Character death is sad, but it also has huge consequences on your plot that can’t be reversed. Not to mention, depending on your genre, character deaths are often reserved for later in the series as a way of telling the reader that things are getting serious.
So, until that moment, here’s a quick list of things you can do to tug at your readers emotions:
1.- Destruction of an item of value. For this to work you’re going to have to set this up early on, it could be a childhood toy they need to sleep at night, a necklace they swear gives them good luck, and old family trinket or any number of things. The important thing is you show just how important it is to the character, make them happy and excited just to talk about it. Later on your character will feel loss and so will the audience.
2.- Arguing. Two characters with a strong bond arguing can be heartbreaking, even if you know the argument is going to resolve itself eventually, going from cuddles and banter to cold looks and the silent treatment, can easily hurt the audience just as much as the characters.
3.- Betrayal. When well done, it’s worst than character death. When you as a reader fall head over heels in love with a character, only for them to betray the rest, it’s heartbreaking, especially if when you read back the foreshadowing was there. It was so obvious yet you were all so blind! As blind as the other characters. Also, unlike character death, they’re still there, there to taunt you with their mere existence.
4.- Failure. We have probably all felt that emptiness, that feeling as the world crumbles around us, haplessness, when we failed an exam in school or just couldn’t get the house clean in time for that visit. Take that feeling and reflect it into your characters, it doesn’t have to be an exam, it can be anything, a task they’re parents asked them to do and they tried their best, a mission, anything. Just let them fail and feel the world crumble.
5.- Being forced to stay behind. Following from point four, if a character is not good enough they can be left behind, perhaps it comes from a place of love, an attempt to protect them from enemies too strong, yet it still hurts. Perhaps they haven’t failed, perhaps they are left behind for another reason, because they are “too valuable”, or because they’ll be more useful back home. Either way, watching those close to you go of to fight for what you believe in, without you, can be painful.
6.- Finding out something they believed in was a lie. It can be something relatively insignificant, an assumption they never bothered to question. Or something world shattering. Allow me to offer up an example with an unimportant spoiler from my second book (it’s not even out yet but oh well): in this book, while talking about some law, Henry realises his daughter believes he and her mother were married. This is an assumption Itazu made and never questioned. It affects nothing, nothing changes, yet finding out her mother and her father were not the happy married couple she’d always pictured, it’s painful.
This could also be something huge, finding out you’re adopted for example.
7.- History. Oh, history, how depressing it can be. And if you have a fantasy world you have many opportunities to go into this. From slaughters to slavery, finding out how society got to where it is, the base on which it is built. Well, it’s pretty depressing. Obviously be careful how much inspiration you take from real world history and always be respectful and do your research!
8.- Scarring. An injury can be painful, it can be scary. And depending on what caused it, leave you with traumatising memories. Now add to that a physical visible reminder on your skin you can never remove. Well, that can be pretty horrible. Imagine the scar came from a battle the protagonist longs to forget, but can’t because every night before going to sleep they can’t help but glance at their arm where the nasty scars forever lies.
As usual, check out my book, stories I’ve written plus other social medias: here.
This another post I could probably do a part two on someday. Can you think of any books where any of these are done effectively? Do any of these happen in your owns book? Please tell me! I love hearing from you all.
A fight scene should be fast-paced and intense. Unless it’s a final battle with numerous parties, a fight scene that’s too long tends to take away suspense. To speed up your pacing, use active voice to describe movement and don’t overdescribe your characters’ thoughts. Excessive inner monologue will be unrealistic, as people usually have no room to think during intense combats.
2. Character mannerisms
Here’s a point that people often overlook, but is actually super important. Through fight scenes, you should be able to reveal your characters’ contrasting mannerisms and personality. A cunning character would play dirty - fighting less and making use of their opponent’s weakness more. A violent character would aim to kill. A softer one would only target to disarm their enemies, using weakened attacks. A short-minded character would only rely on force and attack without thinking. This will help readers understand your characters more and decide who to root for.
3. Making use of surroundings
Not only the characters, you also need to consider the setting of your fight scene and use it to your advantage. Is it suitable for fighting, or are there dangerous slopes that make it risky? Are there scattered items that can help your characters fight (e.g. nails, shards of glass, ropes, wooden boards, or cutlery)? Is it a public place where people can easily spot the fight and call the authorities, or is it a private spot where they can fight to the death?
4. Description
The main things that you need to describe in a fight scene are :
• Characters involved in the fight
• How they initiate and dodge attacks
• Fighting styles and any weapons used
• The injuries caused
Be careful to not drag out the description for too long, because it slows down the pace.
