Beyond This, Consider How These Professions Might Vary Depending On Who The Customers Are - Nobles, Or

Beyond this, consider how these professions might vary depending on who the customers are - nobles, or lower class. Are they good at their job or just scraping by? Do they work with lots of other people or on their own? City or village?

For younger characters:

Apprentice to any of the above

Messenger/runner

Page/squire

Pickpocket

Shop assistant

Student

Looks after younger siblings

(Images all from Wikimedia Commons)

Me reading a really good book: god this makes me wanna write

Me reading a really bad book: ugh this makes me wanna write

Me having coffee: i wanna write

Me going on a drive: i wanna write

Me doing the dishes: i wanna write

Me waking up: i wanna write

Me writing:

building your main character

Hello :) I recently bought save the cat writes a novel but didn't have the motivation to read it until I came up with this new fantasy idea.

As a pantser, I really want to learn how to plot, and I thought this book was a good idea to give me some structure as to what goes into plotting (like know the rules so you can break them after pftt).

I decided to take some notes along the way so I don't have to keep re-reading this thing later down the road. It might be helpful, it might not be, but I thought it'd be a nice writing resource to put out to the world. ♥️

I think it's safe to say that most of us don't want to read, nor write, a perfect character - one who's good at everything, and has no problems in their lives.

Creating a flawed character, one that later transforms and learns a "universal lesson" is probably much more interesting to both read & write about (as most authors [like me] like to dump their trauma on characters lmao).

But to do so, your character needs:

A problem that needs fixing.

A want or goal that the hero is pursuing.

A need for their lesson to be learned.

Basically, a character's flaw (though doesn't need to be a HUGE one) or issue should be affecting, at least in their thoughts and possibly others, their world, relationships, and life. This is essentially their "problem," and one they hope to fix. It may also be seen as the start of their journey.

Aside from that, it's important for a character to want something, and be trying to get it. This is essentially what they think will fix their issues, but may turn out not to be true later on. This want should be tangible or specific in some way. And the fact that someone or something is preventing them from getting is, is part of their journey!

Side note: wants can also change throughout the novel. An example used was how Frankenstein goes from wanting to create life to wanting to destroy the very life he created. Not all characters get what they want, either. Take a character who wants to see their mother, for instance, only to find out she died in the end of the novel (sorry for this sad example lmaoo). Though she never gets to see her mother, she learns a few lessons along the way, and her getting to see her mother is what the novel may focus on more.

Characters can also be mistaken on what they think will make them happy, which is another reason why they think they want something.

That leads to what the hero really needs. Delve into their backstory.

Why is your hero so flawed?

What happened to them to make them the way they are?

What do they really need?

Essentially, this internal transformation (character development) combined with the actual plot and external action will create a plot/novel.

In the end, there may be some universal lesson or overarching perception that your character gains. Here's 10:

Forgiveness (of self and others)

Love (self-love, family, romantic)

Acceptance (of themselves, of circumstances, etc.)

Faith (oneself, others, world, religion)

Fear (overcoming or finding courage)

Trust (oneself, unknown, others)

Survival (will to live)

Selflessness (sacrifice, altruism, heroism, etc.)

Responsibility (duty, accepting one's fate, standing up for a cause)

Redemption (atonement, accepting blame, remorse, salvation)

six crimson cranes

these violent delights

a magic steeped in poison

daughter of the moon goddess

wicked fox

spin the dawn

etc etc.

hope this helps haha <333

I want more women of color in fantasy. If you have any book suggestions, send them my way.

Heads Up Seven Up Tag

Alright, a tag game! Thanks @talesofsorrowandofruin, this is fun.

The most recent seven lines I've written:

My feet drag on. This has to be an omen, there is safety in this structure.  As I draw nearer to the building, its form falls into place. It is impossibly rectangular, a work of perfect right angles. The edges of its constitution look painful to touch. There is a single, circular window that looks more like an eye. A lens, with which to interpret the outside. 

From a project I haven't talked about yet ;)

I'm tagging (only if you want to): @kjscottwrites @bardic-tales @fearofahumanplanet @circa-specturgia @ryan-shepard-writes @leave-her-a-tome @wardenoftheabyss

Art by Davood Moghaddami