– Hey everyone, this list was written by my good friend @papercutwriting, who posts wonderful writing on their blog. Go check them out and send them some love! This list focuses on the three main things that can drive a story; characters, plot, and immersion (setting). This offers a handful of questions to ask about each element in your own story, which will help you hone in on improving the reader’s experience. Happy writing!
Characters
Age
How old are your characters?
Does this show through their actions and reactions to the plot?
Is their age shown or just told?
Is their age portrayed through stereotypes?
Personality
What are your character’s defining personality traits?
Is there a suitable balance between the positives and negatives?
Can your reader relate to them?
Mind
What does your character like?
What do they dislike?
What drives them?
What is their main motivation?
How does their past affect the way they live in the present?
Physical
What do your characters look like?
What are their defining physical traits?
Is there any minority representation in your characters?
Plot
Beginning
Where does the story begin?
Does the placement of the introduction fit the story timeline?
Does the starting point effectively place your reader in the world?
Have you established the overall tone of the story?
Have you introduced any foreshadowing that sets up future events?
Have you established the time period and setting?
Middle
Do all the events in between the introduction and the climax serve a purpose that pushes the plot?
Have you included any strong subplots that will interest the reader?
Do your subplots push the overall plot/conflict resolution?
How does your main character develop and change throughout the course of these interval events?
Climax
Where is your climax in your story’s timeline?
Does the placement of the climax allow for any period of falling action before the resolution?
How does the climax affect the reader emotionally?
How does the climax affect any other subplots in your story?
End
How does your story resolve?
Is the end of your story happy? Sad? Inconclusive? Suggestive?
Does the falling action effectively bridge the gap between your climax and the ending?
How does the end leave your reader feeling?
What does the ending leave your reader thinking?
Have the themes of the story been conveyed properly by the end of your narrative?
Is the ending of your story over the top? Cliche? Predictable?
Immersion (Setting)
Place
Is your story set in a real place?
Have you done research on this place? The community? The culture?
If you are creating a science fiction/fantasy world, have you established the key features? Religion, community, cultural norms, government? Location?
Have you established the time in the year? The season? The weather?
Detail
Is the detail sprinkled into the narrative, or is it delivered in chunks?
Does the introduction of detail flow with the story or does it come across as if it was thrown in at the last minute?
Are details included meant to immerse the reader in the world?
Are the detailed intended to drive the plot? To foreshadow?
Do all the details serve a purpose?
Does your reader know enough about your story to become invested?
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Personality is the most important thing about your character.
So, whenever I see character sheets, most people just put a little paragraph for that section. If you’re struggling and don’t know what your character should say or do, what decisions they should make, I guarantee you that this is the problem.
You know your character’s name, age, race, sexuality, height, weight, eye color, hair color, their parents’ and siblings’ names. But these are not the things that truly matter about them.
Traits:
pick traits that don’t
necessarily go together. For example, someone who is controlling,
aggressive and vain can also be generous, sensitive and
soft-spoken. Characters need to have at least one flaw that really impacts how they interact with others. Positive traits can work as flaws, too. It is advised that you pick at least ten traits
people are complex, full of contradictions, and please forgive me if this makes anyone uncomfortable, but even bullies can be “nice” people. Anyone can be a “bad” person, even someone who is polite, kind, helpful or timid can also be narcissistic, annoying, inconsiderate and a liar. People are not just “evil” or “good”
Beliefs:
ideas or thoughts that your
character has or thinks about the world, society, others or
themselves, even without proof or evidence, or which may or may not be true. Beliefs can contradict
their values, motives, self-image, etc. For example, the belief that they are an awesome and responsible person when their traits are lazy, irresponsible and shallow. Their self-image and any beliefs they have about themselves may or may not be similar/the same. They might have a poor self-image, but still believe they’re better than everybody else
Values:
what your character thinks is
important. Usually influenced by beliefs, their self-image, their
history, etc. Some values may contradict their beliefs, wants,
traits, or even other values. For example, your character may value being respect, but one of their traits is disrespectful. It is advised you
list at least two values, and know which one they value more. For example, your character values justice and family. Their sister tells them she just stole $200 from her teacher’s wallet. Do they tell on her, or do they let her keep the money: justice, or family? Either way, your character probably has some negative feelings, guilt, anger, etc., over betraying their other value
Motives:
what your character wants. It
can be abstract or something tangible. For example, wanting to be adored or wanting that job to pay for their father’s medication.
Motives can contradict their beliefs, traits, values, behavior, or
even other motives. For example, your character may want to be a good
person, but their traits are selfish, manipulative, and narcissistic.
Motives can be long term or short term. Everyone has wants, whether they realize it or not. You can write “they don’t know what they want,” but you should know. It is advised that you
list at least one abstract want
Recurring Feelings:
feelings that they have
throughout most of their life. If you put them down as a trait, it is
likely they are also recurring feelings. For example, depressed,
lonely, happy, etc.
