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HOW TO GIVE PERSONALITY TO A CHARACTER

Giving personality to a character is an essential part of character development in storytelling, whether you're writing a novel, screenplay, or creating a character for a role-playing game. Here are some steps and considerations to help you give personality to your character:

Understand Their Backstory:

Start by creating a detailed backstory for your character. Where were they born? What were their childhood experiences like? What significant events have shaped their life? Understanding their past can help you determine their motivations, fears, and desires.

2. Define Their Goals and Motivations:

Characters often become more interesting when they have clear goals and motivations. What does your character want? It could be something tangible like a job or a romantic relationship, or it could be an abstract desire like happiness or freedom.

3. Determine Their Strengths and Weaknesses:

No one is perfect, and characters should reflect this. Identify your character's strengths and weaknesses. This can include physical abilities, intellectual skills, and personality traits. Flaws can make characters relatable and three-dimensional.

4. Consider Their Personality Traits:

Think about your character's personality traits. Are they introverted or extroverted? Shy or outgoing? Kind or selfish? Create a list of traits that describe their character. You can use personality frameworks like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Big Five Personality Traits as a starting point.

5. Give Them Quirks and Habits:

Quirks and habits can make a character memorable. Do they have a specific way of speaking, a unique fashion style, or an unusual hobby? These details can help bring your character to life.

6. Explore Their Relationships:

Characters don't exist in isolation. Consider how your character interacts with others. What are their relationships like with family, friends, and enemies? These relationships can reveal a lot about their personality.

7. Show, Don't Tell:

Instead of explicitly telling the audience about your character's personality, show it through their actions, dialogue, and decisions. Let the reader or viewer infer their traits based on their behavior.

8. Create Internal Conflict:

Characters with internal conflicts are often more engaging. What inner struggles does your character face? These can be related to their goals, values, or past experiences.

9. Use Character Arcs:

Consider how your character will change or grow throughout the story. Character development is often about how a character evolves in response to the events and challenges they face.

10. Seek Inspiration:

Draw inspiration from real people, other fictional characters, or even historical figures. Study how people with similar traits and backgrounds behave to inform your character's actions and reactions.

11. Write Dialogue and Inner Monologues:

Writing dialogue and inner monologues from your character's perspective can help you get inside their head and understand their thought processes and emotions.

12. Consider the Setting:

The setting of your story can influence your character's personality. For example, a character who grows up in a war-torn environment may have a different personality than one raised in a peaceful, affluent society.

13. Revise and Refine:

Don't be afraid to revise and refine your character as you write and develop your story. Characters can evolve and change as the narrative unfolds.

Remember that well-developed characters are dynamic and multi-faceted. They should feel like real people with strengths, weaknesses, and complexities. As you write and develop your character, put yourself in their shoes and think about how they would react to various situations. This will help you create a compelling and believable personality for your character.

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A Simple Trick for Fic Writers

Hey, if you're a fic writer and a character speaks in a different language, you don't just have to add the translation in the notes. Use the following HTML coding to add 'text on hover' to the word(s). If the reader is on a computer they can hover over the text to see the translation.

<div title="This is the text in the box!">This is the text that shows in your fic!</div>

Here are some examples from a fic on my AO3.

This coding here <div title="a fool, idiot (lit. emptyhead)">Eyn utreekov</div> will show this on hover.

This next example shows that you can add a lot of text. The formatting is the same as above.

PS: When doing this, there may be spacing issues, but you can edit the text through AO3's html or rich text editor. From there you can add italics (like I did), bold, etc, and fix any weird spacing issues. Just be careful not to delete the coding that you worked so hard on 😂

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google help me

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Smut Prompts III (NSFW)

18+ ONLY!  MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

1. “Don’t even think about cumming yet.”

2. “So I hear you’re into pain?”

3. “Your eyes always glaze over when you cum.”

4. “Don’t fucking stop, baby.”

5. “I can’t pull out when you wrap your legs around me like that.”

6. “I wanna take you so fucking bad.”

7. “Be a good girl/boy and swallow for me.”

8. “You better keep the volume down or I’m gonna go even harder.”

9. “I’m feeling greedy.”

10. “Clothes.  Off.  Now.”

11. “You talk too much.  How about we use your mouth for something else?”

12. “Your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner doesn’t need to know about this.”

13. “If you want to cum then you’re gonna have to beg.”

14. “If I have to pull over, you’ll be walking funny for the next week.”

15. “Could you be any wetter/harder?”

16. “Don’t worry.  I’ve got condoms and lube in my nightstand.”

17. “What’s wrong?  Why’d you stop?”  “Nothing’s wrong.  I just wanted to take a second to admire how beautiful you are.”

18. “I’m gonna stop if you don’t cum.”

19. “You better not touch yourself while I’m gone.”

20. “I’m gonna fuck you so good you forget all about that bastard.”

21. “Go and lock the door for me.  I don’t want anyone to walk in while I’m balls deep.”

22. “I’ll be gentle, baby.  Don’t worry.”

