Skarr
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Writing Tips
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June 10, 2012
1:15:55 PM
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I found this while roaming around the interwebs. I know it's long and looks like a wall of text, but it should really be read. It makes a butt-ton of sense. EDIT: I changed the title because I intend to find more little character development tips in here.  - OOC:
- 5 Ways a Character can Fail
By Droemar
1. They don’t have flaws. Flaws are the first thing that should be explored in character, at least after the first flashes of inspiration have passed and you start moving into more concrete turf. People say Mary Sues are defined by lack of flaws; the flip side insists that giving your character “issues” won’t make a character any less of a Mary Sue. Now, my definition of a Mary Sue doesn’t involve flaws or the lack thereof; a Mary Sue, to me, is defined by the disproportionate amount of attention given to a Sue by the plot and the priorities of other characters. So, yes, it possible for a Mary Sue to have legit flaws and still be a Mary Sue. However, the difference between “issues” and a character flaw is what role they play in the character’s development. If a character is a cutter, and constantly whines about their lousy, black-shadowed lives, and that’s all they do: that is a character with issues. If a character is a whiny cutter whose self-hatred drives them to find a better way and moves them to grow and change: that is a character flaw. The flaw is self-hatred, not the cutting. Flaws cut down their bearers or are overcome by them; the middle ground is flaws make the character suffer repercussions. If our cutter sits around telling people they cut because they hate themselves, and every single person around them goes “You poor thing, have some chocolate”, that is not what you want. If someone is a jerkasshole because they hate themselves, and someone justifiably smacks them around or tells them to shut the hell up, the jerkasshole has suffered repercussions for his self-pity. Characters worth knowing and rooting for are not victims; i.e., not people who sulk and feel sorry for themselves; remember that the hero element of any character is watching them strive for something better. If any of you have been following my Kit Farson stuff, one of Kit’s big flaws is fear. He’s afraid of everything, especially other people, and he’s either shy and anti-social because of it, or angry to cover up his fear. Kit struggles to overcome his fear and do the right thing, but his fear earns him repercussions: he’s bullied because he’s shy, he gets in fights because he gets angry, and he’s very often left all alone because he’s anti-social. This flaw keeps Kit from things he might really desire in his heart of hearts, like respect and true friendship, but he is actively trying to get past his flaw in order to get those things.
2. They are narcissists. This is a big one, especially here on DA. I suspect it has to do with so many folks here on DA being teens or tweens, learning for the first time that you are not the center of the universe, not as special as you thought, and that being a good person sometimes means you have to put other people first (don’t worry, some people never figure that last one out.) I certainly had characters when I was that age that were free of societal cages; they could insult people, and walk all over authority figures, and they were empowered like I wasn’t. But, of course, to the rest of us, this kind of behavior comes across the same as when you see a spoiled teenager. This gets worse when you have characters with things like a prophecy and hero designation and “speshul” markers like telepathic wolf companions and such. When you combine “speshul” with jerk, we grind our teeth. None of us our special, and if we do become special, it’s rarely because of providence. Lots of characters fail because they are jerks inside and out; we don’t want to get to know them. They demand the world be a certain way instead of shouldering the burden to change it themselves; they push others out of the way to further their own goals instead of extending a hand; and are very often cruelly insulting while demanding respect and empathy. If your character is anti-social and crazy, they better get their asses roundly kicked at some point (unless they’re a catalyst, and then you’d better A) know what that is and B) not have them as a protagonist.) And take the time to at least balance them out with endearing traits only the reader can see. Moral absolutism is another aspect of narcissism, when the character equates their point of view with “right”. This happens a lot with Mary Sues, and can really get scary as hell. As Billy Joel said “The only people I fear are those who never have doubts.” Show me someone who is so right they’re willing to kill over it, and I’ll show you a dictator-in-the-making.
3. They never learn. This is a favorite of people who create the “Screw the rules!” characters. The crazy people who do whatever they want, live by their own rules, and aren’t bound by petty things like “empathy” and “responsibility”. You’re supposed to feel sorry for them if they do suffer a setback, like getting punched in the face for being outrageous, but don’t ask them to change. They are who they are, man! While there is a strange reinforcement of Heroic Sociopathy, I guess because people like the idea of not ever having to compromise, it really gets annoying when their vantage point is portrayed as justified. And when you combine this with the “crazy for the sake of being crazy” motivation, it’s god-awful. And way more popular than it should be. If you have ever roleplayed, I guarantee you have encountered this character type before. If you’re roleplaying to explore character and growth, and you’re playing this kind of character: stop. This type of character is called a catalyst in writing, a character that forces change out of other characters, but never changes themselves. While this is a legitimate force to have in storytelling, I really hate seeing people insist that their never-do-anything-wrong character is really a deep and nuanced protagonist, someone who has to change. How can they change if they’re never aware of doing anything wrong? If they don’t care that they have? If they react to repercussions by delivering one of their own that’s ten times worse? A character that never learns is never wrong, and never changes. It’s that simple. The character who insists they’re doing right and doesn’t care who gets hurt: that’s a villain.
