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Jest


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Aug
8th
2019

A How To On: Writing Existing Characters. Mane Six Edition. · 8:26pm Aug 8th, 2019

So I've been here a while, and though I may not be the best, I've learned at least a little, which is what I'm hoping to share with you today. More specifically I hope to help new writers who may struggle with writing existing characters in the franchise, namely the mane six. (Just fyi this is generally pretty free form so this blog will have tons of grammer and spelling errors, please ignore those. This is also not by any means extensive and are mainly just a collection of thoughts on the characters and a short list of dos and donts)

So without further ado, let's jump into it!

Twilight Sparkle: The first thing a writer has to be aware of is what Twilight you're writing. Pre episode 1 Twilight had very poor social skills, and that didn't change tons until about alicorn Twilight happened. After that point, she more or less has the social skills on par, or better than almost anyone in the series. The exception being when shes flustered or stressed, then she has been shown to get pulled into her thoughts and ignore what happens around her.

You have to be aware of these two things when writing her as it changes dialogue, reactions, etc. Writing her as a social butterfly is fine if shes been an alicorn for awhile, but young Twilight was still in the metaphorical cacoon until her arrival in Ponyville where she made her first 'real' friends. With those two things in mind, you can alter her character from there if you wish to take her in another direction, but you have to begin somewhere and change from there.

Beyond that, its fairly easy to write her as she is nerdy, knowledgable, smart, kind, and endearing. Shes more or less the sum of all her friends with lesser parts of their primary traits evident in her. She reacts relatively well under pressure, so long as that pressure is external. For example, whenever there is a big bad shes all plans and ideas, but when it's under self-imposed stress like the smarty pants incident, she gets 'caught' in her head and doesn't react as well.

If you writing her more 'realistically' she likely has some form of OCD and might take meds for her manic episodes. It's not difficult to write her as a character that regularly goes to a therapist or counselor or otherwise does something to help with her anxiety but this can be as big, or as little a focus as you want it to be.

In general, Twilight is a leader when someone is in trouble, and exemplifies all parts of the elements of harmony but is prone to self-destruction if she gets too flustered.

Pinkie Pie: Is easily the hardest character to write for most new writers. The biggest sin I see committed by those penning their first stories is treating Pinkie Pie like shes a walking joke factory devoid of any real personality. All she does in these stories is spout random puns, fourth wall breaks or speaks in sentences without spaces. She's a real character though and is not always random, and if you write her that way you're undermining her own character as if she's always random, then its not random.

You must write her like shes a real character who just HAPPENS to do the aforementioned things occasionally, but not super often.

Dont be afraid to deepen her character because she has far more fascets then what you might first expect. Remember, even the 'comic relief' can have a character arc, even they can be serious, and even they can carry the story if you write them well. Consigning this character to the dust bin to be pulled out only when you need to directly talk to the reader, or insert some ham-fisted joke will not be funny, or effective.

This changes with tone of course, because if you're writing a glorified shit post, you can do that so long as you are tongue in cheek about it. But if you're trying to write a serious story or a semi-serious story then she needs to be serious too. Pinkie Pie is shown to be fairly intelligent in the show as well, so chances are she wouldn't do something stupid like surprising the gang in the middle of a tense seen just because you want a false climax. She's far more social than anyone of her friends, and can usually read the room fairly well.

In general Pinkie Pie is indeed the comic relief, but she is never ONLY the comic relief and can be relied on to find the solution for most problems if given the time and the motivation, don't underutilize her.

Rarity: Is one of the harder characters to write for new writers as she is easily pigeonholed into doing one thing and one thing only, fashion. New character shows up? Rarity critiques their outfit and offers to make them a new one. This happens in nearly every 'isekai' or insert fiction there is. Its not a bad trope, but it is a tired one. Try to avoid following trends, is in general good advice but applies even more for Rarity.

