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  • Brooke replied to the topic Hello! Is anybody in the mood to critique a short story? šŸ˜€ in the forum Fantasy Writers 4 years, 11 months ago

    @rose-colored-fancy

    I can’t tell you any details about Ziyad because it’s kinda spoilers. He has kinda a tragic backstory so he has his…. issues. And because of character agency, that means he’s made a lot of really bad choices XD He’s honestly a mess, but he really tries and I love him for it. I think he has a genuinely good heart and good intentions (mostly) but he’s been dealt a really bad hand and he can’t seem to escape it.

    He isn’t a POV character, so I know less about him than you’d expect XD

    Oh, he sounds awesome! I just love characters like that, the ones who try so hard to be better than they were (bc they used to be really awful XD). And I know too little about all of my characters, less than I should šŸ˜›

    Oooo, and Chantara is epic! Sympathetic villains are some of the best! The fact that you made her loyal to her friends is really interesting, and adds an extra layer of depth. I am sorta tired of the villains who throw away their accomplices, although I guess that just shows how evil they are XD

    Method for coming up with characters…. Well, it usually starts with a concept. Sometimes the concept is a part of a character dynamic like ā€œAnnoying kid and world-weary mentorā€.

    Like, I have a side character (One of Chantara’s friends) who started with the concept of a really cheerful, funny, nice person who’s also basically a psychopath but doesn’t realize it. XD (He’s fun! XD)

    And then I’ll usually fit that character somewhere in the story and give them a role, and then I try to figure out why they became that way. And then I figure out what they’d do in the story. Their appearance develops somewhere along the way 🙂

    How about you? How do you do it?

    Oh, that sounds pretty similar to my method! I just think of a tale, and then add characters as I see fit. When it came to my current WIP, I knew that I wanted a band of odd characters to unite on a mission, so my brain just went wild from there. Recently, I added a porcupine person to the mix, LOL

    LOL, wailing about your hair is a universal experience XD There’s a fine line between ā€œMessy romantic wavesā€ and ā€œbirds nestā€ and I use it as a jump rope XD She sounds awesome! I think I’d love her!

    Yes, exactly! That’s why she wears a head-wrap when she can’t wash her hair, LOL

    He sounds like Ziyad! I love characters like that! They’re my absolute favorites! (Next to the sassy ones like Li’ah XD)

    Ditto. šŸ˜€

    Negative character arcs are awesome! I love them, I have one I’m planning and it would be so cool!

    Oooh, yay! I love a good mix of goodies and greys and baddies!

    Thank you! I’m so excited about it! It has the coolest aesthetic, it’s kinda Art Noveau and Rococo mixed up, to fit the combination of 1700s and Edwardian. Like… think Pirates of the Caribbean meets Phantom of the Opera XD It’s just the coolest!

    The pirate idea is definitely still a large part of the plot! I love it, it’s just so fun! But now it’s basically pirates vs. secret agents in a heist setting, so that’s going to be chaos XD And there are a few side characters who were circus artists, a sharpshooter, an escape artist, and an acrobat. (And the sharpshooter and the other two are on opposite sides and hate each other.) There will be at least one masquerade ball, and research involves how to pick locks, weaponize jewelry, and how corsets could turn bullets.Ā  I have no idea what I’m doing but I love it!

    I am speechless!! That sounds just like something I’d love!! Combining different epic ideas is one of the best ways to make a unique story! I wish there were more stories out there just like the one you described.

    Yes! I remembered something about a tiger XD That sounds amazing!!! Wow, I love the premise! What’s your favorite part about it? How far into it are you? I don’t remember, are you a plotter or a pantser?

    Thank you so much!! šŸ˜€ Hmm, I think my favorite part might be the worldbuilding, and getting to write about a whole bunch of wonderfully odd characters (dialogue rocks). I’m only a few chapters in, haha, but I can’t wait to get to the good parts! And I think I’m a panster; I do outline a little bit, making a skeleton, but then I just brainstorm šŸ˜›

    Also, yes! Connecting to other writers is the best, they all just get it! I have to keep myself from talking in detailed jargon about my WIP to everyone else, let alone writer humor. Like: ā€œOh, I’m going to murder a character this afternoon, wish me luck! XDā€ or ā€œDo you think he’s miserable enough? I think I can make it worseā€¦ā€ and talking with great enthusiasm in upsetting detail about stuff like poison LOL XD Apparently, other people don’t get that XD

    I LOVE WRITER HUMOR!! And I totally get talking in detail about upsetting stuff, lol. I think it’s interesting: such as the fact that when Egyptians would mummify people, they’d pull their brains out through their noses. If some random person saw a writer’s search history, the writer would be like ā€œI’m not a serial killer, I promise! I’m just an author!ā€ XD

     

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