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
Additionally: the same, but backwards. A person’s greatest strengths often (but not always!) come from fighting their weaknesses, but in emotional situations they may fall back on old habits and reveal that the underlying weakness is still there, it’s just usually manageable.
For example, I know people who have ADHD (myself included) and have had to develop really strong organizational skills to combat it. So we may actually have some parts of organization down pat, like scheduling and writing everything down and making sure everything has a place, and yet we’ll still be the first to forget our hat, our wallet, or what we were about to say when we opened our mouth half a second ago, especially when we’re tired or stressed.
This helps write complex characters with seemingly contradictory but still believable traits: a woman who is insecure may always speak very positively about her accomplishments and write little uplifting “you can do it!” notes around the house for herself, but when she’s fighting the big bad she may run away because she doesn’t think she stands a chance.
A man who has been told he talks too quickly to be understood may develop perfect enunciation and diction. But he has chronic pain, and when it kicks in it takes up enough mental energy that he starts speed-talking like an auctioneer on crack.
Overcompensation is human, and having a break in that overcompensation is even more human. Just worth bearing in mind.
writing
Editing? Oh you mean fic patching.
- Protagonist now has more complex motivations.
- Protagonist now remembers key facts about important people. He no longer develops convenient amnesia between cutscenes.
- Protagonist now has a cooldown on certain adverbs. Adverbs have been buffed by 30% to compensate.
- Developer note: Adverbs are important to writing but they are sometimes overused. This change keeps adverbs relevant while encouraging the use of adjectives and verbs.
- The horse now has a name.
- Deuteragonist snark power has been increased to 150, up from 75.
Types of foreshadowing:
- Carefully planned to set the pieces for a later plot development
- Totally accidental, “whoops haha look at that, I’m a genius.”
- Writer types a line, makes a sudden connection to a future thing, starts laughing at the dramatic irony only they recognize and writes a personal in-joke.
I think a big part of why I read way more fanfiction than books is that there’s just a hell of a lot less exposition
the first 10 pages of most books are always “these are the main characters and here’s some background on each of them and this is the setting etc etc” and it’s such a fucking hassle getting to the plot sometimes
fanfic is just like “fuck it you know all of this already let’s go”
That’s a really good point.
Same here but there’s actually a point here of well written exposition.
Take AUs for example. Even in the most complicated, as-far-removed-from-canon settings we get at most a single paragraph before the actual fic where the author gives us a quick rundown of the rules for that universe. The rest we are left to figure out on our own and it works.We’re not spoon fed every trivial detail when all we want is to get to the plot. Everything that’s important is said at the moment it is important, not sooner not later.
Especially in long fics characters often take on such a unique characterisation that you get to know them all over again but the readers do so organically, in the situations that define those characters as they happen.
Same with looks. The fic author generally assumes the readers know what the characters look like and don’t spend paragraphs describing them, and only bring it up when it fits the plot.I’ve read a few fanfics from fandoms I’ve never been in and surprisingly it still worked out. I had generally a good idea of who these people were, what they did where and why and how they worked together.
Point is, if you’re a writer writing original fiction, pretend it’s fanfic and everyone knows your setting and characters already. That way you’ll only have to add a few details if and when your beta readers mention needing more information and chances are they won’t need a lot.
Point is, if you’re a writer writing original fiction, pretend it’s fanfic and everyone knows your setting and characters already. That way you’ll only have to add a few details if and when your beta readers mention needing more information and chances are they won’t need a lot.
Bolding this fantastic advice.
Reblogging for the next time I write something original.
The real writer experience is standing in the shower and coming up with the most authentic dialogue with perfect phrasing and raw emotion in your head, then stepping out and drying your hair, putting on some clean pajamas and opening a word document to write down all your perfect ideas only to realize everything has evaporated.
My main problem as a writer is that I don’t write because “I have a story to tell”. I write because there are worlds I want to visit, ideas I want to explore, people I want to meet, conversations I want to hear, emotions that I want to express, and impossibilities I want to make real.
Which means that I still need a fucking plot.
Damn if this ain’t the truth.
Write what you know is reasonable advice. Read what you don’t know is better advice.
Reading is an adventure. Adventures are about the unknown. When I started to read seriously I was excited and comforted all at the same time. Literature is a mix of unfamiliarity and recognition. The situation can take us anywhere – across time and space, the globe, through the lives of people who can never be like us – into the heart of anguish we have never felt – crimes we could not commit. Yet as we travel deeper into the strange world of the story, the feeling we get is of being understood – which is odd when you think about it, because at school learning is based on whether or not we understand what we are reading. In fact it is the story (or the poem) that is understanding us.
Books read us back to ourselves.
Jeanette Winterson, introduction to Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (via claudiablacks)
You’re allowed to like your writing.
One unfortunate side effect of the “your first draft is shit” rhetoric (which is mostly meant to encourage the understanding that you will need to edit and that having problems in your first draft doesn’t mean you can’t write) is that people tend to feel like they shouldn’t like their writing. They should only be critical of it, only see the flaws of it, and so be unhappy with their writing.
Being critical is good, but keep in mind that you’re not only allowed but encouraged to like what you’ve written. You should like it because that means it’s something people enjoy reading (because you are a person), but also because you will write better if you enjoy what you’re writing. Reread your old writing and smile at the lines that you love. Enjoy your fun scenes, laugh at your own jokes, cry at the tragedies you’ve written particularly poignantly. It’ll make you feel better. I promise.