Character Development and Writing Tips? · 12:54am Apr 27th, 2015
Hello, FiM users!
I have yet to actually post anything here though I have certainly done my fair share of reading. However, it's not for lack of trying, unfortunately. I seem to constantly be stuck in the same spot every time I sit down to get a word or two down; I'm too self conscious of my writing. In my youth I was quite often remarked for my prowess in school, even gaining the attention of an old curmudgeon I had for an English teacher. Back home was another story entirely, where my parents would encourage me to write but stifle me in long-term pursuits by telling me there was no money in it. There was no value to my interest or talent because there was no money in it. Hearing this over and over not only wore me down and sort of forced my hand to give up writing altogether but it also cemented a toxic idea in my head that money comes first. I understand, now, that what they really were concerned about was finding out their daughter was a starving artist with not a cent to her name! Though it turns out fate has a sense of humor, and that's exactly where I am, anyway. :P
So that's a bit of back story to give you a sense as to why I've become self-conscious about writing. My dreams were turned to shame and I gave up on the craft for years, yet now my hope is returning. :3c I'm feeling more confident in myself and my abilities in many aspects of my life and I would absolutely love to get back on the writing scene, I just think I need a little bit of a boost to get there.
With that in mind, I have some questions for the general people of this site that I hope you take the time to at least answer a little bit. uwu;;
1. What gets you in the mood to write?
2. What is your preferred method of writing?
3. How do you create your characters?
4. Is there a specific way you get your ideas out?
5. Do you brainstorm?
6. How do you develop your characters?
Just a few I've been pondering. :3c Again, please consider responding and thank you for considering! Any help is useful uwu
0) I think you need to reach the conclusion that your parents no longer dictate your writing. You also aren't here to make money. :P This is a place to share work... to write for yourself, so it's that mindset that needs to hit the reboot of that little piece that inhibits.
1) Music! I know, Tea... that must be a total shock to you given my use of terminology. If I have the right song playing, I can just throw words at the page. It really does a lot for me.
2,4,5) I think these are all lumped into some collective process, so I'll give my unified two cents. I generally don't brainstorm beyond a very brief couple sentences as to what I want to do with a chapter. For longer projects, I've considered and applied more extravagant brainstorming sessions, but there is such a thing as over-preparing. Sometimes, you just have to get writing and see what spills out. Generally speaking, I visualize scenes in my mind when provided some sort of stimulus. As mentioned above, this is usually music. Once that chain gets flowing, it's like looking at an album of photographs. I see anchor points in a plot and they just string together. It then becomes my job to fill in the road map - so to speak.
3,6) Characters are beautiful things. In my opinion, my characters come from a piece of me. The bigger question is how one gets in touch with those pieces, I guess. I spent a long time getting in touch with those little parts of me through writing my own stories and roleplay exercises. I think it's good to get an understanding as to what establishes that portion, and then it comes down to figuring out how you'd evolve if you were completely that portion.
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0) Yes, that mind set definitely needs a readjustment! I'm just not sure how that could even be possible in a short-term sense. I was thinking that maybe just writing while going, "WHEEEHEHEHEHE" in my head might help. ;3 LOL
1) Music has always played a big part in getting me motivated for art, so maybe I just need to focus on writing while I listen to songs. Hmmmm... definitely going to give this a try. :3c I'm currently listening to (you guessed it) the Les Mis sound track and it's definitely helped influence the shape of one character, at least. I just need to flesh it out a bit more.
2,4,5) I have no problem envisioning scenes in my head, at least. My biggest issue is wording the scenes and getting it out properly. I'm not worried about words so much as I am about pace, I guess? D:
3,6) I absolutely agree. :3c Characters I make have always been influenced with aspects of myself, which is actually a big reason why Tea is so easy to write for. She's almost the epitome of me and my personality so it's not hard to think about what she would do in situations. However, she's not always right for the role, eh?
Hmmmm... I guess what you're really saying is come up with a general game plan and wing it? x3
3020315 In the words of Alicorn Princess Big Mac... eeyup.
Well.... Wing already said everything. I my self am mostly paying tribute to the Comics and Classic Literature that I have been reading since I was kid. (My childhood wasn't normal by any extent of the imagination.)
I recommend music. This gets me a typing. Most of the time...
I also recommend that you build the kind of story you want to tell. Then build a character that meets the needs of the story.
In the immortal words of Mike Mignola on Hellboy.
"The kinds of stories I wanted to do I had in mind before I created Hellboy. It’s not like I created Hellboy and said, 'Hey, now what does this guy do?' I knew the kinds of stories I wanted to do, but just needed a main guy."
Think on the story you want to tell. And build a character around that. Hopefully, that is sound advice....
3020525 No no, this is actually super sound advice, thank you! :3c I mean... I definitely think that coming up with the story first is really a clever move. I never really tried it like that before O: I mostly just think up a character and then throw them around in situations in my mind. The story I have in mind that I'm slowly working on is sort of based around the concept of one character but told from the perspective of another. x3;;
3020550 Thank you.