5. Raise the stakes
By raising the stakes of the fight, your readers will be more invested in it. Just when they think it’s over, introduce another worse conflict that will keep the scene going. Think of your characters’ goals and motivations as well. Maybe if the MC didn’t win, the world would end! Or maybe, one person in the fight is going all-out, while the other is going easy because they used to be close :“D
6. Injuries
Fights are bound to be dirty and resulting in injuries, so don’t let your character walk away unscathed - show the effect of their injuries. For example, someone who had been punched in the jaw has a good chance of passing out, and someone who had been stabbed won’t just remove the knife and walk away without any problem. To portray realistic injuries, research well. I have two posts about writing realistic pain and injuries back in my pink theme, check them out if you need any reference!
7. Drive the plot forward
You don’t write fight scenes only to make your characters look cool - every fight needs to have a purpose and drive the plot forward. Maybe they have to fight to improve their fighting skills or escape from somewhere alive. Maybe they need to defeat the enemy in order to obtain an object or retrieve someone who had been kidnapped. The point is, every single fight scene should bring the characters one step closer (or further :D) to the climax.
For you, decide the details beforehand. The players, the environment, the weapons. Don’t suddenly have a wall in an open field unless someone’s an earthbender.
But also for the characters!
Is your POV character taken by surprise? How did they realise they were in a fight?
Did they see something happening and rush right in? How much did they notice? How experienced are they in a fight? Was there something they couldn’t see?
Did they prepare for this fight? Did they say the stage? Are they seemed to the nines?
The answers will determine to a point how your character is able to reach to what’s happening. And also how much they aren’t reactive but active.
A character who is jumped from behind out of no where is going to be a lot more reactive than a master strategist who set the entire thing up.
A fight scene should be fast-paced and intense. Unless it’s a final battle with numerous parties, a fight scene that’s too long tends to take away suspense. To speed up your pacing, use active voice to describe movement and don’t overdescribe your characters’ thoughts. Excessive inner monologue will be unrealistic, as people usually have no room to think during intense combats.
2. Character mannerisms
Here’s a point that people often overlook, but is actually super important. Through fight scenes, you should be able to reveal your characters’ contrasting mannerisms and personality. A cunning character would play dirty - fighting less and making use of their opponent’s weakness more. A violent character would aim to kill. A softer one would only target to disarm their enemies, using weakened attacks. A short-minded character would only rely on force and attack without thinking. This will help readers understand your characters more and decide who to root for.
3. Making use of surroundings
Not only the characters, you also need to consider the setting of your fight scene and use it to your advantage. Is it suitable for fighting, or are there dangerous slopes that make it risky? Are there scattered items that can help your characters fight (e.g. nails, shards of glass, ropes, wooden boards, or cutlery)? Is it a public place where people can easily spot the fight and call the authorities, or is it a private spot where they can fight to the death?
4. Description
The main things that you need to describe in a fight scene are :
• Characters involved in the fight
• How they initiate and dodge attacks
• Fighting styles and any weapons used
• The injuries caused
Be careful to not drag out the description for too long, because it slows down the pace.
5. Raise the stakes
By raising the stakes of the fight, your readers will be more invested in it. Just when they think it’s over, introduce another worse conflict that will keep the scene going. Think of your characters’ goals and motivations as well. Maybe if the MC didn’t win, the world would end! Or maybe, one person in the fight is going all-out, while the other is going easy because they used to be close :“D
6. Injuries
Fights are bound to be dirty and resulting in injuries, so don’t let your character walk away unscathed - show the effect of their injuries. For example, someone who had been punched in the jaw has a good chance of passing out, and someone who had been stabbed won’t just remove the knife and walk away without any problem. To portray realistic injuries, research well. I have two posts about writing realistic pain and injuries back in my pink theme, check them out if you need any reference!
7. Drive the plot forward
You don’t write fight scenes only to make your characters look cool - every fight needs to have a purpose and drive the plot forward. Maybe they have to fight to improve their fighting skills or escape from somewhere alive. Maybe they need to defeat the enemy in order to obtain an object or retrieve someone who had been kidnapped. The point is, every single fight scene should bring the characters one step closer (or further :D) to the climax.
A fight scene should be fast-paced and intense. Unless it’s a final battle with numerous parties, a fight scene that’s too long tends to take away suspense. To speed up your pacing, use active voice to describe movement and don’t overdescribe your characters’ thoughts. Excessive inner monologue will be unrealistic, as people usually have no room to think during intense combats.
