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uau2hp | writing_train | 0.81 | How to make my writing less bland ? For some reason, when I read back my own writing, I always feel like I'm choking on flour or something. It always feel lack of flavour and interesting stuffs. How could I fix it and make my narrating less bland ? | i60p0h3 | i5ztxzu | 1,650,818,688 | 1,650,804,762 | 3 | 1 | Write 100 short stories and tell me if it’s still a problem. What did you expect? | Do you have an example? | 1 | 13,926 | 3 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg2mxv | iyfzzwl | 1,669,863,995 | 1,669,862,764 | 77 | 1 | Maybe more creative solutions? A key opens a door, but diving headfirst through the wall instead will (probably) still get you in the room. It's an accessible solution- virually anyone can do it. It's one that builds onto the character, and requires effort. It carries a risk. All these components illicit emotional responses, as opposed to mechanical, linear story-telling where the character realizes he needs a key, searches for the key, finds the key, uses the key. If possible, make the solution as simple as possible, in terms of it's existence. If, for instance, your hero happens to be in shark infested waters, and then he suddenly has shark repellent, people are going to laugh or groan. If the same guy just has a pen in his pocket and narrowly manages to stab an approaching shark around it's eyes, that's relatable, plausible, and harrowing. I think, as I develop this theory, that relatability might be the biggest factor, really. This is a really interesting problem to contemplate. I know the problem, as a reader, but haven't ever thought about the reasons it actually bothers me. | but | 1 | 1,231 | 77 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygnvot | iygagz4 | 1,669,876,044 | 1,669,867,857 | 25 | 18 | That's generally in reference to lazy writing and deus ex machina: The characters are all about to die and there is absolutely no way out.... except I've just remembered this magic spell that will save us all and probably would have prevented this whole mess in the first place (or some equally unsatisfying resolution) Or plot armor: My characters face ridiculous life-threatening scenarios that would destroy any typical mortal, but they always survive because.... they're important to the plot. Obviously. Deus ex machina can be avoided with some planning and setup in earlier scenes so the climax makes sense in the moment. Plot armor can be avoided by having realistic consequences for your characters. Good luck! | Make em sweat. The main characters are often going to have some element of luck in order to succeed. Seriously, most heroes in media win with no small amount of luck. But good stories show that characters still have to put in the work and make important choices. | 1 | 8,187 | 1.388889 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg9qiz | iygnvot | 1,669,867,472 | 1,669,876,044 | 11 | 25 | This is related to deus ex machina (qv.) and is easily avoided by making solutions organic to your narrative. "Fortunately for Sir Bob of Sheboygan, he remembered once seeing a sword forged from a meteorite in his uncle's garage, the precise weapon ordained by prophecy to one day slay the Dark Overlord.' | That's generally in reference to lazy writing and deus ex machina: The characters are all about to die and there is absolutely no way out.... except I've just remembered this magic spell that will save us all and probably would have prevented this whole mess in the first place (or some equally unsatisfying resolution) Or plot armor: My characters face ridiculous life-threatening scenarios that would destroy any typical mortal, but they always survive because.... they're important to the plot. Obviously. Deus ex machina can be avoided with some planning and setup in earlier scenes so the climax makes sense in the moment. Plot armor can be avoided by having realistic consequences for your characters. Good luck! | 0 | 8,572 | 2.272727 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygnvot | iyggs5w | 1,669,876,044 | 1,669,871,396 | 25 | 5 | That's generally in reference to lazy writing and deus ex machina: The characters are all about to die and there is absolutely no way out.... except I've just remembered this magic spell that will save us all and probably would have prevented this whole mess in the first place (or some equally unsatisfying resolution) Or plot armor: My characters face ridiculous life-threatening scenarios that would destroy any typical mortal, but they always survive because.... they're important to the plot. Obviously. Deus ex machina can be avoided with some planning and setup in earlier scenes so the climax makes sense in the moment. Plot armor can be avoided by having realistic consequences for your characters. Good luck! | Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. What environmental objects or resources can the characters find that can potentially be used to accomplish their goals, either as individual objects or composite/combined objects? Creative uses for everyday objects or common household chemicals in the proper proportions. | 1 | 4,648 | 5 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg5p77 | iygnvot | 1,669,865,461 | 1,669,876,044 | 2 | 25 | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | That's generally in reference to lazy writing and deus ex machina: The characters are all about to die