#follow for more advice on creating OCs and storytelling

[missbaphomet]

I came up with a new OC recently (possible DnD character) and she's good and sweet and naive and her goal is that she's looking for her much older half brother (they are half-elves with the same father) who went missing when she was still young and the last time he came home (for less than an hour, in the middle of the night) she learned some information that indicates he was turned into a vampire. Cool story!

Then I started developing her brother.

I came up with his father being shallow and selfish who abandoned his human wives when they stopped being young and beautiful.

The brother is implied to have driven off their father, and the brother basically raised his sister alongside her mother.

Basically the brother is obsessed with her. He wants to control her and "protect" her. He will even take away her freedom of it will "protect her pure little soul"

The thing is... The brother is also in a toxic relationship. The woman who turned him treats him as both lover and child, but he doesn't care. It's a very "happiness in slavery" type dynamic (the woman who turned him and his sister are the only things that give him limits to what he would do)

The sister has no idea what her brother is like. She sees him as a loving and caring brother that she looks up to.

So basically: the brother is now more interesting than the sister 😅 but I think if I was using her as a PC she'd be easier to play and fit in with other people

For dnd PCs the interesting bit happens as you play! Don't worry about being super special from the word go, that's what the story is for!!!!!

My OC Jinx is the biological granddaughter of Asmodeus (her bio mom is Glasya) bc her dad (lawyer, good at job, bad at ethics) made a deal with Glasya. She's an archfey warlock and shadow sorcerer (after being corrupted with shadow magic by her patron) but other than that she's just a spoiled little rich kid!!! It's ok to have characters that are kinda plain with cool details to work with that's what the story is for!!!

My character for Curse of Strahd is a 19 year old farm girl who has seen so much tragedy but wants to kick Strahd's toothy ass about taxes!!! No character is boring unless you make them boring. Make your girl interesting by playing her!!!

[shiraishi--kanade]

would you mind sharing ur process of how you come up with so many npcs for your units 👉👈 like what you prioritize first about them or some ways you know what traits might fit best to contrast/compliment the main cast w/o overshadowing them too much?

Silly answer: they posses my family and then hold me on the gunpoint until I write them into the story

Serious answer: I mainly go out of the what role I want someone to fill in the story (so no role - no side character necessary), and if that role can be filled by any other main character or already existing npc, I don't bother coming up with anything new.

I'm an adherent to "every word should move the plot" motto in a non-pretentious way, so while creating more ocs is always very fun (regardless of pc/npc character categories in pjsk ocs, they're still all ocs at the end of the day), there are a lot of them I know will never be important or make the cut to appear at all.

More under the cut because I go on a tirade;

In general even just explaining how I do it is kind of difficult because my mind is a dumpster fire of ideas, but I try to follow at least some rules that I think can be handy, so here:

1. Less is more. This is re: how to not make npcs overshadow your main characters. I will say that... it'll likely happen anyway because readers have favourite tropes and clichés that your main characters will not necessarily always click with. It's not a bad thing. But in general in order for readers to like both of the characters the amount you're aiming to, don't reveal too many details or too much backstory for the NPC. Make their story noticeable and important enough, but don't lean into it too much. Readers feel closer to the character because of the detail and nuance they know about them, their history; this level of attachment will probably not happen to npcs that don't reveal much about themselves. Instead it creates some level of freedom to hc and projection lol.

I'm going to say you yourself should probably not get too into writing an npc, but that's a difficult task.

Also sometimes you want readers to get attached and the npcs to outshine the pc (or at least be at the same level) for story purposes. E.g: Nagi Kosaki. Just evaluate what is it you want.

2. Don't oversaturate your cast. In the spirit of previous advice, if a role in the story can be filled with already existing character, don't go ahead and make a new one, especially if they're just gonna leave after two scenes. Forging closer bonds with the characters we're already familiar with > new cool toy. It's also hard to keep up with huge casts of characters (as much as I love them).

3. Don't be afraid to make them too similar. By all means give even your narrative foils mannerisms and things that set them apart, but if your reader can at a glance say "ooh they're narrative foils" and be correct, that's a good thing. Pat the character on the head. Narrative context that's immediately apparent to some category of readers that purposely put effort into looking for that sort of thing is as good a sign as any. You're not being a high-fiction writer here (unless you are and I'm the absolute wrong person to give advice for that), embrace the inherent simplicity of visual novel-like storytelling and relish in it. I've seen people backtrack in making characters because "it's too obvious" and it's kinda sad.

I think this is all I can say in terms ot general advice. I think the need to create NPCs, and their amount, varies too much on the stories for me to go and say "do this when you need to achieve this, but don't do y unless you need to do x". See: WxS story will not be as effective without their huge supporting cast, but we barely even have any npcs for N25 story, usually only 2 per character or so, and they're fine. They don't need a huge supporting cast because of what their story and character development is. Hell, Suzuka's parents literally don't even have personalities because they're not important to her story.

But overall I think the distinction between pc/npc in like, our specific genre, is kind of scary. You should still enjoy the process of making and writing those characters, even if they're a one-off appearance. Treat them as people of their own who just happened to brush shoulders with the Important character on their both ways to growth, I think is the gist of it.

[softpine]

I’m just so inspired to create my own stories with my sims and post them but I have no idea how to start do you have any tips?

hey! my biggest tip is literally just to jump in and give it a try! 90% of everything i know in regards to simblr has been learned through trial and error. i joined just so i could post my gameplay pictures and over time i got more invested, started adding story elements, ditched gameplay altogether, and now here we are today. i truly believe that if i had joined simblr with the intention of writing this insanely widescale story that i'll be working on for the next 5 years, i would've given up after a month. but because it happened naturally, i was able to get attached to the characters and the community i've found on simblr. so that's my biggest tip that i always tell people: just give it a shot and don't set any expectations for yourself (except one: have fun lol) 💖

also some general tips that aren't completely necessary but i think they're helpful:

make your simblr your main blog (ie. the one people will see when you follow, like posts, reply, etc.) for easier recognition.

keep your personal blog and simblr separate. this is not to say that you can't post personal things, of course, but a majority of my content is sims-focused. i created a separate blog for all my other interests. same goes for cc finds, those all go on a side blog.

connect with others!! it's one of the most fun things about simblr. i've made friends and talked to such a wide range of people because we all share a common interest so it's easier to connect. if you're ever unsure of what to say, it's always a safe bet to ask questions about someone's sims/OCs. most people are on simblr because we love to give our sims some kind of story, whether it's through gameplay or dialogue-based storytelling. so it's a really good ice breaker!

i also have a lot of writing/storytelling advice here that you might find helpful 💖

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Hellooo!!! Congratulations on 6k!!! You deserve each and every one of them, and many more as well!! Your writing is stellar and you always create the most interesting and well-rounded OCs!

I would like to ask for a Baldur's Gate 3 ship (any gender), if it's not too much trouble :)

I am intelligent and hard-working, known for my curious nature and my perfectionism. I always try to be kind and helpful to people around me, but my natural bluntness and introversion often make me seem less nice than I would like. I combine a strong sense of morality with an analytical mind, which makes me (according to my friends) good at giving advice. On the downside, I can be very bossy and way too independent, and tend to isolate myself when I'm unhappy. The main thing to understand about me is that I deeply like people, even if I'm not great at showing it: I want to go into humanitarian work, enjoy stories of any kind and love very deeply simply because I believe humanity is wonderful (capable of terrible things, but mostly wonderful when given a chance).

As for you, I think I would ship you with Halsin! You're intelligent people, but your interests seem very different (nature vs storytelling & history), which means you could engage intellectually in a way that would allow you both to learn something from the other. He's also very mature (and you seem too), which would help avoid any unnecessary drama in the relationship. Plus, he's very independent, and would never begrudge you your alone time. Honestly, I just think you two would have the healthiest love story in all of Faerun.

I ship you with Lae'zel

You two strike a healthy balance of being alike in the things that matter and different in a way that helps the other. Lae'zel starts the game as extremely pragmatic to the point it may be considered cruel. She's appreciate your bluntness and analytical perspective. She knows you're not bogged down with sentiment, but can still see the good, making it easier for her to see it as well.

She knows its important to have your own space and would respect your independent streak. At the same time, she wouldn't expect you to face a difficult task alone and be there when it count. This include those moments when you feel the need to isolate. Some alone time is fine, wallowing is bad and Lae'zel knows the difference.

You two balance each other out and would genuinely have a healthy, mutually respectful relationship.

You know, I always wanted to know what it was like to cuddle with a bear.

6k Follower Celebration (requests are open!)

(3/30)

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Your fics have inspired me to write some of my own! So I was wondering if you have any tips for aspiring writers? Asking anonymously, because I'm terrified my writing is terrible and I'm shy

Hello love!