2. Character mannerisms
Here’s a point that people often overlook, but is actually super important. Through fight scenes, you should be able to reveal your characters’ contrasting mannerisms and personality. A cunning character would play dirty - fighting less and making use of their opponent’s weakness more. A violent character would aim to kill. A softer one would only target to disarm their enemies, using weakened attacks. A short-minded character would only rely on force and attack without thinking. This will help readers understand your characters more and decide who to root for.
3. Making use of surroundings
Not only the characters, you also need to consider the setting of your fight scene and use it to your advantage. Is it suitable for fighting, or are there dangerous slopes that make it risky? Are there scattered items that can help your characters fight (e.g. nails, shards of glass, ropes, wooden boards, or cutlery)? Is it a public place where people can easily spot the fight and call the authorities, or is it a private spot where they can fight to the death?
4. Description
The main things that you need to describe in a fight scene are :
• Characters involved in the fight
• How they initiate and dodge attacks
• Fighting styles and any weapons used
• The injuries caused
Be careful to not drag out the description for too long, because it slows down the pace.
5. Raise the stakes
By raising the stakes of the fight, your readers will be more invested in it. Just when they think it’s over, introduce another worse conflict that will keep the scene going. Think of your characters’ goals and motivations as well. Maybe if the MC didn’t win, the world would end! Or maybe, one person in the fight is going all-out, while the other is going easy because they used to be close :“D
6. Injuries
Fights are bound to be dirty and resulting in injuries, so don’t let your character walk away unscathed - show the effect of their injuries. For example, someone who had been punched in the jaw has a good chance of passing out, and someone who had been stabbed won’t just remove the knife and walk away without any problem. To portray realistic injuries, research well.
7. Drive the plot forward
You don’t write fight scenes only to make your characters look cool - every fight needs to have a purpose and drive the plot forward. Maybe they have to fight to improve their fighting skills or escape from somewhere alive. Maybe they need to defeat the enemy in order to obtain an object or retrieve someone who had been kidnapped. The point is, every single fight scene should bring the characters one step closer (or further :D) to the climax.
You’ve seen it in movies. You’ve read it in books. Someone gets tased, their eyes roll back in their head, and then they’re out like a light. Usually for several minutes.
Thing is, that’s not really how tasers or stun guns work.
Lets pull back a bit.
What are tasers and stun guns?
Unfortunately, the terminology surrounding these devices can get a bit screwy, so bear with me. (TLDR below)
“Stun gun" is a very broad term and essentially encompasses any weapon that shocks someone in order to “stun or immobilize” them. This can be anything from the typical self-defense tool, to cattle prods, to even tasers. However most of the time, they are referring to compact stun guns, which fit in the hand.
“Taser” is a actually just a brand name for a company that makes products that stun people. They’re most known for a type of long-range Electronic Control Device (ECD). This is the type of thing you would see a police officer carrying that looks sort of like a gun, although they make ones for civilian use as well [x]. However, since they’re one of the only companies that makes a long-range ECD, it’s not uncommon to simply refer to these types of devices as ‘tasers’. This is despite the fact that the company also make compact stun guns, such as the Taser Bolt [x].
The main ways compact stun guns (which I’ll be referring to as just stun guns from now on) and long-range ECD’s (which I’ll be referring to as tasers from now on) differ are in the range and method of immobilization.
Stun guns require you to be within arm’s distance of the person being shocked, since you need to touch the two conductive prongs directly to their skin to shock them. Tasers, on the other hand, shoot out projectiles connected to the main device by thin, conductive wires. Those projectiles deliver a shock into the subject in a pulse (usually around 5-30 seconds, depending on the model) each time the trigger is pulled. Tasers can also be used just like compact stun guns if the cartridge is removed (especially useful if you’ve already shot it and don’t have a spare cartridge).
Taser projectiles:
When a taser delivers its shock, it causes something called Neuromuscular Incapacitation (NMI). This means that the actual muscles themselves lock up and are incapable of moving for the entire duration of the shock. Stun guns on the other hand, do NOT utilize NMI. They instead rely on “pain compliance”, which is a fancy way of saying that it will hurt so bad, they should really want to stop, but that it doesn’t actually stop the muscles from being able to move.
