Tagged Questions
-2
votes
1answer
94 views
Ideas for nicknames of characters in a story
I'm translating a short story into English.
1). The protagonist is a woman in her mid-forties. There was a time when she used to copy out verses from poems and paste them on her wall. The people in ...
3
votes
2answers
108 views
Is it ok to be autobiographical with a main character?
This question really comes down to a personal issue I've had present in my fiction. I'm still very new as far as being a writer is concerned. So a few (if not all) of my main characters seem to be ...
4
votes
9answers
328 views
Problems with character development?
I'm 1/4 through my first novel, with a pretty solid 12 page outline of the whole thing. After years of reading books about story structure, I think I have a good grasp on how to make a plot work.
My ...
11
votes
3answers
496 views
How/When to create deliberately boring characters?
Among a million other ambitions under the general heading of "Writing," I have this fantasy where I write a major series, several books long with a giant cast.
But I started thinking. In giant series ...
5
votes
9answers
418 views
How do I round out a powerful character?
I've created a character named "Mathias Mindblade" who is trained by a wise wizard to lead a rebellion against the Darkness Empire and eventually to establish an Empire of Light.
Mathias has some ...
14
votes
3answers
412 views
Is there a quick way to know I have created a Mary Sue?
For those who don't know what a Mary Sue is: see here.
The problem is, there are far too many ways a character can be a Mary Sue, as seen here. Many websites that offer tests to see if your ...
4
votes
3answers
287 views
Tips for adding more personality to characters?
Often I read a new book only to find that the characters are flat, boring, and lacking in personality. Sometimes I even find that in my own characters, and when that happens I usually just remove it. ...
7
votes
5answers
483 views
“multiple personalities” for character development in writing?
How can I train myself to think in "multiple personalities" so I can use these personalities for character development in writing?
7
votes
2answers
472 views
Finding the 'voice' of a character
This is a very general question that I want to throw out there just to get some insight into different approaches used. I have my own, but am intrigued to know what others might try.
I'm wondering ...
15
votes
3answers
753 views
How do you make a character quintessential, but not cliched or cartoony?
I think it's hard to make a character standout and embody their traits without becoming cliched or cartoons. How do you do this? What are some tips to enlivening a character and making them memorable?
...
11
votes
4answers
1k views
How should I introduce my characters?
I'm pretty good at creating compelling characters with decent personalities and motivations. I like the comradery vibe, so they're generally already part of a posse of some sort at the beginning of my ...
8
votes
6answers
327 views
The polymath's dilemma…?
The main character of a YA story I am working on is fast becoming a polymath, i.e. someone with a broad base of skills and interests across unrelated areas of endeavor. I really like how this ...
8
votes
5answers
506 views
Is this character generator useful?
After some feedback from this site and a training course, I developed a little tool to help with character generation. It's called "20 Questions" and works just like that: It picks 20 questions (or ...