4. The author is afraid to humble the character. This happens a lot whenever Mary Sues are around, or at least it’s a sure sign that a character has something like Plot Armor or an Author Tract protecting it. The character never fails in their endeavors, never doubts, never fears, and most importantly, is never rebuffed, set back, or punished by external forces. Now, a Mary Sue will simply tromp right through such things, but many authors will have the character quietly dodge the obstacle or never have the character confront it at all, and still claim that their character really went through something life-changing. It’s having cake and eating it, too, without the satisfaction of sacrifice on the characters part. Rather like Bella Swan never having to confront the dark side of vampirism: she’s never forbidden from it by her father, her new state doesn’t alienate her from her family, nothing is said about her setting herself up to watch her Mom and Pop shrivel and die, and definitely no one ever says anything about the werewolf child-grooming her kid. Repercussions are a huge part of character growth, but the instinct of most young writers is to shy away from it. (And I know why, because most are still teens living at home, dealing with the frustration of having your own ideas without the freedom to act on them. So you write about characters who can go where you can’t and don’t have to deal with the frustration you do.) Especially if you are roleplaying in order to explore character: if you are not doing this, you’re missing the point.
5. All their change happened before the story. This one was actually pointed out to me by an old roleplay buddy of mine while we were discussing character. How many character profiles have you read or seen where so-and-so is an assassin, who suffered years of Training From Hell, and killed a dragon, and lost his one true love, and got really bitter and anti-social about it. But they’re the main character in a story that mysteriously, somehow, can’t be written. It never seems to occur to folks that that character’s past would be a novel in its own right. Not only that, it seems to be the habit to just put stuff into a backstory for the hell of it. “And then, I beat a whole bunch of pirates!” “What do pirates have to do with our story? We’re in the middle of the Old West.” “Cause … cause killing pirates is cool.” Character can start with a simple concept, but don’t get so dazzled by it that you forget the journey. Most stories are about watching characters suffer; a favorite saying among my writing friends is “I’d never want to read about anyone who wasn’t at the end of their rope.” If you have a demure smug jerkass whose totally awesome at fighting and kills stuff all the time and goes home to sleep with his true lurve-4ever girlfriend … that’s not a hero I’m interested in. And don’t think having him go home and cry about all the people he killed makes him “deep”; it doesn’t. Character is nuance, and a lot of that nuance is in the journey.
SL|CoT:A|PC/'2LT Skarr/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [CDS] [ES2] [IH] [RoT] {RES} (VT) (ECA) (WtR) (3.1) (1.1) (1.2) (A5) (AS-2) TRN/AC Vexus/Lopen/VEDJ (WoS1) "May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton "A leader leads by example not by force." Sun Tzu, The Art of War   
[This message has been edited by
Skarr
(edited June 10, 2012
1:24:01 PM)]
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Skarr
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 10, 2012
1:26:12 PM
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This is another cool thing. Might want to use it if you want your character to go far. Obviously some things won't be used by us. But if you have anything else you're writing, this might come in handy.
