Today I’m going to being (Ranting?) talking about character writing, and a few mistakes or things that bother me about how some creators approach character creation and plot surrounding these characters. I’d do a more in depth rant, but this is just a pet peeve of mine so let’s go. Before we start, quick disclaimer !! I’m in an NO way a professional character writer. Also, most of these points have outliers. That’s why I don’t use absolutes, and instead “most” or “usually” or “generally” etc. Please don’t take this to heart. Writing can be a hobby / passion rather than a serious subject. If you’re like “Uh oh, she’s describing ______ and I thought _____ was fine,” Then that’s okay! Take everything I say with a grain of salt. Please don’t feel obligated to follow this advice if you feel it doesn’t fit with the story specific circumstances or what your feelings towards writing are. If you aren’t serious about writing and see it as a past time, then that’s great! Writing is a fun hobby, so don’t stress about being the best according to my standards! Also, my grammar and spelling will probably be off so sorry if that bothers anyone :’) Okay, so point number 1. Character consistency. My least favorite type of character are ones that are inconsistent. Wait, hear me out. I’m not against character’s changing dynamically, or morally grey characters, etc. I’m against character’s where it’s PAINFULLY obvious they exist solely for the plot. They’re personality can’t be described. It fluctuates to fit whatever the plot needs them to be. I’ll give an example. Say you have a character whose trait is being a pacifist and despising violence. Their morals say that violence is bad and pointless. Now let’s say, the next chapter, day, etc, that’s changed. Nothing provoked the change, the writer just thought, “Oh. We need conflict, just take them and mix it up a bit.” Good character changing can be done in multiple ways. I’ll give two examples. 1. Gradual change. If over the course of the story, the character’s personality slowly changes, that’s fine! If we use our example above and instead say, “Over the course of the whole book and months later...” it makes more sense. 2. Change based on dire circumstances. Take the character above and say they were put in a situation where this drastic change makes sense. Perhaps they tragically lost a friend and quickly adapted to avenge them. This would make more sense because something’s PROVOKING the change. Otherwise, it’s meaningless and makes no sense. If you’re character’s personality is so vague you can’t even give a couple traits, then either 1. It’s intentional and it’s fine or 2. Inconsistency. If it isn’t the goal of the story, it’s difficult to rationalize. Why are they so different in Chapter 1 and 2? It’s hard to relate with and empathize with characters that change personalities (without a reason!!) just so the author can easily make more plots. Ways to fix this (if you’d like) 1. Have a set of morals the characters follow. Maybe they’re a pacifist, like above. Maybe they’re violent. Maybe it’s only when provoked. This can cause more conflict. Maybe they’re in a situation where they’re morals aren’t also the best solution? Maybe someone directly contradicts they’re morals? Maybe everything they’ve believed in is proven to be false? 2. Have traits you want to change, and ones you don’t. If you have a character that you want to change, it’s also okay to have parts that’s don’t. If they’re a shy, athletic, and wise character, you can have them be more outspoken at the end but still have them stay wise and athletic. (This is optional) My second point is SUB PLOTS !! I see so many stories where they’re aren’t enough subplots and where subplots take up too much time. This is usually due to bad pacing of the story. It’s important to find a balance of this. I’ve seen a lot of stories where the plot is great, but we never get to see the characters live without the main conflict. Most people can’t relate to dangerous prophecies and saving the world, so create subplots and traits they can. Maybe the characters are having a petty fight that only lasts a couple days. Maybe the character has a small crush that fizzles away. Maybe the character is trying to befriend someone, and failing. Especially for younger protagonists (Most comics on Scratch have human like characters with the maturity of teens) it’s okay to have small, tiny conflicts between characters! Realistic characters can be the best characters !! But it’s also important to not let these sub plots take over the story. Dedicate a few chapters, good! Background plot, great! But don’t let it accidentally take away too much from the story. If it’s chapter 10 of a petty fight that could’ve easily been solved, then, hey, maybe it’s time to move on. Unless this is what you’re trying to accomplish and done in a good way, it’s just weird. [EXTENDED IN N&C]
[extended from above] I’ve seen romances do this the most. Don’t get me wrong, love triangles can be great, but if a boring love triangle is getting more words than the whole plot, I’m going to be bored. Unless the plots surrounds the love triangle, don’t let it take over. They’re subplots for a reason. Subplots are great for building characters, establishing relationships, world building, and creating a community in your story! I’ve seen comics on Scratch that do this very well, and others that struggle. (Since it’s a kids platform and writing is usually a hobby, I don’t mind that much.) I love seeing subplots of mini rivalries, romances, etc. because the characters feel more real! I struggle with my own criticisms sometimes. My pacing is absolutely HORRID in Fragments, for example, and the personalities aren’t fleshed out for Juni and Hope! Anyway, thanks for reading! Please be polite in the comments. (Again, aware of outliers so no need to give examples lol) Have a good day !!
