Greetings, salutations, hello, hi, bonjour, bienvenue, hola, aloha, shalom, and assalamualaikum to you all. And Happy New Years or whatever (Not that it's New Years for those that subscribe to the Gregorian Calendar, in which case Happy New Year in ten days. Or for people who celebrate Chinese New Year, because that is in February. Or for that matter the Druidic New Year, which started back at the beginning of November. Happy late-as-hell Samhain, Wiccans.)

I know that it has been a few months since anyone really posted a lecture here in this forum, and with the new year having started a few days ago, I aim to change that and maybe get the ball rolling again. For those of you who do not know me, my name around here is Klondike, and I try to run this cat-herding operation to the best of my rather poor leadership abilities.

But I digress, and I fear that I have started to rant. What I have come before you today to talk about is one of the most difficult concepts to pin down in writing: good characterization. The main problem that I find with many stories that I see on the front page of Fimfiction is a lack of character diversity. All the characters in some people's first story all seem to have fallen out of the same generic character mold, lacking any sort of defining features or personal characteristics. They may look different and come from different backgrounds, but they are all so similar in demeanor, action, and even basic intellect that the usual character dynamic that is present in most great stories is absolutely lacking.

Do you know what the problem is? The writer can only write about characters that they can conceive of, namely themselves. While writing my first story, I made the rookie mistake of making all my characters talk the same, think the same, feel the same, and even act the same in different situations. I couldn't make a good intellectual character because I myself am only of average intellect. I couldn't do a half-decent soldier because I was never in the armed forces. And the worst offense of all: all of the leadership of the various factions flailed around like idiots whenever presented with a challenge, because I am not good leader material and don't know how to see from the perspective of a strong and tactile leader.

And to hopefully try and remedy that, or at least put a bandaid on it, I come to you today with some tips from the internet and from personal experience on how to make a character that you are not familiar with. With this in mind, I invite you to step out of your own mind and build a character that is totally different from yourself. Someone who is foreign to you, but someone who you can become for just an instant, just to get their thoughts and their feelings on an issue. Because if writing is like anything, it's like schizophrenia. Or multiple personality disorder.

The Intellectual

Ah, the savant, the rogue genius, the once in a lifetime beautiful mind that few can comprehend and even fewer can match. The one person in your story who can connect all the dots, solve any problem, and maybe even save the day with nothing more than a little bit of time to think. Basically, what the Big Bang Theory makes Sheldon Cooper out to be. (Ugh, fine, Dr Sheldon Cooper.) But the main problem that you run into when trying to write a character who is a genius is that, well, you probably aren't a genius. Statistics say you aren't, so don't argue. The average IQ is 100 (who woulda thought), and the genius in your story claims to have an IQ that is in the 160-180 range, which rather easily qualifies them for Mensa. So you have your intellectual character spout big fancy words, sit around solving puzzles all day, and quote statistics and factoids that may or may not be relevant to the situation at all. You know what saying facts all the time makes your character? It doesn't make them a genius, it makes them a parrot.

That's right, your big intellectual character (and mine as well) is quite literally a bird-brain.

You want to know how to write a genius? Well, the first step would be to have some knowledge of your own. Not necessarily professional level, but a working knowledge or basic fundamental understanding. If your character is a physicist, brush up on physics. But on the flip side of that coin, don't make your character the end-all-be-all scientist who designs a more efficient airfoil at breakfast, creates a new strain of radiation-tolerant microorganisms at lunch, and discusses the Flatland universe model with theoretical physicists at dinner. Nobody knows everything, so don't make your character know everything. A true genius is marked by his curiosity and his approach to situations that test his logic and his knowledge. A logical and intellectual character will have no problem approaching a difficult situation if there is a logical solution to it. Something like a puzzle might be a breeze to them, but approaching a situation that has no logical conclusion may present them with problems. Situations and challenges like social interaction, such as dating, might confuse the living hell out of a genius character. Twilight Sparkle is our token intellectual from the world of MLP.

(For more information on writing geniuses, try visiting this website for more.)

