Hope Ann

@hope-ann

Well, if anyone’s seen Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, they’d know that Thanos is one of the best villains ever. 😋  But really, he is.  I think what makes him such a great villain is his strong goal:  to destroy half of the population to make life better for the other half.  Obviously, that’s evil, but he didn’t have evil int…[Read more]

@hope-ann

This is a very good question, and although I don’t have much experience (I struggle with relating to my villains too) I do have some theories based off of  inspiring villains that I have read or watched.

I believe the main thing is to give them reasoning. Once a villain has a reason to do evil, you can then get the feel for how and wh…[Read more]

@hope-ann

@kimlikesart

Yeah, villains. They can be the hardest to create, but often the most interesting. I may sound like I have a lot of experience, but I don’t. I actually have none, and that is why I am on here, XD

Gracie, those are some great points and I definitely need to go over them with my villains. One of them has a pretty good back…[Read more]

@hope-ann As a person who has a lot of side characters, I feel that as I write, eventually each character develops their own purpose, whether or not I planned it that way.

I feel like if your quest feels like it can’t do without the characters, then perhaps you could merge the side characters’ traits onto the main characters. Then again, this…[Read more]

@devastate-lasting  Thanks, even though I’ve been on here for a while, I still like making sure. 🙂 Lol

@hope-ann So about old prose… I’d mostly say that yes, there is a chance for old prose, since it is used for older books, and I like a quite a few old books written in old prose. Such as The Hobbit and so on.

But one thing I’d say (and this…[Read more]

@hope-ann

Madelyn, great questions! With one of my favorite books being written in the 1800’s and being 900+ solid pages long (Bleak House by Charles Dickens, his longest and least read book), I have thought about this and the conclusion I arrived at was that the style of old prose has strengths and values that the style of new prose does not, a…[Read more]

@hope-ann

Is this a discussion for everyone? I have some comments, but I’m not sure if I’m included in this or not… *shrugs*

@hope-ann I’m afraid I can’t be much help. Just a couple of things, then:

1. My sister likes old prose, and is determined to write in that style

2. Classics are written in old prose and still enjoyable (For the most part)

I think every author has their own unique writing voice, and if yours is old prose, then go for it! I would suggest reading…[Read more]

@hope-ann, @kristianne-hassman

@devastate-lasting and @Princess-Foo have great responses – but I already typed this thing up so I may as well send it in. 😛

A quiet, passive, reserved character needn’t be inert.
While others are off gallivanting about, sassing each other and exchanging their witty repartee, she plays the part of the straight m…[Read more]

@hope-ann

I think that having many different kinds of characters is a great way to reach many different kinds of people. People often identify with characters they’re like, so there may be quiet people who like quiet characters XD. Though, of course, it depends on how well they’re executed.

Quiet people are generally sassy too. They just know…[Read more]

@hope-ann

Research is very important in writing about different nationalities. Don’t just stick with your stereotypical ideas of a nationality or with ideas you’ve gotten from movies. Do your research. Use reliable sources about that people group, and if you can, try to read a story or article from the point of view of a person from that…[Read more]

@hope-ann So I myself would first ask the question, why am I having a person of a different nationality? Is it because I want to, or just because I want diversity? Because I, as a minority, would rather not be represented in literature and media than be misrepresented. For my own characters, a great deal of them are Chinese or Asian because I…[Read more]

@hope-ann

*cracks knuckles*

For starters, don’t shy away from writing characters of other nationalities. That sounds kind of obvious, but that’s an important place to start.

Imagine having a friend of that nationality read your story. Or if you can, ask someone of that nationality to read it. If you’re comfortable with that, even if you’r…[Read more]

@hope-ann, @urwen-starial

This is a nuanced question, to say the least. It’s too easy to go to one extreme or the other – being obsessed with inoffensiveness to the point of stifling, or so crassly out of touch that one ends up as the poster child for “those views we don’t hold anymore” in three generations or so. But I’ll try my best…[Read more]

@hope-ann

Ooh, perfect! I’m doing some of this in my own story (which is fantasy, granted, but does have other races in it).

I think the first thing to keep in mind is that you will almost never be able to avoid offending everyone. There’s always going to be someone who takes something the wrong way. So don’t freak out too much to start with,…[Read more]

@hope-ann

I love this!! I’m probably not the most qualified to answer, since my main characters are the more emotional ones without fail. I do have a pretty important, cold hard side character, so this was honestly kinda helpful 😆

My big things with him is, he’s the scary quiet one. He doesn’t say much, and he doesn’t raise his voice. So in my h…[Read more]