Oh, well done for wanting to make a start, I’m proud of you! Also, I’m super flattered that I could serve as inspiration for that 😊

The best advice I could give would be the following notes -

1. Remember your grammar and punctuation and try to use correctly to the best of your ability. It’s very difficult to read a story where, no matter how much storytelling ability I see within an author, the spelling and grammar are sloppy. Most people don’t expect perfection and goodness knows I still make silly mistakes even after writing for 20 years, but doing this shows a level of care for your work. Use tools such as Grammarly, or just write using Microsoft Word as it’s built in and will correct for you as you write.

2. Have a clear start and end point for your story. Without such, you will struggle. Make notes about your idea prior to beginning it, set the tone of the world you will be creating. If you’re penning an OC, this is where you begin in creating them, too! Who are they? What are their likes and dislikes, and how do such things play into the story and eventual narrative you will be creating? Notes are an imperative part of building those first foundations.

3. When you begin to write, make sure you make clear breaks for character dialogue, use properly structured paragraphs, try not to run too long on sentences (I need to take my own advice here as I do this ALL the bloody time 😂 me and my emotional support commas!) or the reader will become frustrated at wondering who is speaking and when, and huge blocks of text are also much harder to read.

4. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone and ask them to beta read for you. Just make sure that if you are opening yourself up to constructive criticism, you’re open to listening to their critique. They’re there to help you.

5. When you begin writing your characters, make sure to make them human. A trap I have seen a lot of people fall into with characterisation is making their lead faultless. Don’t do this! Show their flaws, it will make for a much more interesting read. It’s the same for if you are writing pre-existing characters not of your creation in fanfiction. Yes, essentially you are writing your own version of them, but try to remain loyal to the character they are, flaws and all.

6. Have fun with it! Befriend authors, ask for advice, find yourself a little community to be a part of. Be warned, some fandoms can be very hostile towards new people coming in, some people are very much part of a clique and they will not accept you (I’ve found that in some fandoms, and there’s people I try and engage with in the current ones that I write for who will engage with mutuals but not me) but that, my darling, is on them, not you!

7. Be prepared to put in a lot of effort to succeed. It takes time and practice, lots of self-promotion as well. If you want it enough, though, you’ll achieve. Ask, believe and receive. Believing in yourself is paramount. Again, I need to take my own advice here as I do struggle and have moments where I think I suck, but if you have faith, are willing to listen and always allow yourself the grace to improve while having faith that you can and will become better, you’re on the right path.

If you ever want any further advice, please reach out to me, babe. Or DM me if you feel brave enough to contact me without using the anon feature. I hope you do as I would love to read something you write someday! Wishing you the very best of luck here at the beginning of your literary journey 💕💕

[anomaly00-archive]

WRITEBLR ETIQUETTE: A COMPENDIUM

– But not really, of course. That’s just to make it sound fancy. This is just a quick list of basic (and maybe not so basic) writeblr rules/etiquette compounded together by myself and other fellow writeblrs. While Tumblr as a whole is a hell-void for everyone to yell into, it’s a hell-void with standards. Please keep these things in mind when you are interacting with others in the writeblr community to create a pleasant environment for everyone involved.

– On Taglist

Taglists are a big part in generating interactions for your posts as it’s the quickest and easiest way to inform people interested in your wip “hey, look guys, I posted a cool thing and wanted to share.” However it is important to remember that taglists should always be opt-in only. As in, someone should explicitly say they want to be on your taglists before you add them. Also an important note: If you have multiple wips on tumblr, you cannot use the same taglist for all of them unless it is a general taglist. Not everyone is going to be interested in all of your wips; please be courteous to your fellow writeblrs and let them choose what content they want to enjoy. There are certain exceptions to this, however. When writing a wip intro you can tag mutuals who you know might be interested to signal boost, but it’s best to only do this once and with permission.

Please don’t abuse your taglist by using it at every little thing related to your wip. Try to keep it to major posts such as: OC introductions, excerpts, WIP updates/announcements, etc. While people do love hearing from you and viewing your content, endless tags can get annoying and will clog up people’s notifications.

A side note: There isn’t a foolproof way of getting people to be on your taglists, but going to people’s inboxes/dms and asking if they want to be in it is definitely not the right way. I would recommend posting an interest check instead to see who is interested. Interest checks are also great if you’re participating in an event and don’t want to spam people with a lot of posts.

– On General Tagging

Make sure to add appropriate tags when posting content. Add all the relevant content warnings, trigger warnings, NSFW and NSFR tags as needed. Nudity and sexual content-- no matter how tasteful-- should be tagged NSFW.

When wanting to interact with another person’s posts, pay attention to the OP’s tags! If they say DNI, do not reblog, etc, then don’t. Definitely do not tag their original work as inspo/prompt/etc. because that’s just plain rude. It can be seen as invalidating, or it diminishes their work as simply inspiration for other people to use instead of something that can stand on its own.

– On Self-Promotion

Accept the facts now: Tumblr clout is fake. However as writers, even if you are a simply doing this as a hobby, we still need to learn how to promote ourselves and our work if we want to gain interaction. The absolute best way to gain interaction– meaningful interaction– is to interact with other people. Tagging a whole bunch of writeblrs asking for a “follow for follow” is going to get you nowhere in the long run, and honestly, is just annoying. If you’re part of a writeblr discord, use that opportunity to make friends and generate meaningful interaction. Don’t just use it as a place to promote your work and just not interact with anyone.

– On Ask/Tag Games

Meet and Greet Monday, Worldbuilding Wednesday, Storyteller Saturday, etc. are fantastic ways to interact with fellow writeblrs and gives a great excuse to talk about details of your wip you normally wouldn’t get to share. Sending asks to other writeblrs is a great way to learn about their wips and to interact with them, but on the other hand, please try to send good or relevant asks. These ask games are as much a way to help writers develop their story as well as sharing fun tidbits. Try to do a little bit of research into a person’s wip before asking, if possible. If you don’t have any good/relevant questions, then it’s ok to skip a week.

If you reblog an ask game from someone, send them an ask as well! It’s quick, easy, polite, and will absolutely make their day.

In relation to tag games: don’t make chain posts. If you’re tagged in something, just make your own separate post. Adding to the OP’s post makes it so that every like, reblog, comment, etc. ends up clogging their notifications which is not fun.

– Miscellaneous

If you like someone’s post, consider reblogging it! Not only does it help other people see their post, it’ll make their day.

In the same vein, try to add something to their post. Whether it’s a reaction gif/pic, a comment, a simple “nice” in the tags, or keysmashing. Writers love hearing from people and it’s just extra incentive to work more. Unsolicited advice, however, is never welcome.

Respect people’s boundaries. Enough said.

If you’re posting a screencap of an excerpt, add a transcript, even if it’s under a “read more.” For graphics, it’s really up to you, but try to add an image description anyway.

Long posts should have a “read more”

Credit your graphic templates/psds

And, while this shouldn’t need to be said, don’t plagiarize.

[starryeve88]

writeblr intro ✧・ﾟ

Heyo, so I’ve had this blog for a while but I didn’t decide to convert it into a proper writeblr until today, and I think I’m due for an introduction!

You can call me Star or Eve, whichever you prefer. I’m a sixteen year old girl from Hong Kong in love with all things creative, especially words and music. I’m fluent in English and Chinese, and I can speak enough Spanish to survive if you dumped me in the middle of Mallorca. My hobbies include fantasizing about OCs, doodling OCs, taking personality quizzes as my OCs, or creating OCs on Artbreeder during class… it’s OK I’m not delusional. Just passionate. And pumped to get to know you all!

I’ve roamed around the writeblr community for a while now, and can I just say yall are the most supportive, creative, inspiring bunch I’ve seen?? Never in my life have I seen so many like-minded individuals in one place; it’s awesome to discover that there are people out there as hyped about their WIPs as I am!

In my blog, I’ll be posting original content from my WIPs and OCs, as well as writing prompts, resources, and advice. I’ll also do a heck ton of reblogging and participate in tag games!

I’d love to get to know you guys, so feel free to add me to your taglists or pop up in my ask box/messages.

Some concepts I’m weak in the knees for:

elaborate heists/escapes, especially when the gang has to use their unique talents and work together !!

disguises (bonus if this is combined with the above)

found family.. 😳when they’re chaotic and dysfunctional but have each other’s back no matter what it’s just *chef’s kiss*

ENEMIES TO LOVERS. period. 

those romantic subplots that are so subtle you need to hunt for signs.. but the hints are everything!! aah

regency era; there’s something so utterly captivating about the aesthetic of that time.. also, the social hierarchy was insanely strict--> makes for some good storytelling

time/space travel!! space colonization? plundering the garbage heaps of outer space for raw materials to sell...

relatable cultural&racial&LGBT representation.. not some fake woke token character without a story.

traditionally feminine women that are strong and heroic!!! (the world needs more of this plz)

I’m new to this so I’d love to get to know people! If you write any of the above (or if you write anything, really) comment or reblog so I can follow you and we can hopefully support each other! Thank you guys :)

[msotherworldly]

Bored with Social Media? Advice for Writers

While this advice could be useful to all artists (or even anyone who’s become bored with their feed), I write this post with writers in mind. We’ve all been told that social media is an integral part of building an audience, and have dedicated a portion of our creative energy to generate content for the likes of Tumblr or Instagram. However, social media is a two way street. It requires one to be social (something which is easy for us introverted artist types to forget). It’s important to interact with the work of others too, and to see not only what’s going on in the “writing” community, but its sub-communities.