and there is absolutely no way out.... except I've just remembered this magic spell that will save us all and probably would have prevented this whole mess in the first place (or some equally unsatisfying resolution) Or plot armor: My characters face ridiculous life-threatening scenarios that would destroy any typical mortal, but they always survive because.... they're important to the plot. Obviously. Deus ex machina can be avoided with some planning and setup in earlier scenes so the climax makes sense in the moment. Plot armor can be avoided by having realistic consequences for your characters. Good luck! | 0 | 10,583 | 12.5 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyfzzwl | iygnvot | 1,669,862,764 | 1,669,876,044 | 1 | 25 | but | That's generally in reference to lazy writing and deus ex machina: The characters are all about to die and there is absolutely no way out.... except I've just remembered this magic spell that will save us all and probably would have prevented this whole mess in the first place (or some equally unsatisfying resolution) Or plot armor: My characters face ridiculous life-threatening scenarios that would destroy any typical mortal, but they always survive because.... they're important to the plot. Obviously. Deus ex machina can be avoided with some planning and setup in earlier scenes so the climax makes sense in the moment. Plot armor can be avoided by having realistic consequences for your characters. Good luck! | 0 | 13,280 | 25 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygnvot | iygmv2v | 1,669,876,044 | 1,669,875,316 | 25 | 1 | That's generally in reference to lazy writing and deus ex machina: The characters are all about to die and there is absolutely no way out.... except I've just remembered this magic spell that will save us all and probably would have prevented this whole mess in the first place (or some equally unsatisfying resolution) Or plot armor: My characters face ridiculous life-threatening scenarios that would destroy any typical mortal, but they always survive because.... they're important to the plot. Obviously. Deus ex machina can be avoided with some planning and setup in earlier scenes so the climax makes sense in the moment. Plot armor can be avoided by having realistic consequences for your characters. Good luck! | You might be talking about like in a movie when a character drives down a busy street and luckily there happens to be a parking spot right in front of the establishment they're headed to. I can't remember seeing a scene where somebody drove around the block looking for a parking space. Whether it's believable vs. how much of a distraction from the plot it is would probably be a fair comparison. Lucky coincidences happen in real life, they just don't often happen again and again and again. | 1 | 728 | 25 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg9qiz | iygagz4 | 1,669,867,472 | 1,669,867,857 | 11 | 18 | This is related to deus ex machina (qv.) and is easily avoided by making solutions organic to your narrative. "Fortunately for Sir Bob of Sheboygan, he remembered once seeing a sword forged from a meteorite in his uncle's garage, the precise weapon ordained by prophecy to one day slay the Dark Overlord.' | Make em sweat. The main characters are often going to have some element of luck in order to succeed. Seriously, most heroes in media win with no small amount of luck. But good stories show that characters still have to put in the work and make important choices. | 0 | 385 | 1.636364 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg5p77 | iygagz4 | 1,669,865,461 | 1,669,867,857 | 2 | 18 | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | Make em sweat. The main characters are often going to have some element of luck in order to succeed. Seriously, most heroes in media win with no small amount of luck. But good stories show that characters still have to put in the work and make important choices. | 0 | 2,396 | 9 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygagz4 | iyfzzwl | 1,669,867,857 | 1,669,862,764 | 18 | 1 | Make em sweat. The main characters are often going to have some element of luck in order to succeed. Seriously, most heroes in media win with no small amount of luck. But good stories show that characters still have to put in the work and make important choices. | but | 1 | 5,093 | 18 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg9qiz | iyguvlx | 1,669,867,472 | 1,669,881,562 | 11 | 12 | This is related to deus ex machina (qv.) and is easily avoided by making solutions organic to your narrative. "Fortunately for Sir Bob of Sheboygan, he remembered once seeing a sword forged from a meteorite in his uncle's garage, the precise weapon ordained by prophecy to one day slay the Dark Overlord.' | Write the story how you want it to go, from problem to solution. Simple, straightforward, A to B. Now go back and insert problems along the way. You’re going to know how the solution will play out. Insert problems there for the characters to work around. You can make it as many levels and detailed as you want, but the idea is the same. | 0 | 14,090 | 1.090909 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyggs5w | iyguvlx | 1,669,871,396 | 1,669,881,562 | 5 | 12 | Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. What environmental objects or resources can the characters find that can potentially be used to accomplish their goals, either as individual objects or