Of course, the logical intellectual might feel out of his element in a social situation, but that is no problem for . . .

The Charismatic Character

(Look, there is no real name for someone who exudes an aura of charisma, so just deal with it.)

In literature, and in every day life, you run into people who just seem to have a way with people. They love to talk and they love to be the center of attention. Though they are not as smart as the intellectual, their wit is as sharp as a knife. But the motives of the charismatic character is always the completion of their goals, whether small and short term or long term and life-changing. You know who my favorite witty and charismatic character is? Tyrion Lannister. From birth he has had a difficult life, being born a dwarf and all, he has always lived in the shadow of his strong and handsome brother Jaime and had to deal with the ungodly expectations of being from House Lannister (as well as having to put up with that douchenozzle of a father, Lord Tywin. Ehh. . . errr . . . D'aww, I can't stay mad at you Tywin, you may be a filthy and conniving Lannister of Casterly Rock, but by god you know how to get things done. And besides, Charles Dance reminds of Christopher Lee, and who doesn't love Christopher Lee?)

Again, I digress. Throughout the entire series of A Song of Ice and Fire, Tyrion does most of his fighting with his words. Several times he talks his way out of trouble with the use of rhetoric and wit, convincing other people to fight his physical battles for him and avoiding the chopping block by bantering with the people in charge.

How does he do it? many introverted people like myself may wonder. Well, I . . . I had to look it up. I'm not a people person, okay! First, they use creative and hyperbolic exaggeration. For example, "His arms are so long, he could stand straight up and still walk on all fours." or something like, " That [Intellectual Character] spends so much time with his nose in a book that I forgot what his face looks like." Neither are particularly insulting to the characters mentioned, but they are exaggerated claims about the person that hold a grain of truth. Second, they use verbal puns. For example, "A pyrotechnician should know how fireworks." (God forgive me for that.) Third, they reply quickly and nonchalantly. Charisma and wit are half dialogue, and half demeanor. Charismatic people don't laugh at their own jokes unless the whole room laughs first. They are calm, cool, they use references that may only be relevant in their social group.

Of course, wit is not their only tool. Charismatic people are often wont to use flattery and compliments to accomplish their goals. Say our character is forced to sit in a reception room while waiting for an important meeting with their boss. An intellectual character might sit politely, read a magazine or take that time to think, the charismatic character might socialize with the receptionist. They might compliment them on a piece of jewelry as a way to break the ice, and then carry on a conversation as to how the receptionist came to own that jewelry. With a little bit of rhetoric use, the charismatic character may have made a social connection that may serve as a pathway to the real goal: the boss. But the receptionist doesn't know that, they see the charismatic character as a kind and charming fellow who might be a friend.

Out of all six main cast ponies, I would consider Rarity to be the most charismatic, as she is typically very complimentary, charming, and often networks with other people in order to possibly advance herself.

Eccentrics

Whether they are a character that has odd character quirks, high levels of energy, or serious mental disorders, it is a little more difficult to capture the unadulterated power of crazy on paper. Well, getting into the mind of an eccentric person isn't as hard or as pants-crappingly terrifying as modern culture makes it out to be. The eccentric character, and all of their seemingly odd quirks, is a person whose entire personality is based around a mindframe where their actions and oddities make sense. AKA, what's normal to you might not make sense to someone else.

For example, in an upcoming story I'm writing, an eccentric older character takes time during a lull in a massive war to draw sketches of worms in a notebook. All the other characters chalk it up to him being simply crazy, but in fact the worms he draws are part of an allegory that he uses to explain the war itself. When Pinkie Pie runs around Ponyville gathering instruments in the middle of a parasprite plague, the rest of the characters just think she's crazy when in fact she knows music will draw the parasprites away.

On that same vein, being "random" is simply the eccentric's response to their environment and its stimuli. Pinkie Pie is energetic and very impassioned about smiling and laughter because she came from an environment in which both of those things were rare, and thus she believes that any place lacking in smiles and laughter must be like the place she came from and can be changed thus. You can work such an eccentricity in a character by making them, how to say it, different. Some of the things they say and do don't make much sense to anyone but themselves.