What are sub-communities? Put simply, they are niches within the writing community - or whatever community it is you follow. Within the car community, for example, there might be niches that focus exclusively on vintage cars, new cars, hot rods, and so on. There are also what I like to call cousin communities - these are other communities which may have overlap with your main community. As an example, someone who is a part of the car community may also be a part of the motorcycle community or the tattoo community!

For writers, cousin communities can include the reading community, the drawing community, and possibly even the gaming community. 

When I first began engaging on social media, I followed as many writers as I could. The result was that I ended up deluged in writing advice (with varying degrees of usefulness). I soon realized that there were only two accounts which I actually read advice from, while ignoring the rest. My feed became stale to me, because the content was all the same, and I subsequently disengaged with the community. Not only did this mean I wasn’t “giving back” to other creators, but that inspiration, from others, for my own content was drying up too.

It’s in the last month I’ve worked out my dilemma. Writing advice accounts are important, but you should look for other niche communities within the writing world. These can be fanfiction communities, who regularly share their writing within a big fandom. Other accounts focus on writing prompts, with some reblogging your story if you use the correct tag and follow the rules they lay out. Some are also hybrid creators, sitting within one community and another that might be considered a “cousin” to the first (someone in the writing community could also be a part of it’s cousin community, drawing, for example). 

Since following not only writers, but various writing or storytelling related niches, my feed has become that much more inspirational - I’ve been inspired to tackle my own social media projects by what I’ve seen. Engaging with a variety of content will make you excited all over again, not only for social media, but for the creative process itself.

The first niche group I follow is the Sims 4. It’s an incredibly creative community and, on the surface, it doesn’t seem to have much to do with writing. However, a major component of the content people share is the creation of OC’s, or original characters. This is something which overlaps with the writing community. If you’ve wanted to share pictures of your characters, but can’t draw, creating your characters via the Sims and sharing the photos you’ve taken of them in-game can be a quick and effective way to show them off. What’s more, there is a niche within the Sims community which tells stories. These people create a cast of characters, and then post updates on their character’s lives - in other words, they tell stories about fictional people they’ve made up. Even if they don’t say it outright, these creators are writers!

I follow a handful of Sims creators. Their storytelling inspires me to share my own characters via this unknown writing medium, and the photography element speaks to me too. It’s my plan to tell a Sims Story, but with my original characters. Though the stories will be posted as actual writing, the Sims element will allow me to add pictures of my characters and their homes.

After the Sims Story profiles, I follow fanfiction writers from two of my favourite fandoms - Harry Potter and Dragon Age. I’ve been impressed with the work people have put out, and during Fictober I experimented with posting my own short stories for both of these fandoms. If you’re looking to follow profiles where writers don’t just post writing advice, but actual writing, zeroing in on the fanfiction community, and the specific fandoms which appeal to you, can be a great way to discover other writers. Some of them may progress to publishing original fiction too, and you’ll be there to read it when they do. 

After Sims Story creators and fanfiction writers, I follow illustrators. I hope to post some of my own drawings on my profile someday, as it relates to my writing, but mainly I follow the artists for inspiration. I consider drawing a cousin community to writing (especially since many creators sit within both). Some creators are comic artists, combining writing and drawing directly. Fan art and original art both populate my feed, and it’s fun to see how people bring the characters, whether they be their own or from a video game, to life.

Furthermore, I follow one visual novel creator. This is mostly personal, but, again, there’s a community there - the game is Our Life - where people share their OC’s and even post fanfiction using the protagonists they’ve made. As I hope to make a Visual Novel for my own fictional world and characters someday, this further plays into my interests - as well as connects me with others who might become my audience.

Finally, I follow a handful of creators who focus on the educational aspects of writing (or life in general). I’m not just talking about writing advice articles, but information as it pertains to gender, rights, sexual orientation, and so forth. I’ve found articles on Tumblr for everything from how to describe race to how to portray polyamory in fiction.

Tumblr then shuffles all these interests - Sims stories, fanfiction creators, educators, artists, and more - on my feed, allowing me to “dine,” as it were, on a variety of inspiration sources and information. It’s made scrolling enjoyable again, and has given me a sense of being a part of multiple communities, allowing me to find other creators like myself who don’t just want to post writing advice but who want to create through a variety of mediums.

It goes without saying that this can be a good and a bad thing. Don’t become so caught up in mindless scrolling that you don’t write! The point of curating your feed, and engaging with such a wide array of communities, is to be purposeful in the content you consume.

Other communities to follow, along with Sims storytellers and fanfiction writers, include profiles focused on reading. Follow someone who’s all about reading Cassandra Clare, or whoever your favourite author is. Follow people who read fantasy, or romance. Follow people who analyze Twilight, and do nothing else. Connect with readers, and with those who read books similar to the ones you read and write. 

Discover the various communities which exist, and then post your own work within them. You’ll be surprised by how much fun social media can be, and by the inspiration you receive in turn for engaging with content so carefully selected. 

[gayregis]

what's a witcher headcanon you have but has literally nothing to back it up?

like i know eskel would be scary good at estimating times for a microwave and milva would be a god at jenga. why/how do i know this? who's to say

i can actually somewhat explain both of those headcanons. eskel either can cook (correct, wholesome headcanon) or can’t (wrong, stereotypical canon) and both of these possibilities mean he has to know how to use a microwave really really well. as for milva, butches love construction, jenga is practically the science of building houses but as a game.

as for my own... hm kind of difficult because a lot of my headcanons are based in canon so... some of these are more connected to canon than others, but they’re closer to my own uniqueness rather than sapkowski’s work:

dandelion

dandelion’s family (the de lettenhoves) paid for his college education in exchange that he would never use his true name and titles when he published his works, because they are a family largely involved in governmental appointments, and did not want any horrible saucy love poetry (most of what he wrote when he was nineteen) being linked back to them. to this day they’ve disowned him, he lost his lands, and he is forbidden from coming back to any of their estates if not undercover. it’s all very hush-hush. they tricked him into thinking that it was for his own good, telling him that his real name was far too famous, even more famous that he would be soon...

dandelion’s father died when he was young, which led his mother to guide his childhood (basically instructing the servants to raise him) in a strict and masculine direction... this obviously did not work out as planned. but it’s largely why dandelion is regarded as a disappointment by his family, because he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps to stay at the estates (ha!) and marry (ha!) to create an alliance with another noble family.

dandelion and essi’s entire backstory that i’ve planned out: essi enrolled as a student at oxenfurt and as a first year she was appointed by the department to be under dandelion’s guidance. they hit it off on the wrong foot at first (essi thought dandelion was lazy and slovenly, dandelion thought she was prissy and stuckup). but dandelion quickly recognized that essi was extremely talented and had a gift for music, so he asked her why in hell was she directed for further guidance? she admitted that she had stage fright... horrible stage fright. he laughed, thinking she was joking. she wasn’t. the story that follows then is that essi’s stage fright was symbolized by her iconic hair which fell over one eye, which was mocked by her peers - dandelion advised her to own it instead and turn it into a persona - much like what he did when he was her age, his peers called him dandelion (buttercup) on account of his blonde hair that has a tendancy to fan out like petals, and he adopted it as his persona.

on a similar note, what dandelion’s office at oxenfurt looks like: it’s basically treated as a walk-in closet for outfits he’s purchased but doesn’t have a permanent space elsewhere for. other valuables that can’t be kept on his person or in his saddlebags are kept here too. it’s much less of an office to do work and way more of a storage room. the desk has many finished bottles of alcoholic drinks and a lot of manuscripts stored inside (his own, because of the works he admires, he can recall from memory precisely what was written in them)

milva (sorry all of them are about her being a lesbian)

the dryads of brokilon adore milva more than they would ever let on. they find her very interesting because she’s a human, but she’s also one of them, but she also works with the scoia’tel. when milva comes back to brokilon after a journey, she finds herself crowded by dryads asking her how she is doing and what happened on her trip. because of this, milva’s quite good at storytelling, in her own colloquialisms and manners of speech. the dryads are captured by her stories of the world beyond brokilon, and very much enjoy her company, though milva was unaware of exactly how much they enjoyed it (if you get what i’m saying). 

