How To Develop Your Characters
1) Reveal your character slowly. If you info-dump too much about your protagonist straight away, there is no more wonder surrounding them. By slowly unraveling details about a character, the reader can understand them more fully and see their growth happen in real-time. When your character begins to open up naturally as the story progresses, theyâll reveal things about themselves through their actions or dialogue.
2) All protagonists should have a goal. When a character sets out to complete their goal, that is when the story is born as well as their character arc. The obstacles they have to overcome and the setbacks they face develop them as the story progresses. When you give your character a goal and make it hard for them to reach it, they begin to figure things out and grow as a person.
3) Create obstacles. And then more obstacles. The more conflict that you shove in your protagonistâs face, the more active they have to be in the story. Itâs by actively making choices that someone begins to transform. Give your protagonist physical obstacles to overcome but also internal ones like doubt, regret, anger, confusion, lust, etc.Â
4) Let them Fail. Overwhelm your character, push them to their limits, kick them when theyâre low, make them feel like their heart will never heal⌠and then help them overcome the hardship. (Or not, if your story consists of a negative character arc). Regardless, failure is an important part of any story because no one is perfect and readers love seeing a protagonist overcome the impossible. Have your protagonist fail continuously throughout the story⌠big failures, little failures, half-failures⌠it all builds character.
5) Enhance their growth by having static characters in the story. Protagonists are typically dynamic characters which means they change throughout the story. It can be smart to contrast a dynamic character with a minor static/flat character who remains the same throughout the story. If two characters come from the same starting point but only one changes, the audience can see the growth that has really happened to them.
6) Give your character a past that they can overcome. A backstory, an origin, a past. We all start somewhere. The way we grew up undoubtedly shaped us into who we are today and itâs no different for a character. Whether your character comes from a backstory of hardships or privilege, you must know the reasons behind who they are at the start of your story. Then, you can start developing them⌠making them into a better or worse person.
For example, maybe your protagonist has a deathly fear of cars because of being in an accident as a child. Put them and a love interest in a car together or have them take walks by a highway late at night. Perhaps he even shows her what a car looks like under the hood and helps her to understand the safety features. This all develops your character into growing past their fear, which we understand because of their past.
7) Give your characterâs flaws that are real. I donât mean little flaws like being bad a math or extremely clumsy. While these are all aspects that are okay to give a character, your protagonist needs a more deep and intense obstacle to overcome. A werewolf who canât control their anger and transforms sporadically. A cheerleader who shakes so badly from presentation anxiety that she risks dropping a teammate. These traits are realistic and relatable to the audience and can be overcome as the character develops, learns, and grows throughout the story.
Instagram: coffeebeanwriting
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ę°ÉŞę°á´Ę á´Ęá´á´ęą á´ę°: [ę°á´É´á´á´ęąĘ á´Ęá´Ęá´á´á´á´Ęęą]
Witch - an evil person depicted with magic powers
Faery - a small being that has magic powers, often with wings
Elf - a supernatural creature depicted with pointed ears and capricious nature
Ogre - a man-eating giant
Wizard - a person depicted with magic powers
Warlock - a practitioner of witchcraft
Knight - a mounted soldier in armour who serves the throne
King - the ruler of a country
Banshee - a spirit whose wailing warns of impending death
Gnome - a dwarfish creature who enjoys hoarding treasure
Nymph - a spirit of nature who lives in rivers and trees
Selkie - a person on land and seal in the water
Merperson - a half person, half fish who lives in the water
Leprechaun - a small, mischievous sprite
Crusader - a fighter in medieval crusades
Mage - a magician or practitioner of magic
Halfling - the offspring of a human and member of a magical race
Henchman - loyal supporter of a person
Witch hunter - a person who hunts witches (alternatively, fae)
Hunter - a person who hunts animals
Seer - a person who can see the future
Dwarf - a member of a race of short, humanlike creatures who typically live in underground mines
Archer - someone who shoots a bow
Necromancer - someone who can raise the dead; the practitioner of dark magic
Cleric - a priest or religious leader
Rogue - a character capable of sneaky and nimble tricks
Bard - a poet who typically recite epics or song
Demon - an evil spirit or devil
Dragons - an often fire-breathing giant winged reptile
Ghost - an apparition of a dead person
Werewolf - a human who transforms into a wolf under a full moon
Shifter - a human who can transform into an animal
Psychic - a human who can tell the future
Gods - a superhuman being with mythical (and often unlimited) powers
Angel - a spiritual being often represented as an attendant to a god
Troll - an ugly creature depicted as a giant or a dwarf
Vampire - a corpse who may transform into a bat and uses long, pointed teeth to suck the blood of humans in the night
Dark elf - an evil supernatural creature depicted with pointed ears and capricious nature
Undead / zombie - a corpse come alive
Orc - a member of an imaginary race of humanlike creatures, characterized as ugly, warlike, and malevolent
Golem - a clay figure brought to life by magic
Ghoul - an evil spirit or phantom
Goblin - a mischievous, ugly creature resembling a dwarf
Lich - an undead creature
Imp - a small, mischievous devil or sprite
Paladin - a knight renowned for heroism and chivalry
Thief - something who steals property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
Priest - an ordained minister of the church
Druid - a priest, magician, or soothsayer
Human - a species of primate characterized by bipedalism and a complex mindset
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The Darkest Hour for your Protagonist
Also known as the âcrisisâ or the moment when all hope is lost for your protagonist. The Darkest Hour is when your character hits rock bottom and that âhappy endingâ just seems unreachable. In this scene, success for your protagonist appears impossible.