This can be especially problematic if the subject you are shocking with a stun gun is on heavy drugs, has a neuromuscular disease or pain disorder, or even just has an extremely high pain tolerance. (Or, if you’re writing in any kind of fantasy story, if your character is possessed, being mind controlled, or under a spell.) With a taser, there is no way to “power through the pain”, however it’s possible with a stun gun.
TLDR
Taser:
Brand name, but generally:
Shaped like a gun
Long/medium range (shoots wired projectiles)
Utilizes Neuromuscular Incapacitation (NMI)
Physically locks up the muscles
Stun Gun:
Very broad term, but generally:
Shaped like an electric razor
Extremely short range (direct contact)
Utilizes pain compliance only
Does NOT lock up the muscles
How long do the effects last?
The NMI caused by a taser shock only lasts as long as the pulse. It’s completely possible to get tased and then get up and run off the second the pulse stops.
It’s possible, however, that hitting the ground could cause concussions, abrasions, broken bones, etc that would last for much longer.
There’s also the fact that getting shocked with a taser means you’ll have to get the barbed projectiles removed, which hurts about as much as you’d expect, and could be subject to infection just like any puncture wound.
Will getting tased or shocked with a stun gun render a person unconscious?
No.
At least, not the shock itself.
If the character falls and hits their head while being shocked, they might be rendered unconscious, and if the character has a really low pain tolerance, they might faint from the pain.
HOWEVER, don’t expect it! Don’t make step 3 of your characters’ daring escape plan “tase the guard, and while he’s unconscious, steal his keys.” This happens so often in books an movies and it’s so unrealistic. It’s so few and far between that it will actually happen, especially with a character that has any sort of pain tolerance.
Seriously, I mean people get tased all the time and don’t faint. If you think your dastardly villain’s elite guards are going to faint from something your friendly neighborhood weed dealer got hit with 3 times in a row in the middle of a Denny’s and was fine with, then…your dastardly villain needs new guards.
Taking the bullet out does nothing to help the person, and if your characters are in the field instead of a hospital, may actually cause more harm than good.
Imagine for a moment that you (for reasons unknown to all) decided to turn your sink on wide open, pick up a handgun, and shoot the pipes under your sink.
Maybe it hit the drain pipe, which would be bad, since all the water coming through the faucet is now dribbling out all over the floor. But even worse would be if it hit the water intake pipe, right? In that case, water under high pressure would be spraying everywhere!
Two bad options if you for some reason shoot your sink:
The vascular system of the human body is essentially one big set of pipes. The drain pipe? Those would be veins—under low pressure, but still very bad to leak from. The water intake pipe? Those would be the arteries—under high pressure and VERY dangerous to puncture.
But back to the sink example. Say you shot the pipes and hit the drain pipe (vein). Now there’s water pouring out onto the floor. Your roommate says “Quick! Wrap your hand around the pipe to hold the water in!” (“Put pressure on the wound!”) And you do! Water is still slipping out from under your hand, but it’s leaking a lot less than before! Right now, you COULD find some duct tape (bandages) and secure the pipe further so you don’t have to keep holding it.
Instead, however, you say to your roommate: “Hold on! I’ve got to find the bullet!” You let go of the pipe (stop putting pressure on the wound) to dig around in the cabinet (body) for the bullet. Seconds, maybe even minutes pass, and that pipe is freely gushing out water the whole time.
Finally, you find it! You pry the bullet out of the wood, hold it up to your roommate, and drop it in a little metal dish with a ‘clink’.
“Job well done,” you tell yourself. “We’re out of the woods now.”
Except that, you know, the pipe is still damaged and gushing water out onto the floor, and the bullet wasn’t actually doing anything harmful inside the cabinet. Also, while you were rummaging around for little Houdini, you weren’t putting pressure on the pipe, so that sink (patient) lost a whole lot of water (blood) that it didn’t need to. Can you imagine how much more it would have been if you’d hit the water intake pipe (artery) instead?
I know what you’re thinking. “But in movies—!!” And I know. But here’s the thing: Hollywood? It’s a bouquet of lies. I’m sorry. I really am.
In fact, even that distinctly bullet-shaped thing you usually see pulled out of people in movies may not always be true. Many times the bullet mushrooms out or becomes malformed. Depending on what that bullet ran into (like bone) it might have even broken into a dozen pieces. Try digging those out of your protagonist!
Now sometimes, but not always, doctors WILL remove the bullet (or fragments of bullet). For example, if they’ve already got the patient in surgery, and AFTER they’ve already repaired any veins, arteries, and organs to the best of their ability. Or if the patient doesn’t need surgery (if it didn’t hit anything major and is just lodged in the muscle or fat) but doctors notice that the bullet or fragment is likely to cause damage if left inside the patient.