Intentionally quirky people (I'm looking at you, hipsters) are not true eccentrics. If you dry yourself with a teddy bear, wear a peacock feather in your hatband, or have huge paintings of eyes on your wall just to be weird, I hate you.

Eccentricity of course is not the same as being insane. An insane person has a distended view of the world around them that is influenced by some kind of mental dysfunction, and often makes no sense at all when taken out of context, even though the actions of an eccentric may make a little sense when some thought is put into them. Pinkie Pie, being some kind of eldritch abomination that defies the very laws of physics, lies somewhere in the middle.

When writing from the point of view of a person who is slightly off, consider the thought patterns that don't make the most amount of sense directly. The more convoluted the thought process and the wackier it pans out, the better.

I'll edit this thread when I have some time this week, but for now I have to survive this winter storm (aka, the next coming of the Ice Age).

2530388 Question: How about the sarcastic, semi brooding asshole?

2530448 Ah, you mean The Jerk. Well, The Jerk's actions are not usually done with a set of motives in mind, but are instead driven by ego. The Jerk's ego is their greatest attribute, and they tend to believe that the world is constantly locked in an "us and them" struggle, with "us" being The Jerk. They are either narcissistic or inverted narcissistic, and the only way to prove themselves against "them" is by proving that they are better or through acts of pettiness. The Jerk may see an opportunity to spite a peer as an opportunity to knock their peer down a peg. The Jerk feels that everyone is working against them or that their abilities or specialness places them far above everyone else. Sunset Shimmer is a shining example of The Jerk, as she stole Twilight's crown as both an act of spite and revenge, as she believes that she is the best unicorn in Equestria and so on.

2530388
You have no idea how much this helps! I have to write all three of these characters. Thanks.

2530571 How about the jock? I know for a fact that Jocks aren't as stupid as they're made out to be, but... y'know, it's incredibly hard not to picture them, or have them act stupid simply because when it comes to most jocks, they don't have book smarts... at all... they're to busy spending their time learning other things.

2530687 I would re-title the jock as The Enthusiast. The Enthusiast is a person who is incredibly knowledgeable and/or skilled in one particular (usually non-scholarly) field. He isn't usually motivated by small goals like the Charismatic Character, and their train of thought to reach that goal is usually simple, contrary to that of the Eccentric and the Intellectual. The Enthusiast is passionate about one or two things in particular, and most other things fall behind in his love of that one particular thing. It can be anything; sports, hobbies, etc. The typical Enthusiast believes that hard work will often yield good results, therefore he will work hard to achieve his goal and, conversely, party hard. This "party hard" attitude is what contributes to the stereotype of the dumb jock, as well as a lack of general knowledge which is not in any way attributed to stupidity, just differing priorities.

For example, Rainbow Dash falls easily into the trope of the Enthusiast. Her goal in life, the one thing that she loves more than anything else, is to join the Wonderbolts. Of course, becoming a Wonderbolt takes little planning on the behalf of the Enthusiast, but lots of hard work. Every Rainbow Dash episode is centered around her pushing herself harder and harder to the extreme in order to achieve her goal. So in reality, the Jock may not be an idiot, just focused on something that is more important to them.

However, if they fail to achieve their long-term goal they may turn into the slighted Jerk (see above).

What if you're writing different genders -- specifically the one opposite of you? I know that all personalities are different and all, and it depends on the person specifically, but men and women do have different mindsets and respond to things differently in general. That being said, I am a woman and tend to make my male characters seem just a bit much on the feminine side, so are there any ways to help your male characters thought processes... you know, more boy-like?

2530687 I'm not the lecturer, but I have a feeling that the Jock would be more of a combination of some of these characters.
A dash of Charisma, maybe a little bit of Jerk (that all depends on the person himself). Their sense of interest and logic would be primarily focused around their athleticism.

I guess like how the Intellectual's behavior and processes are framed around books and knowledge, the Jock's behavior and processes are framed around whatever athleticism they employ.

