A Writers Ask Game

A Writer’s Ask Game

Send me an ask with the number(s) you’d like me to answer!

The Basics 1.     Do you listen to music when you write? 2.     Are you a pantser or plotter? 3.     Computer or pen and paper? 4.     Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published? 5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day? 6.     Single or multiple POV? 7.     Standalone or series? 8.     Oldest WIP 9.     Current WIP 10.  Do you set yourself deadlines?

The Specifics 11.  Books and/or authors who influenced you the most 12.  Describe your perfect writing space 13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished 14.  How do you deal with self-doubts? 15.  How do you deal with writer’s block? 16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project? 17.  What writing habits or rituals do you have? 18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about? 19.  How do you keep yourself motivated? 20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

The Favourites 21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? 22.  Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write? 23.  Favourite author 24.  Favourite genre to write and read 25.  Favourite part of writing 26.  Favourite writing program 27.  Favourite line/scene 28.  Favourite side character 29.  Favourite villain 30.  Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

The Dark 31.  Least favourite part of writing 32.  Most difficult character to write 33.  Have you ever killed a main character? 34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write? 35.  What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

The Fun 36.  Last sentence you wrote 37.  First sentence or your current WIP 38.  Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had 39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had 40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

The Rest of It 41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers? 42.  How do you feel about love triangles? 43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline? 44.  How much research do you do? 45.  How much world building do you do? 46.  Do you reread your own stories? 47.  Best way to procrastinate 48.  What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written? 49.  Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real? 50.  [Other question—ask me anything]

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.

This is bs, no way I’ve been here a year. This is a lie, an illusion, a false pretense.

Yes, but… shut up.

writers be like "I'm going to work on my WIP." my brother in christ, you've already opened tumblr

Also, I would just like to add to point 3) give the a space.

This is actually a really good one that I haven’t seen before, so massive props for that one. Having a reliable method of reaching a character is really interesting, but I have a way to add humor to it. I plan to almost completely rework a lot of the character stuff in my second draft, including giving them a “place,” all apart from 1 side character that is. Said character is, my personal favorite, James Honorborn, and his place is showing up wherever the fuck he likes to, seemingly at random, inappropriate moments. I hope I’ll be able to contrast this enough with the other characters to provide a fun gimmick to this character.

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?

Alterra Update!

Deities;

Whenever a new galaxy is formed, it’s creation brings forth a new set of gods. The number of gods created in one galaxy is between 120 - 140, and each one is comprised entirely out of a separate element. The gods sustain themselves off of a few specific types of antimatter, thus ensuring their respective galaxies don’t fizzle out.

These gods are still bound by the laws of physics, and cannot create new matter from nothing, however, they can reshape it. They seek for planets that are capable of sustaining life, and create various microorganisms on them. They watch as these creatures evolve into complex life, looking on from afar in the form of great nebulae. Occasionally, a sentient species evolves, capable of self-awareness and learning the ways of science. If they gods enjoy watching the lives of a species, they may wish to ensure it’s survival. If this is the case, the gods work together to create a fully evolved species, each with an innate ability unachievable through natural evolution, these are called divine beings.

100 000 years before the events of the book, a great war took place between all the millions of gods from every galaxy, and an unknown enemy. Nowadays, divine beings are seldom ever encountered, and the gods are all dead. All but one that is.

There exists one final god, one who managed to avoid the slaughter, the god of death. This god is rarely in the same place for longer than a few units of planck time, as it is constantly teleporting between the dead. Every time a creature dies, it has 1 minute to return the creature’s energy to the universe, or the creature’s “soul” will deteriorate. If a soul deteriorates, it will be susceptible to reacting with a type of antimatter that can’t be consumed by gods, nor can it be detected by conventional means. If a soul reacts, it could set off a chain reaction that erases all energy in the universe. And so the god of death must live in constant dark, moving too fast to process light, sound, or the outside world. The god of death’s afterimage does remain for a fraction of a second, leading to the near universal depiction of death being a tall dark wraith or dark hooded man.

Despite the gods being dead, holy magic still functions just fine. This is because, while the gods might be dead, the elements that they were made of still exist. So it’s not the name of the deity that’s being called upon, but the element in the deity’s language.