milva realizes she’s a lesbian in toussaint because of her encounter with the baron de trastamara, in which she rebuked his marriage proposal and cried at the kitchen table and in the stables. she appreciated the baron’s friendship more than his romantic advances, and she was crying because she was upset that she couldn’t find true romance in her heart for him. angouleme states at the kitchen table that the hunting trip was overnight, suggesting that the baron asked milva for sex. i headcanon that he did, and milva couldn’t find it in herself to say yes. when the baron became upset at this and pestered her a little to find out why she refused his advances, she had an emotional outburst at him and left at once, for she herself didn’t really know.

additionally, many of the women shopkeepers in toussaint flirted with milva but she didn’t understand their advances. particularly a fishmonger and a fletcher, both of which are OCs... it wasn’t until angouleme (not giving milva an option on whether to accept her company or not) followed milva around on errands one day that she witnessed their interactions and then (in a very annoying little sister manner) bugged milva about how cute of a couple they would be, to which milva took shock and offense. but this got milva thinking about the subject.

regis

regis took on a variety of ridiculous titles when he was younger. “the prince of darkness” and things like this. it added to his already quite-long name. it sounded as stupid as it does with me explaining it.

regis has never paid rent or taxes. he acquired the house and shop in dilingen because he came to the city after he had rehabilitated himself, and found it in a state of disrepair and abandonment. he fixed it up very nicely (perhaps much like as he did with himself... symbolism!) and grew flowers in the windowsills. when city officials came to investigate, accusing him of taking up residence illegally, he simply placed them under a vampire’s spell and told them: “nonsense, i’ve always lived here!” to which they replied, “oh, of course you have, master barber-surgeon! apologies for bothering you!”

in his house and shop in dilingen, the layout is like this: the first floor is the shop, which carries a variety of medicaments, herbal remedies, and also has a setup for surgery. behind a hidden door is the stash of mandrake brew that only select customers know to request (regis only tells them about it if he has vetted them beforehand - i.e., known them well and known them well enough that he knows he will not start an addiction for them, i.e., he doesn’t sell to the young and stupid, or horribly depressed and afraid, but just those looking to enjoy life). the second floor is his house, which is decorated sparsely much like his cottage nearby fen carn. it’s nicer, with furnishings sourced from around the city, but is still humble. the attic is the setup for barber-surgery, but for birds - mostly corvids but other urban birds as well, that have injured themselves or are having other troubles. he welcomes them to roost and come to him with any problems they may be having.

angouleme

angouleme’s biological mother was young(ish) when she had her, which also pressured her into giving her up to relatives - she was an unmarried maiden, and being a noble, that is significant for making political alliances with other noble families. they pretended she was a virgin so she could remarry and bear children in marriage; however, because she and the other nobility of cintra were slaughtered, caught right in the crossfire of the nilfgaardian massacre of cintra, she didn’t survive into her first pregnancy, so angouleme has no bioligical half-siblings.

angouleme is trans and likes dressing femininely, but on account of her situation was never able to on the road, until she got to toussaint and had not only the safety but the finances to do so. somewhat based on canon that she was happy to get out of riding pants in lady of the lake, the narration calls her a “pretty girl”... it’s just nice to imagine her happy and with gender euphoria instead of dysphoria

regis is a good mentor and guardian to her in toussaint. it started as them both being up late in the kitchen and regis (as he does) giving advice, without suggesting any shame or judgement. after a while, angouleme trusted him enough to ask him for help when she got into trouble with local banditry. thens he invited him to help her on heists. he was hesitant at first but agreed, citing that she needed supervision for such activities. he brings a book to read while she does whatever she needs to do, but perhaps is more involved than he would admit - pointing out hidden safes and such in the darkness with his vision.

i didn’t do any for cahir or geralt because i feel like canon’s already gotten them enough? 

[meplassewriteblr]

Quick update and call for help!

Hi everyone!

Quick update this week: life has been chaotic lately and I probably won’t be able to post weekly anymore. Sorry about that :( I don’t know when I’ll be back on schedule.

Before I go, though, I want to give a piece of advice I really should’ve followed years ago:

Don’t be afraid.

Specifically: don’t be afraid to write new things. Not very specific, I know. What I mean by “things”: new genres, new techniques and new types of storytelling. You want to write a novel? Great. Do that! You don’t want to, even though everyone does NaNoWriMo and you feel the pressure? Then don’t! Try out something new, maybe. Short stories? Episodic fiction? Writing chapter books when you thought you wanted to do middle grade? YA instead of New Adult? 

Do what YOU want for once. Don’t force yourself to write what you THINK you should. Not because everyone else does it. 

In my case, I may or may not be in the process of plotting an episodic fiction/chapter books series about time-travelling agents trying to stop a crew of immortals from creating time-paradox monsters. It’s kind of a thing that has nagged at me for years. It’s not going to be one novel, but many, many novellas that could be amazing. 

Unpublishable? Perhaps.

Not if I self-publish.

So as someone who’s always wanted to be traditionally-published in middle grade fiction, now I may be working on a self-publishing chapter book series?!? What the???

Yeah. I know. I surprise myself too!

But I’m doing this for fun. It’s fun to plot my characters meeting famous people I learned about in class and in my spare time over the years. It’s fun to think about all those time periods they’ll visit. It’s fun to think that as self-contained short books (give or take 12 000 words or about 50-60 pages maybe, I haven’t decided about that yet) written with a formula based on beloved cartoons I’ll stick to, they’ll be short and sweet and easy to edit. So easy to edit! It’s fun to think the worst isn’t to come. 

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I’ll update on this story if it ever comes to fruition, and may even make a new round of WIP introductions and OC introductions! Who knows!

SO! Call for help? What’s this about a call for help?

Well, it’s about that story, actually.

It takes place in France, Paris to be precise. But other European countries are allowed - Venice during the Renaissance will be a period we will visit. Any time period is accepted, up to the Pleistocene/Last Ice Age.

I’m open to suggestions!

If you love History, I’d love to hear what time periods you think should be more present in time-travelling stories. Thank you in advance!

Stay inspired!

Marianne E. Plasse

[xaeneron]

A Smol Nerd Talks about Backstory and Character Development

Hello frens,

I had someone ask about how I write character backstories, but since they included their discord information in the ask, I thought it might be better to answer that privately and put up this as a public post because the more I wrote, the more obnoxious it got. And because I thought it was interesting! I don’t claim to be an expert at any of this, especially since this is purely a hobby to me, but I do absolutely love character design and development and it makes me happy that the characters that I’ve put time and effort into are encouraging others to develop their own. So this is absolutely a post to skip if you’re not interested, but read on if you’re curious as to how my weird little brain works.

Essentially: Bits of insight into how I write character backstories, which blends a lot into character development and creation. Not really a step by step process, more word vomit.

...under a cut because holy fuck it got long. I’m sorry, I talk too much ><

Visualizing Characters

I’m not sure there’s really a starting place beyond “I would like this character to exist,” but I think it’s important to first stress how I view my characters in perspective to myself. No one method works for everyone, but it is kind of relevant to my own process. 

My friends in undergrad made fun of me for this constantly, but for me, characters sort of...how do you put it, take up space in the mind. Even though they are functionally me since I created them, they’re...not? They exist as their own entities, telling me what they like and don’t like, what they’d like to do next, etc. Ive, who has dominated this space for years, has a tendency to claim any music that I listen to as his own (so I associate it with him), throws parties, and wants to play and write more stories when I want to sleep. I get that this is a really weird way of looking at characters because I’m essentially blaming myself for keeping myself awake, but I think it’s the best way to describe how I see the characters that I create. They’re friends that talk, and they develop their own opinions instead of me dictating what it is that they say (even though...well, I am. I’m sorry this is really fucking weird LOL).

Obviously I’m not saying that this can or would work for anyone, but it’s just how my brain works. It helps me visualize them, along with details like how their voices sound, the facial expressions they tend to make, the tone that they take when saying the same phrase as someone else, etc.

Assembling Personalities...

I know the original question was essentially just about backstories, but backstory writing and character creation bleed into each other a lot. Enough that I don’t really think you can do one without the other, and why as a result I’m kind of writing about both.

So that being said, when assembling those characters, I tend to go piece by piece and let things happen, instead of distilling in all the characteristics I want them to have. That’s a pretty surefire way to make a Mary Sue, and I have plenty of experience with making Mary Sues. A lot. It’s embarrassing. ;A;

Let’s take Ive, for example. His initial personality when I first made him was a happy-go-lucky, debonair, massive flirt without a care in the world. He waltzed through life, never getting attached to anyone or anything. A fairly simple and shallow character base. As I played, pieces just kind of came together - some from the Commander’s in-game characterization, and some from my own ideas. I let him pick up different facets of his personality over time, some good, some bad.