Character Sketch Reference:
ORIGINS & FAMILY:
Name:
Nickname:
Reason for name:
Birthday:
Age:
Gender:
Place of birth:
Places lived since:
Parents’ names, backgrounds, occupations:
Number of siblings:
Relationship with family (close? estranged?):
Happiest memory:
Childhood trauma:
Children of his/her own?:
If so, relationship with their mother/father?:
Age he/she gave birth/became a father:
PHYSICAL
Height:
Weight:
Build:
Nationality:
Disabilities (physical or mental, including mental illnesses):
Complexion (freckles, acne, skin tone, birth marks):
Face shape:
Distinguishing facial features:
Hair color:
Usual hair style:
Eye color:
Glasses? Contacts?:
Style of dress/typical outfit(s):
Typical style of shoes:
Health (is this person usually sick? or very resilient?):
Grooming (does she/he wear makeup? shower daily? wear only clean clothes? pluck her eyebrows?):
Jewelry? Tattoos? Piercings?:
Accent?:
Unique mannerisms/physical habits (bites nails, talks with hands, taps feet when restless):
Athletic?:
INTELLECT
Level of education (high school drop out, undergrad BA/BS, PhD, MD, etc.):
Level of self esteem:
Gifts/talents:
Shortcomings:
Style of speech (loud, mumbler, articulate, etc.):
“Left brain” or “right brain” thinker?:
Artistic?:
Mathematical?:
Makes decisions based mostly on emotions, or on logic?:
Neuroses:
Life philosophy:
Religious stance:
Cautious or daring?:
Most sensitive about/vulnerable to:
Optimist or pessimist?:
Extrovert or introvert?:
Level of comfort with technology:
RELATIONSHIPS
Current marital/relationship status:
Sexual orientation:
Past relationships:
Primary reason for being broken up with:
Primary reasons for breaking up with people:
Level of sexual experience:
Story of first kiss (if any—if not, how does he/she want it to happen?):
Story of loss of virginity (if any—if not, how does he/she want it to happen, if at all?):
A social person? (popular, loner, some close friends, makes friends and then quickly drops them):
Most comfortable around (person):
Oldest friend:
How does he/she think others perceive him/her?:
How do others actually perceive him/her?:
VOCATION
Profession:
Past occupations:
Passions:
Attitude towards current job:
Attitude towards current coworkers, bosses, employees:
Salary:
SECRETS
(Every character—no matter how minor—should always have secrets!)
Phobias:
Life goals:
Dreams:
Greatest fears:
Most ashamed of:
Most embarrassing thing ever to happen to him/her:
Compulsions:
Obsessions:
Secret hobbies:
Secret skills:
Past sexual transgressions:
Crimes committed (and was he/she caught? charged?):
What he/she most wants to change about his/her current life:
What he/she most wants to change about his/her physical appearance:
DETAILS/QUIRKS
Daily routine:
Night owl or early bird?:
Light or heavy sleeper?:
Favorite food:
Least favorite food:
Favorite book:
Least favorite book:
Favorite movie:
Least favorite movie:
Favorite song:
Least favorite song:
Coffee or tea?:
Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?:
Type of car he/she drives (or wishes he/she drove):
Lefty or righty?:
Favorite color:
Cusser?:
Smoker? Drinker? Drug user?:
Biggest regret:
Pets?: SL|CoT:A|PC/'2LT Skarr/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [CDS] [ES2] [IH] [RoT] {RES} (VT) (ECA) (WtR) (3.1) (1.1) (1.2) (A5) (AS-2) TRN/AC Vexus/Lopen/VEDJ (WoS1) "May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton "A leader leads by example not by force." Sun Tzu, The Art of War |
Dusk
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 10, 2012
5:46:59 PM
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Wow, thank you Skarr. That actually helped quite a bit. I plan on using that form thing quite a lot. Jacen "Dusk" Arture
"We're not retreating, we're advancing in a different direction."
~Xephos
Smile!!! Tomorrow will be worse.
TRP/PFC Dusk/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
[DT][RAWR][ECA][QW 12][CEC][AS-1]
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Skarr
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 10, 2012
5:48:00 PM
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No problem, I'll try and throw up more as I find them. SL|CoT:A|PC/'2LT Skarr/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [CDS] [ES2] [IH] [RoT] {RES} (VT) (ECA) (WtR) (3.1) (1.1) (1.2) (A5) (AS-2) TRN/AC Vexus/Lopen/VEDJ (WoS1) "May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't" General George Patton "A leader leads by example not by force." Sun Tzu, The Art of War |
Jegora
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 10, 2012
8:11:54 PM
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If you're interested in finding more useful hints and tips, I suggest that you go here. Cheers. Jegora Fal
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Dark Lord of the SithPRF | BGN Jegora | Fort Sexton | Tadath | STC | VEA | VE
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DLoS | SN Jegora | Eagle | Sith | VEDJ | VE [KC:1]
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razorsedge
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 10, 2012
11:06:31 PM
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This is awesome as is the ^ above post. I stole the entire character development template. TRP/LCP TRP/PVT TRP/LCP razorsedge/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VEAwards: {MRT}Completed Primaries: [3.1][4.1][6.1]Completed Ancillaries: [A7] |
Trykon
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 19, 2012
10:20:53 PM
