[VagueDoctor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelapick

Excellent. I've tried writing fiction before, but I often run out of ideas. Generally, I don't know how to develop characters or build up dramatic climaxes.

I have some advice for you! I've been writing for a few years now, and I find that the more I write the more I look back and feel better about where I started from - even from something I considered right then and there to be 'good.'

My advice:

Characters

• Use archetypes (the jock, the funny character, the straight-man) You don't have to know everything about a character and it's okay if you get some things wrong. As long as you know the 'gist' of what they're like you can run with that. A good way to figure out what someone is like is to re-read character wiki pages, or rewatch episodes in a show.

• Characters should often contrast each other. Usually, a message in a story is shown through characters who hold conflicting personalities or ideals. Person A/B/C should usually have a different opinion on something, or if it's the same they should express it differently.

• Character development: rules of 3. Humans love the number 3 - it usually satisfies their sweet spot before something feels overdone. If a character is going through an arc, think about the 3 major points (beginning, middle, end). I.E. showcasing a character changing for the better requires them to be their unchanging selves, then an incident happens and brings them to the middle (slight changes, but not all the way there). Finally, once trouble occurs they should complete their change and become a better person.

Plot

One of the best ways to figure out a plot is find a movie, book, or show you really loved and do something similar. Everyone starts out with having ideas that arise from inspiration. In terms of theme or messaging don't worry - no author ever has their theme figured out at first; you just start seeing patterns naturally.

Plots also have beginning, middle, and end.

If you're not sure where to go, sometimes going the opposite way you intended works. A trip to the supermarket doesn't always go the same way, so perhaps something stops them. Honestly, the weirder it gets the more I tend to like.

Everything you watch also has a structure too.

For Kamen Rider, the structure of Heisei Phase 2 usually goes like:

Opening introduction to villains --> Hero's first scene where the problem arises --> side characters talk to each other or the hero --> first fight scene and the hero loses or villain gets away --> hero meets victim of the week and the show's message is incorporated through them --> villains reflect on their success --> recovery of the hero and rethinking their strategy --> meeting with the victim of the week (if there is one) --> final fight scene where the hero wins --> epilogue.

Ultimately

If you're ever not sure of what to do, pick what you think sounds fun. You don't need to know where to go all the time in a story, because many stories are written out of order. Some scenes I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, but I know what the characters should feel in the next scene.

Biggest Rule

There are no rules. For a long time, I was so caught up in the beginning trying to note things down that I didn't really write a lot. Instead, I listened to the general advice I read online and decided what seemed fun and what didn't.

Best thing you can do is to start writing. Don't worry for how long the story will take to write and don't worry about the depth or length either.

Writing is fun, so write the stories you personally would like to see. That's the best way a story can come into existence! I believe in you.