Just a guess!

2530388 was that explanation alright, professor ^^^^?

2530388 What about the idiot, or, Fool? How would you write this character?

2531043 mmm... I'm not the one the question was addressed to, but since the folks here were kind enough to answer my question, I hope you don't mind if I leave my own two cents.

For the most part male mentality is influenced by practicality (now there are exceptions to this, as there always are.) But generally, if you're going to make a male character, they don't generally 'stop and smell the roses' unless the 'roses' are the accumulation of their efforts so far. Furthermore, scientifically speaking, men's eyes are attracted to motion, versus women's attraction to color: so in general they're going to be paying more attention to the people/creatures in whatever story than the natural state of an environment... (general exceptions being archaeologists at a dig, or people's effects on the environment.)

I've heard tell that men seem to naturally attract attention without making any attempt to do so, though I'm not sure if that helps at all.

(you'll probably notice I said 'generally' a lot... it was on purpose, as there are exceptions to every rule.)

2531019 Enthusiast... that seems a far better term for it than 'jock'. Thanks.

2531117 I worked on this for four hours, I haven't researched this much since I wrote my biology microtheme. Let me take the night off, and I'll get to it tomorrow.

2531043 When your characters dealing with issues or acts, remember what my sister tells me, "Guys are more focused on the act, while chicks focus on the principle of the act."

^^^
Important!

2531149

Thanks for that, it actually helped me quite a bit. Plus I never knew that about male and female eyes being drawn to motion vs. color, so that was pretty interesting. I guess you learn something new every day.

2531230 Always happy to spread learninz.

2530388

Referenced for future reference. Thanks for doing stuff like this, it helps a lot.

I gotta start participating more in this group, seeing as how I'm a budding young ball of fail and I need help.

Take my first sentence. That's been filed into the department of redundancies department.

2531255 Actually for creative writing it's pretty good, like something the Eccentric might say in a moment of clarity.

2531184

I honestly now wish I could upvote comments more than once. Thanks a lot for the advice!

2531271

Thanks! I think... although It's entirely true that I'm probably one joker short of a deck of UNO cards.

The thing about the Eccentric is that "Crazy" is relative. To me, liking MLP is normal and fun! To almost all of my friends, family, and most people I've ever met, I'm just a little crazy. (Just a little...).

So, the thing with writing the Eccentric is that they might be absolutely fine to one person, and off their rocker to another.

SEE! Participating!

2531379 Exactly! People will say I'm weird, or that I make no sense(yet that somehow makes them want to befriend me... wut?), but that's wrong. It all has a rhyme and reason. Everything I do or say makes perfect sense to me. If others can't make sense of it, that's their problem

2531301 you're very welcome!
Have some Derpebetes before you go

2531481

No sense? NONSENSE! (That's an album title, not my own creation. Unfortunately.)

It's not so much their problem as much as it is just a communication error. Thinking of others as having a problem is wrong. Even if it's right. *Preach* *Preach*

BTW, I wanna be friends. BE FRIENDS WITH ME! FFFRRRRRIIIIIEEEEENNNNDDDDDD!

Edit: Derpebetes. I has it now.

2531497

Oh, well I'm just glad you could give me that advi-- EEEEEEEEEEEEE IT'S ADORABLE I WANNA HUG IT

2531512 Lol it was a joke, if they can't follow the train of logic then they just can't!

And I will be your friend. *comforting hug*

2530388 One last question professor; how might I write a snobby, narcissistic, spoiled rich woman who harbors extremely racist and prejudicial attitudes?

2531997 Well, I would think that someone like that fits into the Jerk typecast that I talked about near the top. But anyways, she harbors a sense of self-righteousness that comes from a complete lack of humility. She might believe that the world revolves around her, and anyone who disagrees is a sans culottes type of plebian who obviously is speaking out of turn and has no idea what their ignorant ramblings mean. Anyone who is not smart enough or well connected enough to be on her level is not worth her time, which includes ethnicities of people who historically have had it rough. This person might believe only in station, and anyone that shares her station or is above her, she treats charismatically. Otherwise, you are simply not worth the effort of her attention.

