This may come as a surprise to many of you, but creating a character for a roleplay (be that text-based, tabletop, LARP, or anything else) requires a different set of rules than other characters. The reason for this is that you have an obligation to make your character a cohesive …
Sarcasm can be an essential part of giving a character distinct personality and speech patterns, but it’s not exactly the easiest thing to convey in writing. After all, much of what makes sarcasm recognizable is the tone of voice a person uses. Without that, a character’s dialogue can come across …
Many professional writers and editors love to hate narrative summaries—dubbing it “info dumping.” There’s good reason to be wary of the overuse of narrative summary, but people tend to overlook its applications. As with any writing technique, a thorough understanding of how and when to utilize narrative summaries can help …
ADHD is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the world, but despite this, storytellers only seem to rely on inaccurate stereotypes when crafting characters with ADHD. If you want to write a character with ADHD, taking the time to understand the disorder is the first step towards writing …
Conflict is the heart and soul of all stories! It drives the plot forward, provides more context to the overall setting, can contribute to complex character development, and, most important of all, it’s what makes a story interesting. Generally, when people think of conflict, their minds go to fight scenes, …
Like vampires, werewolves have a special place in the hearts of writers and readers alike. If you want to write about werewolves, but you’re not sure of how to get started, look no further! This list of prompts can help you stir up inspiration for your next story, or you …
If you’re struggling to come up with a name for a fantasy character, you could end up finding all the inspiration you need in the plant kingdom. Flowers evoke feelings of elegance and grace, which can make flower names most suitable for characters like elves and centaurs, or, if you’re …
Diversity representation in works of fiction is becoming more and more mainstream, and with good reason! People of all races, genders, and abilities deserve to see themselves represented in the stories they read. However, a lot of representation ends up being poorly researched and presented, and that is often the …
How to Write a Blind or Vision Impaired Character Read More »
If you’re writing a fantasy story, or any story containing magical themes, it’s pretty likely that you’ll end up including some kind of magical curse (also known as a jinx or hex) in the storyline somewhere. A curse can provide a straightforward backstory and motive for a character (not just …
Curse Your Characters! (Writing About Magical Curses) Read More »
Writing a queer romance story can be a lot of fun, though it can be nerve-wracking to get started—especially if you don’t fall under the LGBT+ umbrella yourself. How can you be sure you’re not stereotyping your characters or inadvertently falling back on stale old tropes? How do you accurately …