What could be a Darkest Hour?
In my opinion, you want your darkest hour to be as dark as possible. Push things to the extreme, create stakes, and hurt your protagonist. Â
⢠Not just any death, but the death of someone your protagonist loves (did your protagonist fail to save them? They now blame themselves.)
⢠Not just a mild injury, but a serious and life-threatening one (does this injury follow your protagonist into the end of the story? Permanently?)
⢠Use their fears against them (if theyâre afraid of snakes, donât just have one appear⌠have them fall into a pit of them.)
⢠Make your protagonist lose all hope and put their insecurities on full display (theyâre embarrassed and ashamed in front of everyone.)
⢠Attack their mentality just as much as their physicality. (Betrayals, lies, deceptions, self-doubts.)
When does it happen?
Typically, the Darkest Hour occurs right before the climax. Your protagonist is at their all-time low until they have an âa-ha!â moment and gain the hope, strength, or resources to overcome their conundrum and push into the climax of the story.
How does my Protagonist overcome their crisis?
There are numerous ways that your protagonist can trudge out of the mud and gain the strength to continue fighting. They could do it independently and prove themselves a true hero, pull hope from memories and past encounters, receive aid from allies, divine intervention, etc.Â
Why is the Darkest Hour Important?
The Darkest Hour is vital to a characterâs arc and story because, during their all-time low, their true nature is revealed. Their insecurities, flaws, and fears are all out on the table and the readers get to see them at their most vulnerable. Watching them overcome the crisis shows the reader their growth as a character.
â Show the readers how much your protagonist has grown. If this crisis happened at the beginning of your story, your protagonist would NOT have been able to overcome it. Only through their growth, learning, and plot experiences⌠are they able to overcome it now.
âTHIS IS WHERE YOUR PROTAGONIST CAN FINALLY SEE THEIR MISBELIEF/FLAW.
During or after your protagonistâs Darkest Hour is an amazing place for your protagonist to realize the flaw in their thinking (their misbelief).Â
Referring back to older posts, your protagonist needs to have a âflawâ or âmisbeliefâ. A false way of thinking that eventually, they will realize is wrong.
⢠âIâll never be good enough.â
⢠âMagic is wrong and I will never use it.â
⢠âAll aliens are evil and need to be eliminated.âÂ
This misbelief should have been impeding on your character through the entire plot, causing them conflict and turmoil. After fighting for survival in their darkest moment, they realize they were thinking wrong all along.
⢠A character reminds your protagonist that they are good enough.
⢠Your protagonist sees magic being used to heal their allies and realizes finally that it can be used for good.
⢠An alien saves your protagonist from a bullet and suddenly your character sees that not all aliens are bad.
Instagram: coffeebeanwriting Â
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Villain things I want to see more of
Actually funny. Not making jokes at other people's expense, not the butt of the joke, just villains that have absurd senses of humour and top-notch intentional comedic timing,
CHARISMA!!! Please, can we have more charming villains, villains that can sway a crowd, villains that get away with things because their too polite, too well-spoken, too funny to possibly to evil.
Respected. Villains whose villainous deeds have led them to success and made them widely respected members of society. To be clear, this isn't respected person who is secretly evil. No. I mean, the bad things they've done are the reason they're respected.
Let them win. Let them win because their plan succeeded. Not because the protagonists fucked up, not by pure luck. Let them earn their victories.
Supporters! Lots of them. The more powerful your villain is, the more supporters they are going to need. If the evil king is unpopular with everyone he's not going to stay king for long. He needs allies, lots of them, especially if he's a tyrant.
Knows how to play the game. Manipulative villains who say whatever they have to to get their way, chose their allies and enemies carefully, bribe and blackmail, play the victim, the hero, or even the innocent when it suits them. Make it hard for your protagonists to convince anyone they are a villain at all.
Cold Steel. Give me villains that don't get angry easy, that laugh things off, that kill because it's efficient and for no other reason.
Clever and creative. Strategists who always have a trick up their sleeve and problem solvers with personal flare.
Show other characters reacting with fear. Nothing rams home how terrifying a villain is quite like watching other powerful characters fall to their knees--fast--when they walk in the room.
Irredeemable despite their tragic backstories. For the love of god people, tragic backstories do not justify a villain's actions. You can have empathy for what they've endured while still expecting them to take responsibility for what they've become.