She will try to appear more sophisticated and mature than other people around her. A rich snob is more likely to pass on insults to people that she deems inferior in any way. A rich snob will use words that she doesn't really understand in the hopes that the "lessers" won't understand them either.

Hope this helps.

2532069 Oh I forgot to add the Nazi esque genocidal part of this woman; any race different from hers and someone of her race, for richer or poorer, would be creating a racially impure abomination. How might I make this subtle, but then devolve into full blown Hitler esque rallying and witch burning?

2532094 Huh. . .

Well, have her start out as a rich and charismatic leader (like Hitler sorta was) and then make the slow transition to genocidal maniac.

2530571

I suppose that could explain why Discord took a liking to 'shy (despite a certain episode's said flaws/being rushed ). The "Us vs Them" dichotomy where one proves ones superiority by one-upmaship doesn't quite work when your "opponent" just flat out refuses to play and tries to be a friend/ally instead. Still, you have to often be a literal Ghandi/Mother Theresa/MLK to pull something like that off. While on that note, any comments on this sort of character? Not sure what to call it exactly-the Saint maybe? I know it can be tricky at times as it can be too easy to make them a doormat or just so pure/sinless and/or kind/selfless to the point of being unrelateable.

2531043

I could use help w/ the opposite as I am a "dood." Sorry for multiple posts. XS

2531117 I respectfully disagree: not every piece of personality comes from a traumatic past. Sometimes it comes from joy, or just boredom.

The only thing to remember is: whatever way a person behaves works for them. It meets the needs that they have.

So for Pinkie, there is a need to see people smile. We could (if we felt the need to explain this at all) believe this comes from an oppressive childhood, or we could simply chalk it up to Pinkie not really understanding the difference between "smiling" and "happy." After all, we know that her first party was in fact a success, and so she may well have gone on to throw parties for every family in her little village, and they were all sad to see her go apprentice with the Cakes because they just weren't as good at parties. She might write her sisters letters every week which they try to puzzle out. Or it could be a thing with no particular origin. But so long as Pinkie dislike/fears/whatevers non-smiling ponies, her efforts to make everypony smile (whether they like it or not) make sense to Pinkie (in that the actions meet a clear and consistent motivation, even if the motive does not make much sense to anypony not Pinkie)

My point is: don't assume trauma. People can be interesting without tragic backstories. Just know what the characters want, and what skillsets they have to achieve their goals.

Intellectual: knowledge is a goal, and "logic" is the skillset.

Charismat: goals are varied, but "making friends" is the skillset

Tyrant: goals vary, but "making people fear you" is the skillset

Jock: winning is the goal, hard work is the skillset

and so on.

2533547 Read up on Gandhi: he was a dick to the British and occasionally his allies, and knew exactly what he was doing, how he was doing it, and the complications that would arise from his actions. Churchill hated Gandhi, and referred to him as "that damned lawyer"

But Gandhi's plan (not so different from Fluttershy's, except for scale and setting) was built on the concept of shame: his idea was to shame the British into letting India go, by making them look like asshole trying to enforce occupation. He used morality (British morality, at that) as his shield and his sword. To maintain this, he had to retain the moral high ground, which takes impressive discipline and foresight, but he pulled it off several times in a row which is why he had such an impact on history.

MLK copied Gandhi's playbook pretty much page-for-page, and it worked again.

2533552

Sorry it took a while on the reply. I was sleeping.

Anyway, this one... might take a while. We're sort of complicated. We as women generally have several little ticks and quirks that we share if only very slightly (obviously there will be exceptions with personalities and such) -- and some of them you can see even in the show. Girls will generally try break off into groups and socialize mainly with the other members of this group -- i.e. the Mane 6 or CMC -- and while the women of the group can and most probably will have friends outside of this little clique, most of their time will be spent with those in it ( poor Twist and all of Pinkie's friends come to mind). We are also sort of naturally curious people and question things more than men do, which leads to things like Miss Rarity's gossiping. Women can also pick out smaller details of the area around them, and reflect on things more than men do.

