Hey Everyone! Ive Got This Assignment For School, And For One Of The Parts I Need To Get Some Statistics.

Hey everyone! I’ve got this assignment for school, and for one of the parts I need to get some statistics. 

It’s about character building, and if any writers seeing this could fill out this form, I would very much appreciate it. It shouldn’t take too long.

If you’re not a writer, please don’t fill this out.

And like with polls, please share for a bigger sample size.

You forgot the language you accidentally started writing

Problems only writers understand

Having very chaotic notes on your phone

Having secret files that you will NEVER let anyone ever see

WHAT THAT WORD THAT MEANS THAT THING????

Why cant I think of a name?

Writing 10k words in a day then never again

Alterra Update;

Hello friends! I shall now explain my magic system, from now on I will be writing these as if I was a scholar from Alterra.

The lands of Alterra run on four different types of arcane powers, these are Necrotic, Devine, Natural, and biological magics.

Necrotic magic, also known as blood magic, requires sacrifices of either blood or souls to cast. Each time a necrotic spell is attempted, the user will corrupt part of their soul, even if the spell fails. This type of magic consists mostly of curses, but a lesser used ability is controlling shadow offensively in combat. Use of necrotic magic is illegal in all 5 continents, and is punishable by being dropped directly into Hell via one of the Hellholes.

Divine magic is a very powerful, yet unreliable form of magic. Each spell must contain the true name and purpose of one or more gods, and that god must agree with the use of the spell. (Unbeknownst to the public, the gods with killed roughly 100000 years ago, but their souls still live on, preventing the galaxies from collapsing.) Common uses of this type of magic are removing curses, healing wounds, and the blessing of tools and armour. One does not need to be religious to use this magic, but it cannot be accessed by those who lack belief in something or whose soul has gone dark.

Natural magic is basic, rune-based magic. Similar to how necrotic and divine magic is cast, but without the needs of gods or sacrifices. The languages of magical runes are widely known, but a spell’s power is limited by the accuracy of the runes. If the runes are imprecise, they can provide a weaker effect, do nothing, or even backfire on the user. There are nearly no limitations to this type of magic, with the only limits being the creativity and time of the user. Use cases for this type of magic are anywhere from curses, to barriers, to lightning, though maintaining a spell does have a cost on the user, and it is not unheard of to pass out or even die from using a spell you aren’t ready for.

Finally we have biological magic, this requires no prep time, no runes, and cannot be interrupted. Another term for biological magic is pure magic, as it cannot be learnt and is only available in creatures of “pure” power. It’s a blur between physical action and the arcane. It’s the breath of a dragon, the lightning in the sky, the fire of the Acursed Lord Valthoraxe. Pure magic is obtained at birth, and can only ever do one thing. No one creature can possess more than one pure magic ability, but these are only limitations to the unimaginative. Lord Valthoraxe has the ability to control heat, but the ways it uses that ability don’t stop at setting things ablaze, from removing the heat from an object, to ionizing it instantly, there is no clear limit on Valthoraxe’s pure limit, and we are all thankful he is so merciful.

Not including pure magic, every form of arcane power has two other factors. Each spell has to fall under two categories, being cast type and rune type. Cast type is either passive or active. Passive magic is a permanent effect, such as curses or blessing, while active magic is one time use. Both passive and active magic can be broken or nullified, but one active magic can defend against it. Active magic can be maintained for a prolonged period of time, but the caster must be constantly engaging in the spell, and is very tiring. If not maintained, the runes will quickly decay, with the speed of decay increasing with higher level magic.

Rune type refers to how a spell is cast, being either written, spoken, or thought. Written magic is the casting of written runes, and is the easiest way to cast spells without risks of failure. Handwriting very is important, with even minor inconsistencies being able to lead to a failed spell. The main benefit of written magic is it’s ability to be written before it’s used, and can be cast at a later date. Spoken magic is done by correctly pronouncing the runes needed for any one spell, and are dependent on correct pronunciation. Spoken magic also takes time to cast, and announces what the spell is, allowing for others to prepare for the spell, however, speaking along with a written spell can restore and maintain that written spell, allowing it to last longer. Spoken magic also has a benefit of being able to be cancelled at any time with no effects by simply saying “Courna”. Lastly, we have thought magic. You have to picture the runes written down in your mind extremely vividly in order for anything to even happen. The slightest distraction can cause the spell to break or fail, but if done correctly, it can cast a spell almost instantaneously.

Every spell (except for pure magic) causes any runes used to glow. Written runes have to burn themselves off of their surface and move to take shape in the air, while spoken and thought magic appear instantly. Given enough time, a magic user can create extremely powerful and complicated spells that could take years to write or speak, but could also determine the outcome of entire wars. The longest time a magic user has spent on any one spell was 32 years, and was used to bury exactly 1000 troops in the ground during the second war of kingdoms.

Ahem, *smacks lips*

Yoink!

Feelings Wheel

This is the feelings wheel by Geoffrey Roberts, shown to me by my therapist. My initial thought was, "what amazing synonyms to use for diverse emotional vocabulary!"

More than that, this wheel is great for understanding your characters inner motivations and reactions to situations. For example, if a character constantly feels helpless, then their overarching characteristics will be that they are fearful.

Characters who are less emotionally aware may use words and act in the inner most circle. Those much more aware of their emotions may describe themselves or express and use words from the outer most circle.

Hopefully you guys find this as helpful as I did! Let me know down in the comments.

Happy Writing!

Crap, forgot to post again.

Uhhhhhhhhhh, idk what to post this week.

Here’s a world map of Alterra, I guess. Next week I’ll delve into some of the cities

While it’s not enough, it’s a strong foundation. Good side characters need all of these things, yes, but they also need:

-things that won’t change about them, most commonly their personalities

-their relationship to the MC

-Morals and motivations of their own

-Mannerisms and the way they speak / do things

-notable differences to the mc

-their mental state

-how they talk to different people, like a best friend or a stranger.

-ect.

There are plenty of things side characters should need, because they are people in the story just as much as the MC is. It’s a lot more time consuming to write fully fledged out side characters, but it will be so much more enjoyable if you do.

Creating Memorable Side Characters

                Not everyone gets to be the star of the show. Side characters fill out your world and add context to your main character’s journey. Often they are the parents, friends, or coworkers of your main character and as important of a role they play in the MCs life, it’s easy to forget they exist until we need them next.

                While they shouldn’t take the main stage, creating memorable side characters gives them a sense of realism and importance. They can provide motivation, inspiration, or a little bit of support when the MC needs it next, which will all land harder if we care about them as people. So here’s a few ways to do it:

Give them a little arc.

While the journey of the main character is why we’re reading your story, they aren’t the only people who can change. Allowing your side characters some development across the story, even in small ways, can add a layer of depth and intrigue to them. This can look like going from “dad hates all of MC’s friends” to “dad houses and feeds all the friends when they need it most”.

2. Give them a space

Unmemorable characters are treated more like tools to the narrative than people. If your side character shows up wherever they are needed at any given time, they’ve become a plot convenience rather than a person. Give them a place to exist—they hang out in the library, they can be found at the café down the street, they’re three phone calls and a flare in the sky away. Give them a reliable place that’s just theirs.

3. Give them a point of interest

While your side characters aren’t going to be as fully developed as your MCs, you can pretty easily give them some intrigue and the hint of a broader life by giving them a specific point of interest. Maybe the friend is in the photography club, the parents go out to drag shows on the weekend, the coworker always has a new crochet scarf to bring to work, etc. Just make sure it doesn't stand in alone for further character development.

                What are some examples of memorable side characters you can think of?