This works because Ive’s personality wasn’t set in stone from the get-go and changed drastically as time went on, but if you do have a personality you have your heart set on, then make sure your character responds to new challenges accordingly. Consistency is key, and the way they act in the present can also help you road map their past, figuring out how they got to where they are. And who knows, if you take another look, they might surprise you.

...Including the Weird Shit

Sometimes the tiniest quirks help make characters memorable to you, and help shape who they were and grow up to be. One of my OCs, Beck, is an obfuscating idiot who legitimately knows his way around a blade and is insanely clever when he wants to be. He also has a random deadly allergy to mangoes. Does he have a story that he (somewhat) fondly looks back on where his adopted daughter chases him around with a mango in retaliation for making fun of her? By golly yes he does. Is it important to the overall narrative? No. But does it establish more of his relationship with his daughter, even when she’s an adult? Yes. It also is the sort of anecdote that can snowball - what was he saying that was bad enough for her to chase him with tropical fruit? How did she even get a mango in the first place? Does she have a crush on someone? What sort of person is that? Is it someone new in town, or is it a stranger? What makes them different? Is Beck just assuming, and if so, is it because he’s dense or because he’s just trying to be a doting father? Even little things count, especially when sometimes it’s the anecdotes and sides stories that help make the world and characters you’re creating feel more real.

Write What You Know

This is pretty common advice, but it’s also pretty solid advice. It’s also something that I do often. None of my characters are straight self-inserts (arguably), but many of them have one or more facets of my personality, which makes it much easier for me to write them. Anyone who knows me personally will attest to this, particularly when you begin to note the amount of deadpan snarkers that my cast contains. My primary OCs (who don’t show up much here unfortunately) range from politely snarky to full on deadpan. Ive and Etiery are prime examples of this, while Richter also has his moments. Sharing traits with you helps writing their dialogue and motivations more organically, because again, it’s not what you want them to do, it’s how they would react as a living individual. If you’re not a naturally sarcastic person, it’s going to be harder to develop and accurately write a sarcastic character, etc. (Flashbacks to when I was a kid and my attempt at sarcasm and wit was “Go home old man, nobody needs you.”) Not impossible, of course, but something to keep in mind.

It’s not just personality, either. Rayne (one of my OCs) and Etiery are a chemist and engineer respectively because that is what I am. Part of the way their brains work stems from the fields that they choose to specialize in, and as someone in that field, I do have a certain amount of experience in thinking from that perspective. It’s okay to base characters on yourself or people you know, or take bits and pieces from people here or there. Again, it grounds you, and if you can write a realistic personality, you can write a more fleshed out backstory for said character, taking into account their motivations and decision-making.

Balancing Story vs. Personality

Part of storytelling is, well, getting across the story that you want to tell. In that, characters are instruments to help you move that plot forward. But if you’re fleshing out your characters, you also want the plot to be a vehicle to help them develop. Really, it depends on the story you want to tell and how you want to tell it, but if you’re like me and you focus first on characters, then my mindset is probably more applicable.

Essentially though, find a balance. You might need someone to do something for the sake of the plot, but think about if the one you’re picking is a good candidate for it, or if it’s better suited for someone else. If no one fits, maybe you need to take a look at the story step you’re making, or at the characters you’ve created. Remember also that although it’s easy to look at things objectively as an author and say things like “that’s so obvious, they shouldn’t go that way,” a character may still make that choice in the moment. Judgment - present, past, or future - can be questionable as it happens.

Pay Attention to the Timeline

This one’s pretty straightforward. One of the easiest things to mess up is to make your character too old or too young to be doing the things that they’re currently doing. Check and double-check. If you’re writing into an established timeline like GW2′s, make sure your character’s timeline fits with the established lore (unless you are very specifically breaking it for some reason). Ive, for example, is not one of the older generations of sylvari, but he is older than the sylvari protagonist in-game to account for his extra time spent training to compensate for his lack of eyesight. Keeping track of when events happen, often simultaneously, will help you decide how characters act and react - Etiery would not have been so kind (relatively speaking) to Ive had she met him before her fallout with her father, and as a result, they might never have become best friends, or friends at all.

Look at Things from All Angles

It’s important to look at a character and ask where they got certain characteristics from - are they naturally this kind/sarcastic/flirty/angsty/mean/etc., or did something happen that catalyzed that? If you’re writing backstory to explain that, take a look at the world you’re in or that you’re building - does the story you’re telling fit reasonably? Really challenge yourself to stay within your (universe’s) rules, instead of being tempted to bend them to make your character (and their story) exactly what you want. All universes have rules, and unless it is a specific plot point to break them, make sure you follow them! Making impossible loopholes to make sure your character has a degree by age 12 or can resurrect someone perfectly when the magic is explicitly stated to not exist can weaken your story and your character!

Richter is a good example of my personal thought process, being a glasses-wearing necromancer whose backstory is a street rat. He’s tall and awkward as an adult, so it’s not unreasonable that he was once a tall and gawky kid, the kind of kid whose arms are too long and everyone picks on. How does a kid like that survive on the streets? One of his major traits is the fact that he’s a bookworm: if he was orphaned, where did he learn to read? If he had parents long enough to teach him rudimentary reading skills (which he did), how much practical experience did he lose out on since he spent less time alone on the streets? As someone with a strong moral compass, Richter had to find a way to justify committing crimes to survive. A child like that would probably be too frightened to ask Grenth’s clergy or anyone at the schools in Divinity’s Reach (which he could not afford) to teach him in necromancy. How does he learn as a result? Is he afraid of his powers? Do people treat him differently because of them?

It’s kind of what I mean when I say pieces start falling into place. Start with a detail that you want for sure, and build up from that while maintaining its feasibility in the world that you’re working in.

And Don’t Ignore the Random

Seriously, I think this is my favorite part. Sometimes the things that you don’t expect sneak up on you and make it in. Fun fact for anyone fond of Ive: he originally wasn’t blind. OG Ive had nothing physically wrong with him. One day I was showing my friend my GW2 characters, including Ive in his full Rubicon set. I was nervous that she wouldn’t think it was as cool as I did, so I joked (although I would have anyway) that I didn’t know how he would see with the brim of the hat pulled so low. She replied, “Well, what if he has the hat pulled so low because he’s blind and it doesn’t matter to him?”

I chewed on that idea for the next day and a half, and suddenly a lot of things fell into place - why Ive and Eet get along as well as they do, more justification for Ive’s growing, below-the-surface jaded personality, an obstacle for him to overcome. I drowned in feels and texted her, and to this day it is still very much her fault that Ive can’t see. 

His lack of vision is now one of the central pillars of his character, and it’s something I hadn’t even considered before my friend mentioned it in jest. So don’t ignore random inspiration!

[trovia]

Hey Geli! I was wondering if you have any advice for fanfic writers struggling to make the transition to original fiction? I don't want to fully give up on fanfic but I do very much want to pursue a career as a novelist and while I have several ideas there seems to be some sort of hang up preventing me from starting the process of writing them out.

DO I EVER. :D I love this question. I love it so much I spent the last couple of days thinking about it because I wanted to make sure I will be actually helpful. Plus it’s been quite the struggle for me to switch from fanfic to original -- or rather, I should say, switch back, since original fic is where I came from before I was sucked into the black hole that is fandom. 

OKAY SO people love to talk about how fanfic will teach you to write, and you can graduate from it to original fiction or whatever. This is a lie and the first you need to do is let go of the idea that anything you know about writing fanfic will help you from now on at all. 

This doesn’t have anything to do with the whole “Is fanfic as good as original fic / Is fanfic literature?” debate. It’s just that there are two writing essentials that fanfic very much doesn’t teach you: creating characters and exposition. 

In fanfic, you don’t create the character from scratch, but rather you expand on an existing one, which requires a completely different skill set.

In fanfic, even when you create an OC, you still only add one character to an existing cast while in original fiction, you have to balance out an entire ensemble of new characters, so even that is completely different.  

In fanfic, you can reliably assume that your readers will already know any number of things about the world and the characters, so you don’t learn how to introduce. 

And most importantly: Your readers already love the characters. 

I think the last point is essential. It’s Aristotle who first stated that you first have to convince your audience that a character is worthy of knowing about and caring for (this is what’s called ethos) and only then will their actions make your audience react emotionally (that’d be pathos). In fanfic we already go in caring. Pair your favorite character with your favorite trope, and you’ll probably devour that fic no matter how bad the grammar or how ridiculous the plot. But in original fiction, when we’re introducing the story, every sentence threatens to cost us readers, as they get bored. I can start a story with the sentence, “Felix Gaeta stared at his drink moodily all evening” and the Gaeta fans will fill in Felix’ sordid history of trauma and betrayal. Plenty emotion will immediately be involved. Heck, just mention his hair and his fans will go, “Aw!” :-D But if I start an original story with, “Henry Hankypank stared at his drink moodily all evening” then none of that means anything to the audience; there is no automatic emotional pull. (this is of course why original writing advice puts so much emphasis on the first line. Compare, for ex., the first line of The Godfather, which evokes compassion for a character by introducing the worrisome concept of “waiting for justice”: “Amerigo Bonasera sat in New York Criminal Court Number 3 and waited for justice; vengeance on the men who had so cruelly hurt his daughter, who had tried to dishonor her.”)