23. “Don’t stop.  Even if I beg you to.”

24. “I never knew you liked being spanked.”

25. “You don’t realize what it does to me when we’re cuddling and you press your ass against me.”

26. “Use your words, sweetheart.”

27. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

28. “I love that we both already finished and your legs are still shaking.”

29. “First one to cum loses.”

30. “I bet I can make you cum without even touching you.”

31. “I don’t have to be inside you to make you cum.”

32. “I want to kiss every square inch of your body.”

33. “I called in sick.  Now we can stay in bed and fuck all day.”

34. “Ride me like a cowboy/cowgirl.”

35. “Ooh, you’re not wearing any underwear.  Trying to tell me something?”

36. “Go get one of your toys.  Let’s make this even better.”

37. “Are you gonna keep playing with it or are you gonna put it in your mouth at some point?”

38. “Quit eyefucking me and get over here so you can actually fuck me!”

39. “What the fuck?  Do that again.  I liked it.”

40. “Is that gonna fit?”  “I’ll make it fit.”

41. “All day I’ve been thinking about how good it would feel to have your head between my legs.”

42. “Ever heard of an Australian kiss?”  “No.  What’s that?”  “It’s like a French kiss, but down under.”

43. “But there’s people-”  “I don’t care.  Let them watch.”

44. “I saw you naked once.  And now I can’t stop thinking about it.”

45. “How are you so oblivious?  I’m trying to tell you I’m fucking horny!”

#prompts #smut prompts #otp prompts #otp smut #otp smut prompts #writing prompts

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To any fic writers who worry they are wasting their time... I read a fic for a relatively small and inactive fandom about three years ago. And there was one specific scene where a character watched another dancing like an idiot to a beyonce song and it was so sweet and loving that even now years later I have that song on one of my spotify playlist so every once in a while it will play and remind me of that fic, and every time it does I smile and feel a little happier.

The stats on a fic will never really tell you if your writing touched someone. There's no numerical way to show you what impact you made. Maybe you are wasting time, or maybe you are writing something that someone will remember for a long time, something that will never fail to make them smile.

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She poses no burden, never.

Post bliss on an early night A day filled with someone I hold dear for her birthday Kisses on the beach, hard and sincere Smiles and laughs enough to fill a heart Stars, moons, and telescopic stars for her day Whispers and comfortable silence filled with runaway thoughts Visit to her parents, secret, secrets

Driving home and the closer we neared hers she flattened Close to falling asleep, and there creeped a sadness A sadness deep and undefinable 1000 cuts we say, her house feels like not her own 11 years, mellow disappointment, only simmering Never enough to flow over, a difficult place to be

Watch and wait, adore and build Hoping one day the dam will crack To wash away the stale valleys, new rivers and creeks set to explore New heights, ranges, windier paths filled with adventure Free flowing and strong, giving new life to the day and hopefully into the night Fill her hours with mutual acceptance, support, thoughtfulness, wonder, kindness, and love One can hope for that dam to break

Someday please.

#wlw #sapphic #lesbians harold #short shorts

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I hate to say this, and like, rain on everyone’s parade, but after scrolling past three posts about it on a writing tag …

If you are looking up synonyms to exchange words out in your story with the purpose of sounding smarter, more sophisticated, or complicated to your reader, you are probably abusing the thesaurus.

Now, if you *want* to do this, I mean, you can write whatever or however you want! But I just want you to know that this is frowned upon if you are trying to write at a professional level.

I have an old article on this somewhere …

If you want to look at the original article…

https://www.septembercfawkes.com/2018/08/how-to-use-thesaurus-properly.html

#ooh we writing

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Are we ready??

It’s that time of year again!

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Writing Prompt: 027

There's an older woman in your team who you don't particularly get along with. She has no apparent interests outside of work, and she's judgemental, does not like to be pushed, and is a stickler for rules. But recently she's been a lot calmer, open, and taking things in her stride.

You can't help feel a little attracted to her. What is the thought process, and what could ever happen?

#Writing prompt #creative writing #writeblr #writing exercise #f/f

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#yes #si

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Are you an artist or writer who can’t commit to 31 straight days of smutty fanfic?

Do you still want to contribute to the kinktober spirit and share your art and writing with your communities?

Then Lazy Ghouls’ Kinktober is for you!

FAQs below the cut :)

What is it?

Lazy Ghouls’ Kinktober is an abridged version of the traditional Kinktober prompt list. I made this prompt list because I love to write, but get afflicted by burnout and writers block easily, so I wanted to make something more accessible. Rather than committing to 31 separate fanfics or art pieces, you’ll chose at least one prompt a week.

This list was specifically made to start tame and work up to more intense topics as the month progresses, while also avoiding major triggers such as noncon, CNC, and dubcon.

What if I want to do more than one prompt a week?

Go for it! This prompt list was made to work for you! If you want to write or draw all four prompts, or none at all, that’s A-OK.

How do I participate?

Just post each week of October! You could also repost this prompt list to spread the word, but that’s not required :) if you want, tag all of your works with #LazyGhoulsKinktober2023 so we can check out each others’ works!