Self Image:
what the character thinks of
themselves: their self-esteem. Some character are proud of themselves, others are
ashamed of themselves, etc. They may think they are not good enough,
or think they are the smartest person in the world. Their self-image
can contradict their beliefs, traits, values, behavior, motives, etc.
For example, if their self-image is poor, they can still be a
cheerful or optimistic person. If they have a positive self-image,
they can still be a depressed or negative person. How they picture themselves may or may not be true: maybe they think they’re a horrible person, when they are, in fact, very considerate, helpful, kind, generous, patient, etc. They still have flaws, but flaws don’t necessarily make you a terrible person
Behavior:
how the character’s traits,
values, beliefs, self-image, etc., are outwardly displayed: how they
act. For example, two characters may have the trait “angry” but
they all probably express it differently. One character may be quiet
and want to be left alone when they are angry, the other could
become verbally aggressive. If your character is a liar, do they pause before lying, or do they suddenly speak very carefully when they normally don’t? Someone who is inconsiderate may have issues with boundaries or eat the last piece of pizza in the fridge when they knew it wasn’t theirs. Behavior is extremely important and it is advised you think long and hard about your character’s actions and what exactly it shows about them
Demeanor:
their general mood and
disposition. Maybe they’re usually quiet, cheerful, moody, or
irritable, etc.
Posture:
a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Posture is how the character carries themselves. For example, perhaps they swing their arms and keep their shoulders back while they walk, which seems to be the posture of a confident person, so when they sit, their legs are probably open. Another character may slump and have their arms folded when they’re sitting, and when they’re walking, perhaps they drag their feet and look at the ground
Speech Pattern:
a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Speech patterns can be words that your character uses frequently, if they speak clearly, what sort of grammar they use, if they have a wide vocabulary, a small vocabulary, if it’s sophisticated, crude, stammering, repeating themselves, etc. I personally don’t have a very wide vocabulary, if you could tell
Hobbies:
a secondary part of your
character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is
advised you fill this out after. Hobbies can include things like
drawing, writing, playing an instrument, collecting rocks, collecting
tea cups, etc.
Quirks:
a secondary part of your
character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is
advised you fill this out after. Quirks are behaviors that are unique
to your character. For example, I personally always put my socks on
inside out and check the ceiling for spiders a few times a day
Likes:
a secondary part of your
character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is
advised you fill this out after. Likes and dislikes are usually connected to
the rest of their personality, but not necessarily. For example, if your character likes
to do other people’s homework, maybe it’s because they want to be appreciated
Dislikes:
a secondary part of your
character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is
advised you fill this out after. Likes and dislikes can also
contradict the rest of their personality. For example, maybe one of
your character’s traits is dishonest, but they dislike liars
History:
your character’s past that has
key events that influence and shape their beliefs, values, behavior,
wants, self-image, etc. Events written down should imply or explain
why they are the way they are. For example, if
your character is distrustful, maybe they were lied to a lot by their
parents when they were a child. Maybe they were in a relationship for
twenty years and found out their partner was cheating on them the
whole time. If their motive/want is to have positive attention, maybe their parents just didn’t
praise them enough and focused too much on the negative
On Mental and Physical Disabilities or Illnesses
if your character experienced a trauma, it needs to have an affect on your character. Maybe they became more angry or impatient or critical of others. Maybe their beliefs on people changed to become “even bullies can be ‘nice’ people: anyone can be a ‘bad’ person”
people are not their illness or disability: it should not be their defining trait. I have health anxiety, but I’m still idealistic, lazy, considerate, impatient and occasionally spiteful; I still want to become an author; I still believe that people are generally good; I still value doing what make me feel comfortable; I still have a positive self-image; I’m still a person. You should fill out your character’s personality at least half-way before you even touch on the possibility of your character having a disability or illness
Generally everything about your character should connect, but hey, even twins that grew up in the same exact household have different personalities; they value different things, have different beliefs. Maybe one of them watched a movie that had a huge impact on them.
Not everything needs to be explained. Someone can be picky or fussy ever since they were little for no reason at all. Someone can be a negative person even if they grew up in a happy home.
I believe this is a thought out layout for making well-rounded OCs, antagonists and protagonists, whether they’re being created for a roleplay or for a book. This layout is also helpful for studying Canon Characters if you’re looking to accurately roleplay as them or write them in fanfiction or whatever.
I’m really excited to post this, so hopefully I didn’t miss anything important…
If you have any questions, feel free to send a message.
ok but i need a plot where there’s these two idiots who are roommates, and they bicker and act like a married couple constantly, and can hang out like bros but they’re completely platonic, no we’re not in love that’s preposterous!! and it’s so evident that they’re into each other like whenever one goes out on a date, the other is all bitter like ‘no i’m definitely not jealous’. and they like leave bars together at some stupidly early hour and their friends tease them and they just go home and get drunk together instead. and like domestic washing the dishes and fighting over who does what and flinging soap at each other. and then one day it kind of just clicks, you know, like wow you’re my best friend but i think i might love you as more this is so difficult and just, give this to me now.
#aesthetic 