So all in all, in original fic, you suddenly have at hand the problem of a really empty first page. You’re supposed to now unfurl a story on it, while simultaneously convincing your audience to a) stay interested in the story you’re building and b) start caring for these characters you’re introducing. And you’ve never had to do anything comparable before. It’s a new skill you need to learn.

So, y’know, let go of everything you thought you knew about storytelling and start fresh. 

Your characters will now be much simpler and way more straightforward than what you’re used to. 

Nobody cares about the characters before you make them. 

Nobody cares about what’s next unless you make them super curious. 

This sounds hard - well, it is hard, nobody said it was easy. ^^ I know you though, you’re awesome, you will be just fine. Just stop thinking about it as a transition. Start thinking about it as a new hobby. The things you did learn when you wrote fanfic, the things that will still help you, they’re not going anywhere; they’ll help you when it’s time. But seriously, what’s blocking you is the things you haven’t learned / practiced yet, so you have to focus on those first. 

(one of my favorite first lines of all time, btw, is from Joe Haldeman’s Forever War: “Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man." It gets more intriguing with each following line, it’s a beautiful first scene.)

I hope this was helpful!

[dotzines]

Artist spotlight: LEMONSQUEAZIE!

✿ Ko-fi ✿ Twitter ✿ Tumblr ✿ Youtube

Header source: [X]  

Introduce yourself Hi! I'm Lem and I've wanted to try focusing on things other than people in my work for a while now! I'm into deltarune, mystic messenger, and (recently) Moomin! When did you start drawing? Are you a digital or traditional artist? I started drawing seriously in 2012 when a friend got me to learn how to draw with them! I'm a digital artist! Do you use any traditional mediums? If so, which are your favorites? Yes! I'm in love with brush/calligraphy/fude pens and watercolour!

image source: [X]   Why do you prefer traditional over digital? (or viceversa) I get to explore colours more easily without having to worry about soaking the paper, mixing wrongly, or even running out of supplies! What do you think is the most challenging part about being a traditional/digital artist? In the beginning there's definitely the transition to smoothly using digital art! It takes a while to use it so comfortably and freely that your digital sketches have the same life as your traditional ones, which I think is why some people still make their sketches on paper and transfer it over to finish in digital! What inspires your pieces? Feelings! They're very momentary and hard to accurately remember so I suppose finding ways to capture them and package them in a picture is a very strong inspiration for me ◝(●˙꒳˙●)◜

image source: [X]   Explain your "everyday" drawing process I begin from a vague idea of the general feeling of a piece and the elements that should be in it, eg. the feeling of wonder + grass being pushed by the wind + some flowers at the side Then I just throw around some sketches of how to arrange these elements and what colours I could use! I make tweaks and when it seems nice enough I merge the sketch and colour layer and just start painting from there! Eventually I'll settle on what seems to be the finished piece and I adjust the colours and details again before properly saving it as a flat image! Do you have an artist you admire (or more than one)?

Oh I have a few! My favourites so far are:rollround ( https://twitter.com/rollround ) Cheryl's colours just make everything look so fun and alive! The way everything is both so detailed and comfortably simplistic/soft just speaks to my heart! I look forward to their prints the most every time I go to an artist alley!PlanetarianPwes ( https://instagram.com/planetarianpwes ) Pwes' faces and the way they use watercolours is just so good, and their OCs and AUs have such good stories behind them and the most interesting and varied designs I've seen! Following along with their characters' journeys shows you just how good their storytelling through their AUs is! I admire the most how they can manage to convey not only atmosphere but narrative as well!vi-6w6 ( https://vi-6w6.tumblr.com ) Annie's art was basically my role model in my early art years since I'm always in awe of how energetic and dynamic they are! Just her style and the way she lays down lines alone is enough to make even a static pose feel alive!tc2oh ( https://twitter.com/tc2oh ) Semi's colours and comics are amazing! The way they choose colours to make things look almost holographic at times, and just their general colour sense is my favourite thing! Even without that, their lineweights make their artwork stand out even in their comics! Also they draw lips so so good! I fell in love first in semi's comic (bomic) which is on line webtoon! Is there an artwork you are most proud of? Why? Yes! this guy ( https://twitter.com/lemonsqueazie/status/1118126304698613762 ) was actually made when I was switching art programmes to krita and finally got the hang of it! It's also the piece that got me out of my mini art-block at the time, I think!

Do you listen to music (or tv shows/films/anything else) when drawing? I usually just let youtube autoplay take me around a bunch of popular Japanese songs and artists like eve and kenshi yonezu and recently kamiyama you, and also the occasional utaite! Otherwise I go to find some friends' playlists or use my own (which is literally just a giant collection of things ranging from kazoo covers (you know the ones) to musicals and live concerts), I'm not all that picky!

image source: [X]   What makes art interesting for you? At its most basic it gives my hands something to do and that's always nice, but being able to create something that can always continue to exist and hold so much meaning that can keep changing is really neat, I think! What do you do when art block strikes? My main go-to is to switch mediums for a while (eg. going back to traditional, or even grabbing art materials I haven't used in a while, or switching programmes, or trying out new brushes) before going back to what I needed to finish! But recently I've been trying to focus on what's been causing the art block: eg. If I'm frustrated with drawing faces, I doodle a bunch of faces in a different and more indulgent way than I usually do before going back to what I was doing!If the problem is getting motivation to start, I watch speedpaints! Seeing how something so beautiful can start from absolutely nothing and work its way through to completion is my favourite thing ♡ What’s the most valuable art advice you’ve ever received?

"Aim to finish" or something along those lines! It was for a design project of sorts, but it's one of the most important things I need to take into account more often ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` ) especially in zine work! Oftentimes I can't pinpoint when the work is complete and is better to leave as-is and I'm working on finding and planning completion points too!

[ganymedesclock]

I was talking to friends the other day about fancharacters (kicked off by this post by my friend @leonawriter)- that is to say, original characters inserted into a canon universe via fanwork and specifically there to interact more with canon characters than with other fancharacters- and when the only real litmus set to them is “are they a Mary Sue?” that’s not very helpful.

I think the criticism of “Mary Sue” is fundamentally misguided, not only for its lurking misogynistic attitudes (female characters are not allowed to be special or if they are special they have to work, and suffer, twice as hard as the male characters to “justify” their specialness) but also because the character being special is not the problem.

What I would consider one of the most important things about a fancharacter is niche.

All characters in a story have a reason they’re put in the story. They explore something about the larger setting, they contribute something to their allies, they change the plot somehow. They have friends, enemies, opinions, interests.

If you’re adding a character to an existing group, look at the group, say, “what do they need here, or would benefit from, that they don’t have?”

For example, in VLD, if you consider the Generals don’t really have prior-continuity counterparts, they’re just successfully integrated OCs. Many of their niches, they fill just by being interesting complex characters- they have different personalities, history, and connections, and meaningfully play off of each other.

But they also serve a larger storytelling niche. The first obvious one is that VLD as an adaptation distances Lotor from Zarkon and Haggar, and the main empire. Unless you want to make an antagonist talk to themselves needlessly much, it’s good to give them allies to diversify their situations and how they operate, and also give them ways to assert their presence without being personally in attendance. VLD could have included Cossack, Mogor, Merla, or Maahox from prior continuities- but they chose instead to create original characters to fill that void (and I, for one, am grateful)

Furthermore, Lotor has in prior continuities been set up as a counterpart to the Black Paladin (usually Keith)- but when he’s operating in that role, he’s never in the past had four other subordinates to actually complete the unit and drive the “anti-Voltron” symbolism home.

So this is the obvious tidy storytelling niche for the generals: the writers of VLD basically went “so if Lotor’s a dark analogue to the Black Paladin, where’s his Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow paladins? Black is a leader, a head, so who are his arms and legs?”

Because of this, the generals don’t “feel” like people expect OCs to, because they’re nicely integrated. Their personalities slot together nicely because they’re rooted in the same five-man team mold that’s so popular and effective (There’s a reason it’s a pain in the butt to actually integrate a sixth character into a five-man team)

Conversely, I would cite the character Chris Thorndyke from Sonic X as an example of not doing it right. Not because Chris is a bad character at all- but he’s been dealt a bad hand. Because he’s supposed to be a major character, but both personality-wise, story-wise, and in terms of capabilities, he’s effectively a second Tails. And since Tails is the more beloved legacy character everyone’s familiar with, the writers made Tails better at everything Chris is trying to do- so Chris’s victories feel arbitrary and his role feels tacked on.