I’m so excited to get writing and see what you guys can create! Please reach out with any questions or concerns!

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I want Tissaia devoured by Yennefer. Both knowing it may be the last they will be together. Then the devouring turns into sweet, sad love making. 😭

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fanfic should be fun fic. if you are not having fun, please step away, take a break, do whatever you need to in order to have fun with this hobby we share

#take that breath #creative writing

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I have a friend who is doing freelace editing. She charges 0.03 per word, before tax. My book is 100000 words (or around), and she told me that the price for her editing would be 3,075 dollars. She told me this was on the low end of editing, is that true? I'm okay with doing my best to edit my own book (which I am I'd just like a second pair of eyes if possible.) But 3,000 dollars is not within my pay range. (Thanked her for going over the prices with me and told her I was sorry I couldn't.)

How Much Does Editing Normally Cost?

Hi there! It really depends on the kind of editing, how experienced (and busy) the editor is, the shape the manuscript is in, and a number of other factors. I’ve seen anything from .005/word for proofreading to .08/word for developmental editing. My own rates start at .015/word for an editorial review and go up to .03/word for a heavy developmental edit (consult + lengthy critique + margin comments + follow up call + email support).

A lot of people experience sticker shock with editing, so you’re not alone there. You can find people to do it for cheap, but it’s usually a you-get-what-you-pay-for kind of thing. (At the same time, I always encourage writers to ask editors for a sample of their work before hiring them–don’t assume that because the editor charges a lot you’ll click with their style.)

I might be preaching to the choir here, but I’ve gotten enough asks about editing prices that I think it’s worth pointing out a few things:

Editing takes time. You can’t just quickly breeze through a manuscript once and come back with helpful, detailed recommendations. In my case, no matter what kind of editing I do, I carefully read every manuscript twice. Because of the level of focus and attention I give to the story, for a 100,000 word manuscript that could mean almost 20 hours of my time just to read the thing… before I even start writing a critique.

Good editors are experienced and often highly educated. If you can find an editor who is willing to work for minimum wage, more power to you (I guess?). Personally, I’m a published fiction writer, and I have a masters degree and years of experience in my field, so I charge accordingly. Most editors I respect (read: that I would hire myself) have rates starting at $80/hr.

If you want useful feedback, there’s no such thing as “taking a quick look” at your manuscript. I get a lot of inquiries from writers who hope I can come down on my price if they don’t need as much feedback: “Just take a quick look” or “give me an overall impression.” There are two problems with this. The first (see above) is that even reading the manuscript can take hours of my time. The second is that the only way for me to give “quick” feedback is to give shallow, crappy feedback… which I just can’t bring myself to do.

The bummer, of course, is that all of these factors put editing way outside of a lot of writers’ price range. Every time I get an inquiry from a broke writer and have to turn them down, my heart dies a little. That’s part of the reason I’m working on my self-editing guide The Complete Guide to Self Editing for Fiction Writers. It’s a DIY guide that walks you through doing a story-level, scene-level, and sentence-level edit on your story. Completing it has been slower going than I originally thought (It just keeps getting longer!!), but I hope to have it finished soon.

Thanks for writing! I hope this has been helpful, and good luck to you!

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The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library, peruse my Tumblr Post Guide, or get The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. xoxo

#so much about editing #I love this breakdown

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" oh, shit. I'm in love with you ?? " prompts:

(feel free to use <3 @urfriendlywriter | req by @president--namjoon yall 6th, 7th omg 17th, and 19th yall tag me when u write! )

absent-mindedly playing with their hair.

smiling a little too much around them

wanting to do things for them [ie. gifts, surprises, writing letters etc etc]

having them hug you tight

them running into your arms

catching them lost in your eyes. AAAAH.

glancing at them when they aren't looking at you. and thinking oh shit im screwed for life.

wanting to capture that smile of theirs.

accidental touches and then thinking about it for days.

platonic forehead kisses starting to give u the feels. LIKE ITS SOMETHING MAGICAL.

"is that really all 'A' is to you?"

trusting each other with your lives.

when they aren't hesitant to defend you in your absence

they laugh at your 'not-so-funny' jokes.

always wondering what the other will do in your situation

"your smile brings me so much joy." >>>

tight hugs where both/either of you feel super safe in.

having them give something of importance to them for you, as a gift (ie. "oh this is a necklace my late mum owned.. she always wanted me to gift this to someone i cherish.. have it. :)" )

the moment of eye-contact from across the room that magically blurs everyone out of the world. it's just u two.

a third person pointing out how beautiful they're and suddenly you're seeing them in a different light (shalalallalaaa)

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Sapphic Prompt: 04

In a forgotten civilisation's ruins, paint a picture of a brave archaeologist and a seductive spirit guardian who entangle in a thrilling love affair. Explore the steamy encounters that occur amidst the ancient artefacts and the secrets that bind them together.

#writing #writeblr #writing prompt #fanfic #writing exercise #creative writing #f/f #writers #wlw #sapphic