More often than not, however, the bullet isn’t doing anything actively damaging while inside the patient, or the removal of the bullet would be more dangerous than leaving it where it is. This is why most bullets don’t get removed at all.
This is true if your characters are at a hospital, but ESPECIALLY if this is a field job. If trained physicians with all the tools at their disposal, blood transfusions, and a sterile environment most likely won’t take the bullet out, then Dave McSide-Character should DEFINITELY not be sticking his filthy, 5-straight-chapters-of-parkour fingers or his I-just-stabbed-a-guy-but-I-wiped-the-blood-off-on-my-pants knife inside the protagonist to fish around for some bullet that isn’t even causing harm. The recommended way to deal with a gunshot wound in the field? Pack it with gauze (or yes, even a filthy we’ve-been-on-the-run-for-two-weeks-in-the-same-clothes t-shirt if that’s all you have. Wound infection is a different post) and keep constant pressure on it.
Remember: stopping the leak in the sink is the most important thing. Not rummaging around in the cabinet for the bullet. Taking it out does literally nothing.
Two perfectly realistic reasons why you might have a character take the bullet out:
Now, sometimes, depending on the characters or the world you’re writing in, this might be different. In some instances, you might want to write the lead-scavenger-hunt scene in!
The first reason is if they just don’t know
And that’s really important when writing realistically. Not everyone is a professional in emergency wound care. Most people get all their knowledge of emergency medicine from Grey’s Anatomy and House M.D.
If your character has any medical training? Probably don’t do it
If your character has any military or police training? Some know, some don’t, so writing it either way is believable. It’s a toss-up, but they DO have more experience with gunshot wounds (either personally, witnessed, or in training videos and word of mouth)
If your character is a 17-year-old art student who saw blood for the very first time two chapters ago? Well now that character might just try digging for the bullet
And hey, maybe they’re like “I’m gonna get the bullet out!” but another character (the one who was shot, another character in the room, maybe even a 911 operator) steps in and says “No, no, no! Just put pressure on it!”
But regardless, injured characters in movies are always suddenly on the mend after the bullet is taken out. The vitals start to rise, they aren’t gasping for breath, their hand closes firmly around the love-interest’s hand, etc. And this doesn’t happen. Regardless of what your characterdoes, the rules of biology are still in play.
In the end, though, that bullet’s just minding its own business in there. The #1 priority is fixing the damage it caused on the way in.
The second reason is if the bullet is special
This is more for the SciFi/Fantasy writers.
If your character is a werewolf and was just shot by a silver bullet which is stopping their healing process and is slowly killing them? Yeah, take it out
If the bullet is actually some sort of tiny robot designed to burrow into their organs one by one? Yeah, take it out.
If the bullet had a spell or curse placed on it? Yeah, take it out.
If they need to get transported up to the med bay, but the bullet would cause some kind of issue with the transporters? Yeah, take it out.
But in all of these examples, the bullet has to be inherently dangerous. For normal humans with normal bullets, its just a hunk of lead.
Hope this helped some of you action writers out there!
Good luck and good writing!
Disclaimer: In the event that you or someone you know has been shot, the best thing to do for them is call for an ambulance and follow the instructions provided by the operator. This post is intended to give accurate writing advice to authors and script writers, but I am not a medical professional. While I do believe that the research that I’ve done on this topic is factually accurate, it should not be taken as actual medical advice.
A lot of writers will create an outline at the start of writing their first draft, then actually begin writing their story and realize that the outline is all wrong and the real story just isn’t going to end up where the outline intended it to be. This can cause a sort of panic and reversion to pansting your entire novel, which is generally not a good idea (especially if you are the type who does make an outline at the beginning because then I assume you are at least somewhat a plotter).
One great way to minimize the shock effects of straying away from your outline is to create a reusable document that plans each scene when you write it. Often, these documents contain which characters are in the scene, what will occur in the scene on a surface level, and how that will move forward plot, side-plot, character development, or the theme of the story.
When you finish writing that scene, keep the template and just fill in the blanks with the new characters, plots, side-plots, etc. that are relevant to the current scene you’re writing.
This way, you can follow a sort of outline based on your initial plan, but you don’t have to follow that rigid structure that doesn’t even apply anymore. Instead, you take it day-by-day, making sure to focus on what you’re writing in the here-and-now and how that can still connect with the bigger picture of your story down the road.