Unconventionally attractive. Take this however you want. I, for one, would like to see more tortured bad boys who aren't white and shredded. But also, villains whose attractiveness lies in how they talk, their body language and facial expressions, and their outfits. Why do y'all think smirking is such a popular word??
Love. Let them love their spouses, their children, their friends. Not in an abusive way either. Let them have healthy relationships with their still living wives, daughters, sons, comrades in arms etc.
Kind. Give me villains who tip well, who put their own garbage away even though the servants could do it, who remember their henchmen's names, who are good with kids, who donate to charity and not just for the tax incentives
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"Not all men", you're right, Tengen Uzui wouldn't treat me like thisđ
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The power of himbo compels you
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geo dad adopts everyone challengeÂ
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Yet Another Another Random Headcannon of the day:
A Brief Description of Toman at an Amusement Park
Grumbles at children in front of the line, lowkey makes scary faces at kids to make them cry and leave
Baji, Mikey, Smiley, Pah-chin, Sanzu, Makoto
Boards all the scary rides and comes out fine
Draken, Kazutora, Pah-chin, Akkun, Sanzu, Mucho, Mikey
Boards one rollercoaster and pukes on somebody's shoes
Takemichi, Yamagishi, Angry, Peh-yan, Mitsuya, Chifuyu, Hakkai
Punches someone because he needs to puke
Baji
Eats at nearly every food stall
Mikey, Yamagishi, Makoto, Hakkai, Baji, Kawata twins, Pah-chin, Peh-yan
Enters the horror house, only to be kicked out because he assaulted the actors
Baji, Smiley, Sanzu, Draken, Mikey
Enters the horror house, only to be kicked out because he cried and then assaulted the actors
Angry, Chifuyu
Enters the horror house and cries
Hakkai, Takemichi
Enters the horror house and comes out fine
Mucho, Mitsuya, Kazutora
Just wants the Ferris Wheel for peace and quiet
Mitsuya, Draken, Takemichi, Takuya, Akkun, Angry, Mucho
Spins the teacup ride as fast as possible
Baji, Mikey, Peh-yan, Smiley, Sanzu, Yamagishi
Is thrown out of the teacup
Takemichi, Makoto, Akkun, Chifuyu
Pukes inside the teacup
Pah-chin, Angry, Hakkai, Baji
Sets fire to a trash can and is asked to leave the park
Baji
Thoughts.
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reblog to give whoever you rb this from one of these
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This is what the higher ups would be when Gojo Satoru is done with all of them
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reblog for good luck!
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50 Ways To Say âI Love Youâ
âBe safeâ
âMake sure to come back to me, okay?â
âI got these because I know theyâre your favouriteâ
âI saw this earlier and I thought of youâ
âGive me a hug pleaseâ
âIâd really love it if you cameâ
âPlease stayâ
âJust- uh . . . try not to die. Iâm really not bothered to replace youâ
âYouâre leaving already? Nooooo~â
â[insert very specific insult]â
âWell maybe I like having you alive, ever thought about that?â
âYouâre the only one I really want to be thereâ
âYouâre my everythingâ
âIâd rather be hurt and be with you than be okay without youâ
âI think in every reality, I still find youâ
âI want to make something for youâ
âThere are people who love you, you knowâ
âDedicated to [character name]â
âI did this for youâ
âI would give all of this up for youâ
âStop worrying about you? Stop worrying about you?! I can barely stop thinking of you!â
âI wish I could stay here forever. Just me and youâ
âThankgodyouâreokay-â
âI wonât admit that I missed youâ
âI made it the way you like itâ
âI canât stand not talking to youâ
âI didnât ask you to do thatâ âYou didnât have toâ
âDonât move - Iâll get it for youâ
âTell me all about [thing/person their partner is interested in]â
âYou wonât take care of yourself so I willâ
â[talks dreamily about their future with their partner]â
âWhen am I going to see you next?â
âI was thinking of youâ
âYouâre worth itâ
âIâd rather just hang out with you, if Iâm honestâ
âI really like your handsâ
âYouâre the only reason Iâm coming backâ
âI am not leaving youâ
âI knew you werenât dead. I refused to believe it- I knew it couldnât be trueâ
âShut up and kiss meâ
âIâll take case of you as long as you need meâ
âYouâre not alone anymoreâ
âItâs okay itâs okay is got youâ
âYou donât have to pretend with meâ
âWhenever Iâm with you I am realâ
âJust you and me; thatâs all I wantâ
âYouâve finally rendered me speechlessâ
âYou are the most beautiful thing Iâve ever seenâ
âIf only you can see yourself as I see youâ
âI love youâ
Leave requests for other oneliners / prompts!
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Are there any MKIT RAIN related Tumblr blogs that I could follow? I am a new fan of them and I want to get to know even more than that before, especially blogs who can write MKIT RAIN scenarios. Please, I need your help.
~Queennie
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