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From a friend who works at PIXAR:  SCAP /LTJG Wyl Trykon/SMC Surprise/TF:B /1Flt /FC /VEN /VE CNT /LTJG Wyl "Trick" Trykon /PLF Cappadocious/VENA /VEN /VE [SoA][SoV][BWC][NSM][E][NAR][HNS][DSM][SWC][1NS][VC:B][LoM][VC:S][NC][GWC]/(=*AE* =)(=*SAE* =)(=*TG* =)(=*SCFE* =)TRN/AD Trykon/DJO/VEDJ |
Heliwer117
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 20, 2012
10:57:24 AM
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I might just do that second one for fun. Could help round out Heliwer and give me ideas TRP/SSG Heliwer/2SQD/1PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE
[ES1][EW1][PT][ECA] [A5] [QW12]
"Any problem on Earth can be solved with the careful application of high explosives. The trick is not to be around when they go off." - Valkyrie |
ShanneTwoo
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RE: Writing Tips
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June 23, 2012
1:45:25 AM
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A good question one of my friends asked me when I was telling her about Terre was "Who does she blame for her faults?" I thought I'd throw that up there.  --Shanne
TRP/PSC ShanneTwoo/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
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Sniping101
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RE: Writing Tips
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July 4, 2012
9:42:27 PM
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It's askable, but part of the fun is also characters who don't acknowledge their faults or really know they're there. If a character knows they're deficient why wouldn't they just overcome it is a better question. Why they think they can't or shouldn't. {Comnet Hermit}-=Wraith PRIDE=- - Former Member - 3 years. VE Smoker Association The few, The proud, The CrAZy RAIDERS. ---------------------------------------------- TRP/FSG Sniping101/3SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE[LoR][IH][BoA][CDSx2][CoR][ES1][EW1][CoS][GS][GRP][RoT][SCA][MRT] -So Very Retired- Author/JRN Snipeth/Lotaith/VET/VE -Disbanded- King/Pirate Lord Sniping101/Throne/The Osk Company/Osk 91 ---------------------------------------------- Any problem that can be solved by abstinence can also be solved by excess
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ShanneTwoo
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RE: Writing Tips
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July 13, 2012
3:10:08 AM
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In my bio, when I answered my friend's question, I said she blamed Thrawn, "though she knows she could change things if she really wanted to." Terre knows that the only reason she keeps her fears, her xenophobia, her distrust around is because she likes having them there. Because she's been bitter for so long, her faults are like old friends. They make her who she is, and she doesn't want to lose that. She doesn't want to go through the process of rediscovering herself. She has adopted an "I am who I am" attitude, as well as a "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger" outlook on life, both of which can be downfalls. She presents herself as a confident, perhaps self-important, conceited person, but inside, she's scared. She's almost afraid of herself. ...No, not of herself, but of what she knows she's capable of. --Shanne
TRP/PSC ShanneTwoo/1SQD/1PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
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Trykon
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RE: Writing Tips
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July 20, 2012
4:38:58 AM
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I get emails every now and again from Holly Lisle, and this came today: Quote:When a book you adore by a writer you admire hits bestseller lists,
makes insane amounts of money, and skyrockets your favorite into
writing's "A" list of superstars, it's pretty easy to be gracious.
After all, you can understand how and why this amazing success
happened. The book and the writer both deserved the acclaim.
When a writer you know personally---and have known since the two of
you were writing bad Buffy The Vampire Slayer fanfic together---has
a sudden streak of success, digging deep into yourself and finding
grace and genuine happiness for your colleague can be tougher. Too
many writers smile through the pain of "It should have been me."
But when an absolutely dreadful book goes interstellar, you may be
tempted to scream to the heavens, "What in the blood-sucking Mary
Sue universe were you THINKING, Generic Non-Religiously-Affiliated
Patron Saint Of Writers?"
Where, after all, is the justice in running into heaps of such
agonizing tripe in every supermarket and gas station you
frequent---never mind the mountains of it you have to climb over in
bookstores in order to get to the good stuff.
Envy can be tempting.
You may want to think, "If her, why not me? I'm a better writer
than she is. My geriatric GERBIL is a better writer than she is,
and all he does with paper is chew it up and poop on it. I've been
writing for years. I have the scads of rejection slips, the near
misses, the almosts...I've EARNED what she fell into."
You have to let this go.
A writer I used to know kept score, poring over publishing industry
info, reading bestsellers just to scream about how much they
sucked, checking sales figures, advances, and anything else she
could get her hands on to see if the books that weren't as good as
hers were making more money, selling more copies, or making their
authors more famous.