I have a minor writing pet peeve, and it’s when people try to cram too many sentiments into one sentence. It’s like the writer thinks of a cool way to describe an action, and then another one, and puts them both in the story. I think it’s supposed to be kind of a having your cake and eating it too, but instead each description just detracts from the other, making the whole thing weaker.
Examples:
“I’d risk breaking the silence and screwing everything up by talking” (‘risking’ breaking silence implies something will go wrong; that’s the same thing as the second part of the sentence)
“She screamed like she was a banshee or a mourner at a king’s funeral” (well, is it like a banshee, or a mourner? Pick one)
“They were a pariah and an outcast” (these are basically the same word and using two different words makes the whole sentence more vague. Pick the one with the best connotations to communicate your idea and move on)
There are cases where the format of multiple descriptors to a thing works, of course, because this is a case-by-case basis, but when you’re editing make sure you go through and delete stuff that feels extraneous.
A lot of people shy away from marketing their writing because they want to be seen as humble, or because they want their art to succeed on its own merit, go viral without advertising. But that’s looking at things the wrong way. Your writing can’t go viral if you nobody knows about it. I’d suggest reframing marketing yourself like this: you’re not being pompous, you’re not infringing on people. This is something really exciting that you made and presumably love, if you’re putting it out there. Shout from the rooftops that you made something and you put a lot of work into it and you had fun! Being overly self-critical is out, enthusiastic love of your shit and telling people they should read it is IN
do NaNoWriMo! It’s really fun and it’s a way to get yourself writing consistently every day. Plus Nano offers you the ability to pick a region and meet up with other writers in that region! It’s really fun, and I’ve made a lot of friends just by going to local write-ins or virtual write-ins.
It’s a good idea to read books about writing, but I would caution against reading them as though they’re gospel. Always look at the advice of another writer with a critical eye and know that you don’t have to follow it. You should have your own writing experience. It *will* be different from other people’s. You’re not wrong for having different opinions.
“Write what you know” isn’t an excuse to only write what you’re comfortable with. It’s an invitation to learn about different things so you can write more diversely.
Being “in the zone” is important for writing. It’s part of what makes writing so much fun, after all! But in the end, you should also try to write even when you aren’t “feeling it.” Waiting until you have the motivation to write can be devastating. Sometimes you just have to go. And sometimes, what started out as a really crappy writing day can turn into a really good writing day if you can just get yourself started! Just keep writing.
A good way to get better at certain aspects of writing is to expose yourself to something similar in real life.
Having trouble writing dialogue? Listen to podcasts or read transcripts of them. It’ll help you learn the cadences of different people and how to recreate those cadences in writing.
Having trouble writing action sequences? Watch some live fighting with a commentator, or try out a martial art if you have the time/money. Knowing the moves and how professionals describe them will help you picture that stuff more clearly.
Trouble with describing things clearly and concisely? Read those image descriptions online, or try and write some yourself! Think about how you’d describe something to a friend, if you had to do it from memory, and copy that down. Look at landmarks in real life. How would you describe them?
Trouble with character creation and development? Go out and meet new people! Or try some introspection. Think about who you are and why you are that way, and you may find a lot of inspiration!
Write a story where the main characters fuck up. Like, they let someone die because they were scared, or they reject a possible romantic interest out of snobbery and/or belief that nobody would have interest in them. Let your characters burn bridges, and let their mistakes have consequences. Some things are unforgivable, and it’s okay to have your main characters do these things. Everybody’s done something they regret. It’s hard (for me, personally) to do this because I love my characters so much, and I want them to succeed all the time, but it’s not realistic, and more importantly, it doesn’t make for as interesting as a story.
If you’re writing multiple stories at once, it’s a good idea to make files for them, especially if you have written rules for magic/technology/characters. They don’t have to be fancy– I keep my files spare folders– but it’s a good place to keep all your thoughts organized, especially if you’re not familiar enough with your world/characters to write them from memory.
Something that’s helped me a lot when writing/designing characters is to make associations with them. Usually I pick an animal, a season, or an abstract concept to define them, and I keep metaphors and similes relating to that character within those categories. It adds a nice bit of symbolism, plus it gives the story more of a mythical feeling. It also lends more weight to interactions. If character x is the moon, and character y is the sun, then their interactions are suddenly more meaningful, especially if they have a relationship that is like that of the sun and moon in mythology or astronomy.
Don’t talk down about your writing! Writing takes a lot of effort, time, and thought, just like any art form, so if you created a piece of writing, be proud of it!