composite/combined objects? Creative uses for everyday objects or common household chemicals in the proper proportions. | Write the story how you want it to go, from problem to solution. Simple, straightforward, A to B. Now go back and insert problems along the way. You’re going to know how the solution will play out. Insert problems there for the characters to work around. You can make it as many levels and detailed as you want, but the idea is the same. | 0 | 10,166 | 2.4 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyguvlx | iyg5p77 | 1,669,881,562 | 1,669,865,461 | 12 | 2 | Write the story how you want it to go, from problem to solution. Simple, straightforward, A to B. Now go back and insert problems along the way. You’re going to know how the solution will play out. Insert problems there for the characters to work around. You can make it as many levels and detailed as you want, but the idea is the same. | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | 1 | 16,101 | 6 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygttyw | iyguvlx | 1,669,880,676 | 1,669,881,562 | 3 | 12 | Avoiding. Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself or dissipate. Accommodating. ... Compromising. ... Competing. ... Collaborating. | Write the story how you want it to go, from problem to solution. Simple, straightforward, A to B. Now go back and insert problems along the way. You’re going to know how the solution will play out. Insert problems there for the characters to work around. You can make it as many levels and detailed as you want, but the idea is the same. | 0 | 886 | 4 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyguvlx | iyfzzwl | 1,669,881,562 | 1,669,862,764 | 12 | 1 | Write the story how you want it to go, from problem to solution. Simple, straightforward, A to B. Now go back and insert problems along the way. You’re going to know how the solution will play out. Insert problems there for the characters to work around. You can make it as many levels and detailed as you want, but the idea is the same. | but | 1 | 18,798 | 12 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygmv2v | iyguvlx | 1,669,875,316 | 1,669,881,562 | 1 | 12 | You might be talking about like in a movie when a character drives down a busy street and luckily there happens to be a parking spot right in front of the establishment they're headed to. I can't remember seeing a scene where somebody drove around the block looking for a parking space. Whether it's believable vs. how much of a distraction from the plot it is would probably be a fair comparison. Lucky coincidences happen in real life, they just don't often happen again and again and again. | Write the story how you want it to go, from problem to solution. Simple, straightforward, A to B. Now go back and insert problems along the way. You’re going to know how the solution will play out. Insert problems there for the characters to work around. You can make it as many levels and detailed as you want, but the idea is the same. | 0 | 6,246 | 12 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg9qiz | iyh1jxk | 1,669,867,472 | 1,669,887,562 | 11 | 12 | This is related to deus ex machina (qv.) and is easily avoided by making solutions organic to your narrative. "Fortunately for Sir Bob of Sheboygan, he remembered once seeing a sword forged from a meteorite in his uncle's garage, the precise weapon ordained by prophecy to one day slay the Dark Overlord.' | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | 0 | 20,090 | 1.090909 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh1jxk | iygzcnv | 1,669,887,562 | 1,669,885,529 | 12 | 6 | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | I read this: You could use coincidences to get your hero into troubles, but you can't use it to get them out. They need to succeed because of their skills, choices, knowledge, overcoming their flaw etc. | 1 | 2,033 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyggs5w | iyh1jxk | 1,669,871,396 | 1,669,887,562 | 5 | 12 | Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. What environmental objects or resources can the characters find that can potentially be used to accomplish their goals, either as individual objects or composite/combined objects? Creative uses for everyday objects or common household chemicals in the proper proportions. | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | 0 | 16,166 | 2.4 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh1jxk | iyg5p77 | 1,669,887,562 | 1,669,865,461 | 12 | 2 | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | 1 | 22,101 | 6 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh1jxk | iygttyw | 1,669,887,562 | 1,669,880,676 | 12 | 3 | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | Avoiding. Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself or dissipate. Accommodating. ... Compromising. ... Competing. ... Collaborating. | 1 | 6,886 | 4 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh1jxk | iyfzzwl | 1,669,887,562 | 1,669,862,764 | 12 | 1 | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | but | 1 | 24,798 | 12 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygmv2v | iyh1jxk | 1,669,875,316 | 1,669,887,562 | 1 | 12 | You might be talking about like in a movie when a character drives down a busy street and luckily there happens to be a parking spot right in front of the establishment they're headed to. I can't remember seeing a scene where somebody drove around the block looking for a parking space. Whether it's believable vs. how much of a distraction from the plot it is would probably be a fair comparison. Lucky coincidences happen in real life, they just don't often happen again and again and again. | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | 0 | 12,246 | 12 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh1jxk | iygvtd8 | 1,669,887,562 | 1,669,882,370 | 12 | 1 | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | I think having your characters do the most obnoxious thing to solve their problem. They need to get into a locked house, someone climbs unto the roof and drops down the chimney. They’re stuck in a guarded room, they Inflict bodily harm to themselves and pretend they’re dying. Whatever the easy/convenient option is, have a character just say “Nah, I have a better idea.” While I do understand the critique of movie/book logic of having exactly what you need when they need it, the alternative is to have the characters find a different solution that would beg the question how did they do that? You’re gonna be poking holes in the logic anyways. | 1 | 5,192 | 12 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh1b3v | iyh1jxk | 1,669,887,339 | 1,669,887,562 | 1 | 12 | Make the characters work for their solutions. They need some information? Come up with a way for them to get that, don't just have a character show up and spout it all off. They need to find, capture or kill someone? They work to do that, they don't just stumble upon them. Character is in a life or death fight and about to lose? They don't just randomly get an eleventh hour superpower or get saved by someone that has no reason to be there (or that realistically didn't have time to get there) | A good approach I try to replicate is to provide enough foreshadowing for the unlikely event about to happen. Readers know they are not reading a bland story with average characters living an ordinary life. But extraordinary things happening all of a sudden feel off, unless they are properly prepared with clues, or other elements of foreshadowing. | 0 | 223 | 12 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg9qiz | iyg5p77 | 1,669,867,472 | 1,669,865,461 | 11 | 2 | This is related to deus ex machina (qv.) and is easily avoided by making solutions organic to your narrative. "Fortunately for Sir Bob of Sheboygan, he remembered once seeing a sword forged from a meteorite in his uncle's garage, the precise weapon ordained by prophecy to one day slay the Dark Overlord.' | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | 1 | 2,011 | 5.5 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyfzzwl | iyg9qiz | 1,669,862,764 | 1,669,867,472 | 1 | 11 | but | This is related to deus ex machina (qv.) and is easily avoided by making solutions organic to your narrative. "Fortunately for Sir Bob of Sheboygan, he remembered once seeing a sword forged from a meteorite in his uncle's garage, the precise weapon ordained by prophecy to one day slay the Dark Overlord.' | 0 | 4,708 | 11 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyggs5w | iygzcnv | 1,669,871,396 | 1,669,885,529 | 5 | 6 | Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. What environmental objects or resources can the characters find that can potentially be used to accomplish their goals, either as individual objects or composite/combined objects? Creative uses for everyday objects or common household chemicals in the proper proportions. | I read this: You could use coincidences to get your hero into troubles, but you can't use it to get them out. They need to succeed because of their skills, choices, knowledge, overcoming their flaw etc. | 0 | 14,133 | 1.2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg5p77 | iygzcnv | 1,669,865,461 | 1,669,885,529 | 2 | 6 | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | I read this: You could use coincidences to get your hero into troubles, but you can't use it to get them out. They need to succeed because of their skills, choices, knowledge, overcoming their flaw etc. | 0 | 20,068 | 3 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygzcnv | iygttyw | 1,669,885,529 | 1,669,880,676 | 6 | 3 | I read this: You could use coincidences to get your hero into troubles, but you can't use it to get them out. They need to succeed because of their skills, choices, knowledge, overcoming their flaw etc. | Avoiding. Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself or dissipate. Accommodating. ... Compromising. ... Competing. ... Collaborating. | 1 | 4,853 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyfzzwl | iygzcnv | 1,669,862,764 | 1,669,885,529 | 1 | 6 | but | I read this: You could use coincidences to get your hero into troubles, but you can't use it to get them out. They need to succeed because of their skills, choices, knowledge, overcoming their flaw etc. | 0 | 22,765 | 6 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygzcnv | iygmv2v | 1,669,885,529 | 1,669,875,316 | 6 | 1 | I read this: You could use coincidences to get your hero into troubles, but you can't use it to get them out. They need to succeed because of their skills, choices, knowledge, overcoming their flaw etc. | You might be talking about like in a movie when a character drives down a busy street and luckily there happens to be a parking spot right in front of the establishment they're headed to. I can't remember seeing a scene where