This is ameliorated in earlier episodes when Chris has more of a role as Sonic’s liaison to the human world, but the more that becomes unnecessary (he doesn’t need anyone to hide him) the more, tragically, Chris himself feels unnecessary. And again, I don’t say that because I hate the character- it’s because as much as you can love a character, they still need to have something meaningful they’re bringing to the plot.

Another way this can be important is that your characters’ backstories or settings they’re connected to shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. If they’re from somewhere nobody’s heard of, anchor this setting to the plot in other ways. Make it important- and this is contrary to a lot of popular “anti-Mary Sue” advice I saw before.

Successful integration of a new character into a narrative results in the fact that your audience will generally, immediately care about them. Here’s what I think is a really successful example of that by @joleanart. So I’ve never seen these five Altean OCs. All I have on them is this one set of pictures.

Niche established: they’re people Allura knew, good friends of hers. This is a canon niche that’s lying open: we know that Allura lost people, we know that a gregarious person like her would have good friends. We know, as the artist points out, there was a battle for Altea, that it fought back against the empire, that they were more than just defenseless victims who languished and died.

Integrating threads: These are specific people, not just random strangers. They have connections to people we already care about. Seeing these people in what we know are their final moments, their losing battle, putting their faith in the idea of Altea, in Allura specifically- emphasizes Allura’s canon role as a beacon of hope in the face of grief and despair.

While it overlaps with Alfor’s sacrifice for Allura’s welfare, it doesn’t diminish, but rather, adds to it, enriches and explores it. They may not have been there when Alfor put Allura in stasis and launched Coran with the castleship, but they were the people outside fighting on the front lines giving them the time to do that. Alfor was Allura’s beloved father, but he wasn’t the only person that loved her and he wasn’t the only person that died for her that day.

Differentiation and personality: some of them are sad, some resigned, some defiant. Some are speaking to more distant ideals, other make it personal. Their situations, even as little as we see them, are different and how they respond to them are different.

The result of it all together? I get really invested in these guys really fast. With only the tiny scrap of “this was the battle for Altea, as illustrated by good friends of Allura’s” I’m not just emotionally moved, but now the meta gears in my brain are turning, grabbing onto this for how much it enriches the narrative- but who were these people specifically, what are the things Allura shared with them- she probably thinks about them, remembers them going forwards. Are there qualities they have that she sees in the paladins, and how does she feel about that?

This is a really successful emotional suckerpunch. With very minimal “lore”, and five characters at once, this artist has very successfully integrated and landed that emotional connection and they did so because they started really effectively from “so, hey, this canon character logically had to have known people during this phase in her life, and because of how canon ended up... we know she lost them. What did that look like? What was their story, the one we didn’t follow but we kind of know how it ended?”

[managingmymuse]

Thanks for the tag, @elarasterling! Sorry it took me so long to get around to answering it!

1.      Would you mind sharing your best line or paragraph?

 I’m not really the kind of writer who looks back at her own writing and goes “A+, that’s fab.” I honestly consider myself more of a storyteller, really, in that I don’t care about whether the words are pretty so long as they convey what I want them to say. That said, I’ll still post something. This was a big hit with my writing group.

“If the magic on the threshold had been a rainstorm, the magic inside was a flood. It filtered through the air like sunbeams through dust, ghosting along my skin with the touch of a lover, settling into my belly like the warmest meal. I stood by the doorway, shrouded in shadow, and just breathed.”

2. What’s the first food you’d try from your story?

 A lot of the story I’m writing is set in our world, with not particularly novel foods. One food I created for it, though, was a beverage that I described as melted white chocolate. Frothy and smooth and warm. Yum.

3. If you had casting control, would you prefer a film or TV adaptation of your novel?

I actually wouldn’t want casting control? I am terrible with actors. And I’m one of those rare writers who isn’t actually wedded to their characters’ appearances. Whenever I envision a character, I don’t really ‘see’ their faces. I tend to get images only of the backs of heads.

But yeah, I could see a movie or a TV show for my book. A movie would allow the story to be more ‘complete’ (in that it would have one, overarching journey), but a TV show would let you explore lots of the day to day details that I tossed out the window when I sent Lori on a mad dash into worlds unknown.

4. Would you date one of your characters? If so, who, and where would you go together in their world?

 I don’t think so. I mean, I’m 29, and I do a lot of writing about teenagers, so that’s kind of a pass. Even in my adult story, I don’t necessarily think of characters as datable for me? Love interests are designed with their ‘other half’ in mind, if you catch my drift.

5. Imagine meeting a villain from your story. They offer to take you away to their world under one condition: you must work for them. Do you accept?

 Aww, man. So if we’re talking about the world(s) from Sentinel, I guess not? I designed Lori’s world to mirror our own, so it’s similar to ours in a lot of ways. And the world she visits isn’t that appealing to me? I mean, I’d like to visit, but I don’t think I’d want to be a permanent visitor. Not, you know, at the price of letting wild magic kill a bunch of people.

6. You are cursed to reincarnate as the protagonist from one of your favorite books. You will forget everything in the process so all events may play out. What book do you choose?

 OMG, what a question. Hmm… I’m like super obsessed with Kate Daniels right now, but I’m not sure I’d want to be her. I’m not tough enough to survive her upbringing, you know? I like the Dorina Basarab series, too, though. I think I’d do that one. I’d get to be a badass, immortal dhampir with a hot boyfriend and a bunch of awesome, slightly troublesome friends. Yeah, let’s go with that one.

7. What if your protagonist was the one writing a novel and they were responsible for your life? Would you forgive them for putting you through everything that shaped who you are today?

 Probably not, lol. I mean, I guess I haven’t really had it that bad, but I guess I’d tell them to get an imagination? The terrible things that happen to me aren’t dragons or curses, but the mundane, soul-crushing realities of getting up in the morning and going to work even though you know nothing is going to change. The loneliness of being passed by or left out. So on and so forth.

8. If you could trade writing in for any other talent, would you? If yes, what? If no, why?

 Sometimes I get the urge to splash paint on things, and I wish I had the artistic talent to make that an appropriate outlet. Writing, as a physical activity, is so narrow and so confined. I really wish sometimes that I could fling my words out like paint, and just cover the walls with my emotions. I don’t know if I’d trade for it, though.

9. What’s your worst writing-related fear?

 Lately, it’s been that my book is going to be overlooked because my protagonist is an enormous bigot. She’s majorly prejudiced against magic-using folk, and it definitely was meant as a metaphor for the real life hatred and fear that permeates our society. I know what I’m trying to do with the book (and the point, essentially, boils down to the fact that racism/sexism/homophobia are bad, even for the people who perpetuate those ideologies the most fervently) but I worry that in today’s political climate, the nuance of that message will be missed. It’s not that I want people to sympathize with racists (or sexists or whatever); rather it’s that I want to explore the way hateful ideologies perpetuate themselves through fear and distrust and turn living, breathing people into a terrible other. I think too often a lot of relatively privileged people view themselves as allies without really thinking about the mechanisms that underlie prejudice. (Or, to put it another way, without considering why they’re tolerant and their racist uncle is an ass.) My story sort of digs into it from the perspective of the ‘oppressors,’ to use the tumblr social justice speak, and I worry that large swaths of the internet will discount it for just that reason.  

10. What message do you wish to convey through your story?

 I guess I answered that one already. See above.

 Ten more questions for y’all to answer! (If that’s your thing. This took me two weeks to do, so no pressure.) I’m going to pick some recent followers! @squeaky-floorboards, @contradicting, @halfbloodlycan @nobodywritesstuff @thebloodstainedquill, @adaughterofathena, @ladycalliopemoon and anyone who wants to do it! (Tag me!)

 1.      If you had to pick one genre, and only one genre, to read and write in for the rest of your life, what would it be? Why?

2.      What’s the first story you ever remember hearing? Do you still love it as much as you did then?

3.      You have to rob a bank with one of your OCs. Which one do you choose? Why?

4.      Do you subscribe to the notion of plotters and pantsers when you’re writing? If you do, which one are you?

5.      Do you have any favorite tropes, either when you’re reading or when you’re writing? What are they?

6.      What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever heard?

7.      Where did the inspiration for your current WIP come from?

8.      When you’re writing, do you usually start with characters, world, or plot? Something different?

9.      If the protagonist of the story you’re working on right now ran for president (or prime minister or what have you), would they be elected? Would they be good at the job if they were elected?

10.   If you could order a crossover with two of your favorite books, which books would you choose? Is there something about those books that will yield juicy conflicts when they collide?