The amount of time she spent doing this, and the
foaming-at-the-mouth intensity with which she kept at it, came to
be a lot like watching someone I cared about pour gasoline all over
herself, then fumble around trying to find a match.
All of that crazy-making activity was time she could have spent
writing. Time she could have spent being happy.
I could never convince her to let it go.
In the hopes I'll have better luck convincing you, I'm going to
give you my top three reasons for NOT comparing yourself to other
writers, your books to their books, or your careers to their
careers.
Here, then, why you don't ever want to envy anyone:
1) Envy is blinding.
Yes, the writer of self-centered, whining, thumb-sucking,
angst-ridden teenagers with undead fetishes sells a helluva lotta
books.
Guess who buys them.
Self-centered, whining, thumb-sucking, angst-ridden teenagers with
undead fetishes.
How would you like to go to a convention and meet five thousand of
your biggest fans, only to discover that they terrify you...or that
you can't stand them.
Books draw the readers they deserve. Think about that.
I've met a lot of my fans. They kick ass. They're smart and
funny, they're opinionated and well-read, they actually think...and
if I don't have one hundred million of them, I'm ALSO not afraid to
ride in an elevator with them.
The world is not as full of people like MY readers as it is
self-absorbed pity magnets. You might have noticed.
=====
So POINT TO PONDER #1 is this:
Would I be happy having my name on Betty Author's horrible
bestseller, and would I be happy if her fans were my fans?
Or would I rather reach the people who care about the same things I
do, with stories that matter to me?
=====
2) Envy is a waste of energy.
Back to the writer who kept score. Who knew the names of the
editors of the writers whose books she hated, knew what those
editors had paid, knew who their agents were, dissected their books
to try to understand why those books sold more copies than her
books...
All that research and comparing took enormous time and effort and
focus---all of which could have been spent on doing what she loved
rather than on being furious at people who were doing what THEY
loved.
(At least I hope they were. Even the authors of terrible books
should be happy writing them.)
She was not alone in her mania for hating writers who succeeded
beyond what she defined as her success.
Think of all the scathing reviews you've read by people envious of
the success of such stars as J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Dean
Koontz, Danielle Steel. To what end? The reviewers prove
themselves petty and petulant, while the writers they hate just
keep writing.
Don't waste a minute of your life saying awful things about
strangers who are doing something creative that they love. If you
want to read a better book than what they wrote, then dammit, WRITE
a better book.
=====
So POINT TO PONDER #2 is:
If I knew exactly how long I had to live, and it wasn't very long,
would I be wasting my time being angry at someone else's success?
Or would I be working to create my own?
=====
Moment of truth---you DON'T know how long you have to live...but if
you're a mortal like the rest of us, it isn't very long.
Half an our ago, I was sixteen. Now I'm fifty. I blinked, and
half my life (if I'm really lucky and way outside the actuarial
tables) is gone. But I haven't wasted a minute of it.
3) Envy is self-destructive.
Life is too short. You only get this one, and if you spend it
finding ways to make yourself sad, or angry, or to fill yourself
full of hatred for other people, or full of self-loathing, you're throwing
your life away.
Why should you care who else succeeds? It isn't as if there's some
sort of success-and-failure slider that pushes you down when
someone else goes up.
You succeed when you decide what you want to do with your life, and
then you do it. Whether you're a huge success in anyone else's
eyes is irrelevant.
It is entirely possible for every person on this planet to be a success.
It won't happen, but it IS possible.
Learn to define success by what you want, and then to live by your
own definition.
If you're doing what you love, AND if you're happy doing it, no one
else's success affects you at all.
=====
POINT TO PONDER #3, then, is:
If success isn't what I have, but what I do, and if I can do
anything I want with my life, how am I going to define my own
success? What do I want my life to be?
=====
Your life is YOURS. No one else's. EVER. Envy takes your life
away from you and gives it to the people and things that matter
least to you.
Don't let it.
Live with joy, write with joy,
Holly
I dug it, so I thought I'd share. Even if it isn't super-applicable, it was also a good excuse to plug her website, which is pretty awesome-ly full of free writing tips. SCAP /LT Wyl Trykon/VSD Brilliant/TF:B /1Flt /FC /VEN /VE CNT /LT Wyl "Trick" Trykon /PLF Cappadocious/VENA /VEN /VE [SoA][SoV][BWC][NSM][E][NAR][HNS][DSM][SWC][1NS][VC:B][LoM][VC:S][NC][GWC][VC:G](=*AE* =)(=*SAE* =)(=*TG* =)(=*SCFE* =)TRN/AD Trykon/DJO/VEDJ |
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