And one of the most important things -- we don't just come out and say things. Words can get under our skin very easily, and whenever we feel doubtful or depressed we tend to keep it to ourselves and think it over for at least a little while before talking it out with someone (which, yes, does sort of make the problem worse sometimes). When you ask if we're okay and we say that we're "fine", we 90% of the time want you to deny that and ask us again (Do pay attention to the tone of our voices, though. Sometimes we really will be), as we want to be assured that the people we're talking with know us well enough to know that we're not okay. This is usually with younger girls and women, though it can carry on to older people as well.

Well, that lasted forever and I probably did a terrible, terrible job... but I've never really stopped to think about how freaking complicated we really are. I hope this helped a little bit, at least...

2533552 As a fellow dood, I can only give advice in the negative, but consider this:

Men are not allowed to show weakness. This permeates pretty much all social interactions that men have. We're also expected to be logical and practical and strong (for certain values of those terms.)

Women are expected to show weakness and seem vulnerable. Women are not supposed to be strong and in command, they're supposed to be in need of saving. That's a sexist stereotype, but people still do think that way. Women are also expected to be nurturing and so on.

Hej means hi in Danish.

How about advice towards writing a Character with almost a Jekyll/Hyde duality. Mild mannered and scared, but in a profession where they need to seem confident and even borderline arrogant?

Jolly good lecture, Klondike! It's good to see such one since a lecture or something similar hasn't been written in a while.

2530388 This did help me a little. However, for me, character personalities are easy to imagine. Maybe because I have a different personality every other hour.

Seriously, I felt like a completely girly guy like four hours ago, and now I'm currently feeling rather masculine. I can also be choose some things one day, then look at them the next day and say, "These choices make absolutely no sense."

Eccentricity? Maybe. Or maybe I'm just crazy.

This lecture,, and the comments on it, are great. I've been looking into this sort of thing, as I've found it difficult to write characters that are unlike me.

Amazing lecture. I leaned things and still died at, "pants-crappingly terrifying."

2530388 I got one for you; how do I write the Sociopath?

2530388 Another question, how might I write a Queen who acts kind and generous, even motherly, but who can kick vast amounts of ass when the chips are down?

2575761

2576948 Huh...a response that's very obvious, but kinda vague.

2578465 If it's the Queen, then make her like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna rolled into one. Their characteristics and mannerisms had to have come from someone. If she has ruled a nation for a long time, then she is obviously very wise and will dispense wisdom and philosophy to anyone who asks for it. She is probably the kind of mare that knows how to apply a light touch, instead of ruling with an iron hoof; a guiding hand instead of a forceful shove.

2578505 true, but let's not forget that throughout most of the series, she acts like Gaia and Zordon, letting her little minions solve big problems for her, though granted they at least explain why she can't use the elements again.

2579223 Your core question goes back to the initial points though:

What does the Queen want? (for her kingdom: stability, peace, and the ability to handle problems. For herself: the best possible kingdom, personal peace, ???)

What skills and/or tools does she have to achieve her goals? Diplomacy, and army, law: these are the tools of statecraft, but they are made up of people, so you need to determine what sorts of people she needs to deal with, and how she deals with them: compassion (this is how Twi leads), fear (Sombra), manipulation (which can include trickery), wealth (as in: she pays people/ponies to do what she wants), and so on.

But if she's been doing the whole "ruler" thing for a while, she uses all of these tools, depending on the individual situation. How do you write that? Think very long, and very hard, about every decision she makes. Get a pre-reader to go over every decision she makes. Reconsider all the side effects of every decision she makes.

I didn't say it would be easy, but that's what I feel you need to do.

2548525 Sociopaths are well aware of the emotions of others, but they just don't care. They'll hurt people to get what they want, because seeing others in pain does not bother them at all.

2579366 how about their distant cousin, the Psychopath?

2579354 you've a point. It's never easy to write a character of any kind