[dailythranduilproject]

Today it’s @floranocturna turn with being interviewed! I would like to thank you for sharing with all of us! - Mirky.

General Questions: Username(s) we can find you under: Floranocturna and The Real Floranocturna (FanFiction.Net)

What Media do you create? Fanfictions, sometimes image edits

Are you self-taught or did you go to art school? I have a Masters degree in Literature (and History) and writing is indeed my job, but writing fanfiction and fantasy stories is my passion.

Which artists have influenced your style? Mainly Tolkien and Rowling, but there are numerous others along the way,which have shaped my style into what it is now.

Which are your favourite artists? Fragonard and Boucher (yes I love French rococo) and in the fandom my favorite artists are Kinko-White and Bohemianweasel.

Where can we find your work? AO3, Wattpad, tumblr, FanFiction.net, Quotev, DeviantArt and Inkitt.

What would you say you are best known for in the fandom? My writing

Do you have a favorite pairing? *ahem* I ship Thranduil with me of course XD

Do you have a favorite creation of yours you are especially proud of? My ongoing Thranduil story *The Secret of the Forest*, which I have recently rewritten into a Thranduil/OC story (it used to be a reader insert before). I have been working on this since 2016 and this story is very close to my heart.

Do you have a favourite fictional character, besides Thranduil of course? Severus Snape, because I really love how his character is neither good nor evil and the astounding amount of depth Rowling gave him.

What other fandoms are you part of? Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Avatar

Do you do commissions? Nope, sorry, no spare time left.

Any advice/words for others in the fandom?

First: Be kind and respectful and always remember that we are in this fandom to share our love for Thranduil and not to fight over him.

Second: Do not steal other people’s hard work. This is something I had to experience myself and it is NOT nice! Create your own works and if you cannot do that then support the artists by sharing their work and encouraging them with likes and comments.

Third: If you are a writer getting started I would like you to remember that only practice makes perfect. Keep writing, keep searching for that voice of yours and keep reading! Read books, read stories and then read even more! And then sit down and write again, let the words flow and don’t think about what others will think of it. Write for yourself and only when you feel comfortable with it, then put it out there for others to see. Don’t take criticism personally, but try to see it as a possibility to grow as an author.

Personal Questions:

If you could name a song (or two or three) that would describe you or your life, what would it be? ‘Unknown Legend’ by Neil Young, ‘Lost Direction’ by Beecake, ‘Resolve’ by Sleeping At Last

Favorite color? Green

Favorite Book? Since I cannot choose only one here go my top choices: ’The Silmarillion’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ by Tolkien, Harry Potter 1-7 by Rowling, ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell’ by Susanna Clarke.

Favorite movie? ‘The Fall’, because of its absolutely stunning cinematography, magical storytelling and of course Lee Pace and the adorable Cantinca Untaru.

Do you have a pet peeve? Ignorance and rudeness.

What country are you from? Austria, that place where the hills are apparently alive with the sound of music ;)

Who do you think you might have been in a past life? I have no idea, but hopefully someone remotely cool.

What do you like to do in your spare time other than create the media you work on? Photography, cosplay, reading and I enjoy taking walks alone or with my dogs while listening to music and thinking about new plot twists for my stories (yeah I can never really turn off the writing)

When did you join the fandom? I have been in the Tolkien fandom for a while (since the LOTR movies) and I have been a fan of Lee Pace already before The Hobbit movies (because of ‘the Fall’), but I started being more active around 2014/15.

TheMirkyKing’s Questions:

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

This is a difficult question, because many parts can be hard depending on my inspiration or the lack of it. The easiest part is usually the dialogue, because I just listen to what my protagonists say in my head and write it down. What’s hard is to keep track where everyone is standing, walking, moving around. Sometimes I think that my characters take on a life of their own and keep walking around and then I don’t know what are they doing. Sounds crazy, but it does happen! And actually sticking to my decisions regarding the plot is hard for me too, because I keep constantly having new ideas.

How do you fell about the upcoming series based off Middle-earth?

I do have mixed feelings about this. On one hand more Middle-earth is always a good thing and maybe a fresh take on Tolkien’s writings might bring a whole lot of characters and events to life on screen. But, and yes there is always a but, I honestly hope that the producers will not try to drag Middle-earth to Westeros, wanting to have a share in the success of Game of Thrones. Tolkien is not Martin and as much as I like Game of Thrones — hey, why do we have to wait until 2019 for that final season? —, I do not think that trying to imitate something that is successful in its own way is the path for this new Middle-earth series. Finding a new voice maybe even away from what Peter Jackson has set as standard might be a more logical and creative way to go.

If you could travel to Middle-earth, where would you want to call home?

This is an easy answer: Mirkwood of course. I would love to see Thranduil’s kingdom, especially after the War of the Ring, when the darkness has been destroyed and the forest has been renamed *Eryn Lasgalen*, the Wood of Greenleaves. I want to see the beauty of this primeval forest restored, the sunlit canopies of green and gold, the peaceful glades, flowers and trees growing in a new spring. Maybe even catch a glimpse of Thranduil’s new elk, which I am sure he will have. I’ve written about these woods so many times in my story that I somehow feel at home there although I’ve never even been there. Well, my heart is there and that is enough for me.

Follower Questions:

From @moonofmorrigan - How did you conceive the idea for your story, The Secret of the Forest?

This story started out quite simple because of my love for Thranduil, but it has grown into a much more complex project. I first had the idea of a romance, a love story with many obstacles involving an elf and a human. Over the course of 1,5 years many more layers have been added to it. I really love exploring Thranduil’s past, finding a credible backstory for his wife’s death and the many hardships he has suffered in his long lifetime, but I also have discovered that I enjoy playing around with my own characters, like the brothers Amardir and Faeldir. And the best part is that the readers like them too! This story is not just a fanfic about a beautiful Elvenking, but it is a story about love and loss, grief and sacrifice and the search for absolution. There are some universal truths to be found in this tale showing us that elves and humans might not be so different from each other after all.

From @moonofmorrigan - What things inspire you to continue writing it, and your original story about the dark elf?

Thranduil is the one thing that continues to inspire me every day to keep writing this story. But also all the readers and their comments, kudos, likes and votes keep me going. I am still overwhelmed by all the support I have gotten and the nice people I have met along the way in this fandom! My original story *The Enchanted Spring* about the dark elf Andor is my new ‘baby’ and I have a complete plot laid out already. It is quite different from my Thranduil story, although it does feature another beautiful elf. It is much darker and closer to folk tales and folklore. What I love about it is that this is all my own creation, no boundaries, no given facts. I can do whatever I want and play god in my world *evil laughter*.

@bellevox asked- I loved the fact that your husband made a song for your story. He’s a very talented musician! This is real love! If you do not mind, could you tell us a little about your family? If you do not want to, you do not need to.

I am really blessed to have such a loving husband! Not only does he support my writing, but he is also extremely patient and listens to my ramblings about plot twists, character arcs and synonyms. He has written 2 songs for my story (Nameless Lady and Thranduil’s Lament) and he keeps asking me for the next poem ;). As many of you must have guessed around here, I am a bit older than your average tumblr user, but hey, one is never too old to be passionate about something. I am a working mum of 5 (in between the age of 20 and 7) and we have 2 dogs (Yavanna and Nenya) and 3 cats (Mina, Zuko and Sansa). Our kids are growing up with Tolkien, Harry Potter and fantasy in general, Gandalf is a household name and even the little one can sing ‘They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard’ ;).

@beelovesbutterfly wanted to know- What is one cause that is dear to your heart?

As a mother of an angel baby, miscarriage and stillbirth are causes that are very close to my heart. These topics are still widely a taboo in our society and yet it happens to mothers all the time. I strongly believe that it is important to offer those mothers help and support and to let them know that they are not alone in their grief.

@beelovesbutterfly - What is your favorite flower? Daisy (it’s small, simple and perfect)

@beelovesbutterfly -Do you have a bad writing habit? I write too much. Just kidding, but no, seriously, I can deviate too much from what I want to say and I can spend hours researching synonyms and searching for that perfect word instead of just going ahead with the story. I’m trying to keep my sentences short and focused, but it’s difficult. And I have the tendency to get enamored with specific words, says my husband ;)

@beelovesbutterfly -Who is your Hollywood crush? **ahem** Lee Pace (obviously ;))

And from @eldritchmage - What story would you want to write about your favorite king that you haven’t written yet?

In have lots of other ideas about possible stories with Thranduil. I’ve been thinking on a story with an elvish OC, just to give it a different twist away from the dichotomy of mortal and immortal. But what I really would love to write is a humorous story, something light and funny and completely different from the angsty romance I am writing now. Possibly even a modern AU with Thrandy running a beauty parlor or something like that ;). I’m sure this would be loads of fun!