B should be able to empathise with the other. If that means A shelving their agenda so that you can hear B out and then deal with their side later, that’s a healthy approach.
Taking Accountability - Even people in healthy relationships do unhealthy things sometimes. What matters is they take responsibility for it and give meaningful apologies, not grad gifts when they already have a billion dollar trust find.
Comfort-Both A and B should feel comfortable around each other. When they’re reunited after a long day or time apart, they will feel at ease by being around one another, not on edge and fearing an argument.
Fun - Healthy relationships are fun! A&B will have so many in jokes that end in laughing fits. They have things that they love to do together, things that they both love to do. Not A forcing B to watch the notebook on repeat.
So there you have it, 10 things that make a relationship healthy.
Links to my posts on toxic relationships are below:
Worst part about writing for a new fandom is figuring out the characters speech patterns
The best way to do this is to watch part of the show, or all the movie, or some of the book or comic etc. that the character is in with your phone notes function, or pen and paper. You’re going to write down some key wordsand maybe some key phrasesand that’s it. If you like the show / book, rewatching or rereading sections shouldn’t be much of an issue! You can do this with more than one character at the same time, just have a different list for each!
Firstly, not all characters are written consistently dialogue-wise, which can be a winner if you want to be flexible re: what dialogue you’re using.
Think about what you’re hearing/seeing. Think about greetings. How does the character meet people? Do they say ‘hey’ or 'hello’ or 'hi’ or 'what’s up’ or 'greetings’ or smile or just launch into sentences? Likewise, when they leave a conversation, do they just leave?
What are their 'hesitation’ words? Do they say 'um’ or 'ah’ or 'mmm’ or 'hmm’ or 'like’ or 'welllll’. Do they pad their sentences with things like 'I think’ or 'I’ve just realised.’ Do they say 'yeah’ or 'yes’ or 'nah’ or 'no?’
Do they have any common short phrases they use: 'As I was saying’ or 'by and by’ (no one says this) or 'absolutely not.’ How do they (if they do) swear? What words do they prefer? If you’re lucky, the show may give you things like preferred endearments, or how they tend to react when they’re outraged.
Doing these things alone will give you pretty much all you need to make a really good version of that character’s dialogue. Also, for people who have OCs, doing this with what you’ve written so far (or before you even start) will help your character stay consistent.If you want to go deeper, keep reading!
Find one or two styles of sentence, or sentence fragments that feellike the character to you. It could be: 'you speak the truth’ or 'took you long enough’ or 'sure seems that way’ or you’re a bitch.’ It could be: 'Well, frankly darling, I don’t much care either way’ (which tells you a lotabout the character in one sentence) or 'Whoo, lads, we’re hitting the piss tonight!’ or 'H-hi everyone, um, don’t mind me, um…I just have something I wanted to ask you.’
Are they prone to long or short sentences? Do they have lots of pauses and half-sentences or do they speak cleanly in complete sentences? Do they prefer a snappy comeback or are they more reticent and shy? Are they comical or serious? Are they wry? Are they an emotional or cerebral speaker? Are they using their body when they talk, or are they locked in?
Do they swear and are they coarse or vulgar? Or are they very prim and proper? When I was writing Bull and Cullen in Stuck on the Puzzle, it was fun for me to contrast Cullen’s very upright, stiff dialogue against Bull’s vulgar, coarse dialogue.
What is their styleof dialogue? Is it contemporary or old-fashioned? If it’s contemporary, does it have a style? Are they a 40 yo working in an office, vs. a 19 yo at university? What is their age? Where are they from? Does their culture or ethnicity influence their dialogue? When I was writing the Gancanagh, an Irish fae, it was very important to me that he almost never use anyone’s name while referring to them, because this was an aspect of Irish folklore and sometimes dialogue, to say 'this man here’ instead of 'you’ or 'Tom.’
The trick is to then use these things, but not so much your character turns into a caricature. As in - you can add new stuff! Especially if it’s alongside old recognisable statements. You can add other formal speech patterns alongside a formal speaking character.
Anyway, hope that helps! I know not everyone wants to go this deep, or wants to do this, but for people who do want to learn how to do this, this has held me in reallygood stead. Also! Once you start actually just asking yourself these kinds of questions, you won’t always need to actually write stuff down anymore, you’ll start observing anyway when you want to fic something. :D
there’s a constant feeling in nighttime horror of “this is an unnatural, liminal situation you’ve stumbled into. once you make it to the other end, or if everyone were to know the truth, you will be free of it.”
once the sun crests the horizon, however, there’s an unspoken shift in the underlying tone. this aberration of the natural order has come under all scrutiny and it is still there. you continue to cry for normalcy, but the world does not acknowledge what you believe it should be. no amount of truth or time will end this, and in my favourite of executions the very framing and narrative itself doesn’t acknowledge the dissonance.
it all comes back to alienation, in the end. always.
if nighttime horror evokes a sense of isolation through salvation being just out of reach, then daytime horror evokes it through the realization that it never existed to begin with. that the walls and locks were all paper-thin artifice. that this is now tomorrow. forever.
broad daylight in horror is seeing the yawning abyss and knowing there’s nothing to wake up to.
I think about this a lot because I grew up on the high plains.
I maintain that while the forest is terrifying because it’s dark and you don’t where you can be attacked from, the plains are more horrifying. Imagine seeing a creature just coming toward you on the horizon. You never lose sight of the abomination as it comes closer and closer. You know it’s there the whole time. You look around, and there is no where to hide. You can only run until you can’t run anymore.
