Yes, But Shut Up.

Yes, but… shut up.

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

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?

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!

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.

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

Alterra Update!

I’m feeling kind of out of it today, so here’s just some random city data copy-pasted from one of my many world building lists. Most of them don’t have any information about them, but I’ll go more in depth in a future update.

The 5 cities of unity;

-Dawncrest (Novélia)

-Aguefort (Corkus)

-Cinfras (Kio)

-Helioa (Rings of Troms)

-Hylinn (Runa)

Other cities;

-Hytolra (Elven):

-Vreedon City (Human): Capital to the province of Vreedon

-Vreeport (mixed): Home to the second largest legal port in Alterra.

-Thetville (Human):

-Niseton (mixed): Small village near Thetville

-Outerton (Human): A self governing large town, and third largest bounty hunting town after the fall of Blackwood.

-Blackwood (destroyed, former bounty hunting capital)

-Olmic (Dwarven): World’s largest producer of steel, steel alloys, and silver.

-The Multitree (High-Elven): Home to the High Elves, all visits must be scheduled and approved beforehand.

-Tal Aln’ir (Elven)

-Nae’lar (Elven)

-Helmsgate (Dwarven): Dwarven Capital of Corkus, and the blacksmith capital of Alterra.

-Rymek (mixed, Dwarven / Golemic): A dwarven made city where Golems can live safely outside of Unity Cities. Also the highest educated non-capital city in Alterra.

-Arca’nir (Elven)

-Argoth (mixed, Dwarven / Orken / Human): Main port of Corkus.

-Y’ fae (Elven)

-Angia (Elven)

-Koerra (Elven)

-Nae’orr (Elven)

-Bankwood (Human): Second largest bounty hunting city in Alterra.

-Nae’a (Elven)

-Tal Helia (Elven)

-Val T’orin (Elven)

-Arca’fae (Elven)

-Ori (Elven)

-Kangdor (Human):

-Ru’ina (Elven)

-Arca’nir (Elven)

-Tal’lynn (Elven)

-Arca’lynn (Elven)

-Arca’rö (Elven)

-Helguard (Dwarven): A military city built beside the largest HellHole on Alterra. Soldiers trained here are some of the best in the world, and often travel abroad hunting monsters and preventing demons from coming to the surface.

-Bankside (mixed)

-Sowick (Human)

-Setwick (Golemic)

-Tort (mixed): Capital of The Rings of Troms, and home to the largest port in the world. It’s so large, it connects to the port of the Unity City Hilioa. The lush jungle provides Tort with vast amounts of exotic fruit and spices, and is responsible for exporting over 90% of the world’s spices. The vast amount of life also makes it a very attractive destination for those learning magic.

-Anri (Arcanic): A magic city located in the only desert left on the planet, besides the Warlock Wastes. The desert’s strange magical properties and relation to Dragon’s Peak make this the best place in the world to study the arcane. Any rumors saying that Anri is working together with The Lord’s Wastelands are unconfirmed.

-Death’s Gate (mixed, Human / Orken): New bounty hunting capital of Alterra, and closest town to the Lord’s Wastelands.

-Tell (pirate town)

Continents;

-Novélia

-Corkus

-Troms

-Nesaak

-Kio

-Runa:

-Frowynn

-Hylinn Isles

-N.O.V.A. Territory

Mountains;

-Split peaks

-Dragon’s Peak

-Vualt mountain

-Durok mountain

-Mount Feln

-Mount Buro

-Twin Peaks

-Mount Brimstone

-Spikecaps

Dwarven mines;

-Mt. Vualt mines

-Mt. Durok mines

-Mt. Feln mines

-Mt. Buro mines

-Mt. Brimstone mines

Points of Interest;

-The Lord’s Wastelands:

-Warlock Wastes

-The Droughted

-The HellHoles