Shes compassionate and this can lead to many interesting things in your story that dont start and end with her making the protag a new set of digs. The protag could stay there, work there, or otherwise help her out as the fashionista is very likely to offer just that should they need any of those things. Though that is obviously not the only thing you can do with her, as she, like most characters, has been shown to be intelligent in her own way. At the end of the day if getting messy means saving someone, or getting the job done, Rarity do it without complaint, but if it doesn't seem necessary to get messy, she will probably offer a comment or two and try to avoid it.

Rarity is very rarely truly haughty, she may get caught up in a role she has to play in order to cater to someone she is trying to sell a dress to, but this isnt a true part of her character. If you want her to be haughty, you need to change something about her character or reveal that she was a noble, or whatever and simply never told anyone.

In general shes just as smart as the others, and is simply not a one-note character and is capable of the same emotional depth of any other character.

Applejack: In short, shes easy to write well for most newby writers, but those same writers usually get small things wrong, and generally struggle to make her a truly deep character. The first sin I see is doing her accent wrong. Harsh I sounds like in my, are usually not said like mah. Imagine of she said the word eye like ah. See? Sounds kind of dumb. Say things out loud in her action and you will quickly discover if it sounds right or not. Country euphemisms are easy to get wrong, or otherwise use incorrectly. Watch a few movies with a prominent character who has an accent like hers, or read a few stories like that and you'll quickly build up a mental library to use whenever. A good source of comedy is making up your own as well, like having her say something like. "Jumping jackrabbits!" Or "Well you know what they say, never count your cows before they are out to pasture."

She also usually isnt written in a deep manner, which is partially the fault of the show as she doesn't really have goals like her friends do. Rarity wants to expand her business, Twilight doesnt necessarily strive towards a goal but success in general and is thus rewarded with increased responsibilities, etc. Applejack just wants to work untill she drops and not lose that. Not losing something isnt the same as gaining something which is where most people struggle to write her well. Usually, I advise on simply expanding her character a little and writing her like your imagining shes a real person.

Would she want to expand the farm? Or would you keep it exactly the same and let her goals be more 'mundane' like starting a family. Finding love, becoming the best at a hobby of hers, or maybe even she wants to start her own farm somewhere nearby. There are plenty of small things you can do to make her feel 'real' fairly easily.

In general, say her lines aloud in order to get a feel for what sounds 'right' while also treating her with the same respect other characters are show. Shes also been shown to be fairly smart in her own way as well, while also being a more grounded, and serious character.

Fluttershy: Is very emotionally intelligent, and is very strong by season 5ish. Writing her as an emotionally vulnerable wreck that constantly needs to be propped up and saved is a disservice to her character and also plays into some weird male power dynamics that are creepy 90% of the time. Like, she is smart in her own way like every other character, the only difference is shes also freerer with her emotions and is, as her name implies, a little shyer. You can write her as weak and pathetic, but you almost need to put your story either pre-show, or at most before season 3 as then on shes been shown to be fairly tough.

If you have trouble actualizing the fact that she's shy, and free with her emotions while still being strong think of it like this. She lets herself feel the thing, but she doesn't let it overwhelm her. Shes fearful but rarely truly runs from a situation. She may cower temporarily, but she doesn't break down and curl into a ball every time. Shes also much stronger when she has something to protect (think the dragonshy episode) So having her curl up and be useless 99% of the time just makes the writer look bad.

Again, respect the character, imagine shes a real person that is just a little shyer. If you were you, but shyer and in her situation would you run away, break down and cry, etc? Would you do that thing while your best friend was being threatened? Would you do that same thing when something you love was on the line? I didnt think so.

In general, she is not a wet blanket, but is usually the last resort, as she doesnt feel comfortable being strong, but when necessary steps up and does what she has to do. If she is written as useless then you either need to go out of your way to explain she suffered some hidden trauma, or place the story earlier on in the show's timeline.

Rainbow Dash: My most hated character to be entirely honest, but with that being said I don't mind writing her as her core character is fundamentally good but the show kinda does her dirty. To illustrate my point, RD is basically a side villain. She pranks the town even after being sat down and expressly told not to. She lets her ego get to the point that she risks murdering an entire village through the damn. She tries to sell her best friend for a book in the swap episode. Etc, etc. Shes consistently shown to not be very loyal and not very smart when she simply learns differently, and is loyal to the core.

Which means that if you are writing a story where all in show events happen you either need to gloss over those things I mention or explain them.

If you do not enjoy writing her, or struggle to do so I find it best to imagine her like a really dependable friend who just happens to have ADHD. Sure they are a little scatterbrained some kind and tend to get hyperfocused on some stuff, but when the chips are down they will never leave you hanging.

Her ego needs to be addressed as well as depending on the point of the show your story picks up on either shes a raging egomaniac or a more level headed individual who understands when to put their ego aside. No matter where in the timeline your story picks up, or even if your story is in the timeline or not, you always have to keep that ego in mind, even if its just used to color her sentences. Say she jsut got punched, shes likely to go "That was nothing!" Even if shes reeling. You can also write her as with an ego but not annoying like for example she did something wrong and causes a big mess and says something like. "Heh, even when i screw up I'm still awesome." Or if shes told to clean up the mess, or otherwise make up for her slip up she could say. "Dont worry, I'll take care of this lickety split."

In general her ego is something you need to have a good handle on levelwise. But that same ego isnt always a bad thing, and its not just. "She has an ego but can back it up." Because that's some REALLY toxic thinking right there, but is instead more like. "She has an ego, but has real skill and genuinely cares about her friends and town."


So what have we learned? In general, you need to treat these characters like they are real, three-dimensional people who are capable of anything you are. They are never just one thing, and all have their own layers and depth that may not initially be noticeable. Generally, you want to simply avoid cliches while sticking true to the character.

Oh and if you ever want to test whether or not your character writing is on point remove all mention of their name and notable physical attributes (Like rainbow hair, or AJ's hat) and if by their words and actions they still FEEL like that character, then you've done a good job. If you change their name to something totally random and a reader doesn't even know who they are, you have failed your characterization test and need to insert more small bits of character into their dialogue and actions to change that.

Report Jest · 582 views · #How To
Comments ( 14 )

One of my favorite depictions of Pinkie comes from Nfire's Legacy. While the pronking party pony still pulls stunts that defy the main character's understanding of reality, her expression of Laughter goes far beyond parties and one-liners. Pinkie's purpose in life is to bring happiness, and she knows that revelry isn't the only way to do that.

5102367
Pinkie Pie is strong and she's smart, with a kind and gentle heart. She knows bringing joy and laughter may be her primary role, but she also knows true happiness is something you feel down in your soul. She knows its not something that only happens when you eat something sweet, but can also come from receiving another kind of treat. More then a joke, she helps every friend, whether it be a laugh, or a bridge needing a mend. Easily able to put aside her life and sit down for a chat, for Pinkie Pie knows that laughter is deeper than just that.

5102376

Well said, do you often write Zecora?

5102386
Tons. Alot of it has ended up on the cutting room floor, but I have a less then-secret love for her character and love the rhyming aesthetic.

5102396

Mm. Might want to tighten up the meter a bit, if you try to speak it out loud 'tis a bit clunky. It's clever mind, but Zecora needs that flow.

5102404
Oh yeah, when I'm actually writing for her I spend way longer and generally plan out what she wants to say in much greater detail. This was just off the top of my head with minimal editing.

5102410
I see. Well done then!

Pretty good, Scitwi is like Twi but human lol

The first sin I see is doing her accent wrong.

Fucking 100% this right here! This is where people struggle the most when it comes to writing dialog for Applejack and any one of her family member. The constant use of "ah", "reckin", and "sugarcube" in every one one of her sentences while she talks completely normal pony outside of those mentioned words. I get that you want to make the character sounds authentic but it's not necessary (well, to me at least) as long as I know who's talking.

As for Rarity holy shit stop having her say "darling" and "Spikey-Wikey" every 5 minutes. Shit gets old and I bet she hasn't said those words since season 2.

5103948
Preach!

Comment posted by Perrypet deleted Jan 9th, 2021

Quite an unusual narrative about the writing of the first episode of Twilight :applejackunsure:

5431564
Why do you say that?

It was just a revelation for me, I did not know these details.

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