somebody drove around the block looking for a parking space. Whether it's believable vs. how much of a distraction from the plot it is would probably be a fair comparison. Lucky coincidences happen in real life, they just don't often happen again and again and again. | 1 | 10,213 | 6 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygvtd8 | iygzcnv | 1,669,882,370 | 1,669,885,529 | 1 | 6 | I think having your characters do the most obnoxious thing to solve their problem. They need to get into a locked house, someone climbs unto the roof and drops down the chimney. They’re stuck in a guarded room, they Inflict bodily harm to themselves and pretend they’re dying. Whatever the easy/convenient option is, have a character just say “Nah, I have a better idea.” While I do understand the critique of movie/book logic of having exactly what you need when they need it, the alternative is to have the characters find a different solution that would beg the question how did they do that? You’re gonna be poking holes in the logic anyways. | I read this: You could use coincidences to get your hero into troubles, but you can't use it to get them out. They need to succeed because of their skills, choices, knowledge, overcoming their flaw etc. | 0 | 3,159 | 6 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg5p77 | iyggs5w | 1,669,865,461 | 1,669,871,396 | 2 | 5 | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. What environmental objects or resources can the characters find that can potentially be used to accomplish their goals, either as individual objects or composite/combined objects? Creative uses for everyday objects or common household chemicals in the proper proportions. | 0 | 5,935 | 2.5 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyfzzwl | iyggs5w | 1,669,862,764 | 1,669,871,396 | 1 | 5 | but | Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. What environmental objects or resources can the characters find that can potentially be used to accomplish their goals, either as individual objects or composite/combined objects? Creative uses for everyday objects or common household chemicals in the proper proportions. | 0 | 8,632 | 5 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyg5p77 | iygttyw | 1,669,865,461 | 1,669,880,676 | 2 | 3 | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | Avoiding. Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself or dissipate. Accommodating. ... Compromising. ... Competing. ... Collaborating. | 0 | 15,215 | 1.5 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyfzzwl | iyg5p77 | 1,669,862,764 | 1,669,865,461 | 1 | 2 | but | I generally don't mind convenience. Most things that happen to us, in real life, are series of coincidences. There's a girl who used to be an artist who drew. Then she developed a crippling doubt in her artistic skill and switched to writing. One day I discovered Discord and joined a group of writers. Eventually I discovered that I cared about writing more than anyone else in the group. As the whole thing fell apart and became a generic hangout, my thirst for more writing discussion grew. I created my own server, of which I'm now the administrator. As administrator, I could invite other people, so I began to post a link to writers on Reddit if they wanted to join. One day, the aforementioned girl found the link. She was an introverted, shy individual with no friends, and due to various mental conditions, had very little energy for socializing; however, on this particular day she was feeling exceptionally social, and excited about writing, so she sent a private message to me and asked if I was still inviting people to the server. I said yes and linked her. She joined and was a sweet person. Everyone in the server liked her. I had been lonely and wishing for a girlfriend for years, so I knew that I would be infatuated, but I was also the administrator of the Discord server and knew that it could be interpreted as pathetic or sleezy if I made any moves, so I stayed at a professional distance and encouraged her writing. During this period, there was incident in which she was suddenly, inexplicable overcome with the certainty that everyone in the server hated her, and that she should leave forever. Seeing her gone, I private messaged her, and over the course of a half hour or so, convinced her to rejoin the server. She had never told me, or anyone else, that she left. She just did it. She had, at other times in her life, completed deleted everyone on her social media in a fit of irrational panic. Over the course of a few weeks, she realized that she liked me, but she was dating another. A different member of the Discord server spoke to her, and during this private conversation she realized that she was coasting with her current boyfriend, doing no service to her or him, so she broke it off with him--though her interest in me was undoubtedly a significant factor. Unfortunately, she was about 100lbs overweight. I told her that I don't mind a girl having a little extra weight, but I won't date someone so obese, as it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. She said that she had had weight loss surgery a few months ago and was losing. She managed to lose another 60lbs, during which time we grew closer, and began to go steady. I traveled to California to meet her for the first time three years ago. We're now sitting in a hotel on the same bed, she playing World of Warcraft and I typing this message. Everything's a coincidence. | 0 | 2,697 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyfzzwl | iygttyw | 1,669,862,764 | 1,669,880,676 | 1 | 3 | but | Avoiding. Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself or dissipate. Accommodating. ... Compromising. ... Competing. ... Collaborating. | 0 | 17,912 | 3 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iygmv2v | iygttyw | 1,669,875,316 | 1,669,880,676 | 1 | 3 | You might be talking about like in a movie when a character drives down a busy street and luckily there happens to be a parking spot right in front of the establishment they're headed to. I can't remember seeing a scene where somebody drove around the block looking for a parking space. Whether it's believable vs. how much of a distraction from the plot it is would probably be a fair comparison. Lucky coincidences happen in real life, they just don't often happen again and again and again. | Avoiding. Someone who uses a strategy of "avoiding" mostly tries to ignore or sidestep the conflict, hoping it will resolve itself or dissipate. Accommodating. ... Compromising. ... Competing. ... Collaborating. | 0 | 5,360 | 3 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh6amf | iyjkmyy | 1,669,891,880 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | Oh man, I read a great blog post about this but I don't remember where. But to paraphrase: Amateur writers write conflict, then solve it. Then another, and solve it. Again and again. This does not create much tension. Everything is too convenient. Pro writers create a conflict for the characters. Then create a new one before solving the first. Then another one. Then make the first conflict take a turn and become even worse. This creates tension. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 38,891 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyfzzwl | iyjkmyy | 1,669,862,764 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | but | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 68,007 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iygmv2v | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,875,316 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | You might be talking about like in a movie when a character drives down a busy street and luckily there happens to be a parking spot right in front of the establishment they're headed to. I can't remember seeing a scene where somebody drove around the block looking for a parking space. Whether it's believable vs. how much of a distraction from the plot it is would probably be a fair comparison. Lucky coincidences happen in real life, they just don't often happen again and again and again. | 1 | 55,455 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iygvtd8 | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,882,370 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | I think having your characters do the most obnoxious thing to solve their problem. They need to get into a locked house, someone climbs unto the roof and drops down the chimney. They’re stuck in a guarded room, they Inflict bodily harm to themselves and pretend they’re dying. Whatever the easy/convenient option is, have a character just say “Nah, I have a better idea.” While I do understand the critique of movie/book logic of having exactly what you need when they need it, the alternative is to have the characters find a different solution that would beg the question how did they do that? You’re gonna be poking holes in the logic anyways. | 1 | 48,401 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh1b3v | iyjkmyy | 1,669,887,339 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | Make the characters work for their solutions. They need some information? Come up with a way for them to get that, don't just have a character show up and spout it all off. They need to find, capture or kill someone? They work to do that, they don't just stumble upon them. Character is in a life or death fight and about to lose? They don't just randomly get an eleventh hour superpower or get saved by someone that has no reason to be there (or that realistically didn't have time to get there) | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 43,432 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyh9evo | iyjkmyy | 1,669,894,440 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | If something feels too easy, it destroys the sense of tension. Always stop and asses the situation your characters are in. Are they really struggling enough. Also, make sure the solution doesn't pop up to help them. Make it something pre established. Or let your characters make up their own solution naturally. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 36,331 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iyha2vj | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,894,943 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | >Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? No, I wouldn't say so. If you look at a typical story structure you'll more about the characters failing than succeeding. You'll see things like 'hero refuses the call', 'death of the mentor', 'all is lost', 'dark night of the soul'. A happy ending isn't really a happy ending if the main characters just sort of luck into it. Some people get handed everything in life, but we don't want to read about those people. We want to read about people who struggle (and fail, sometimes). Then, if they finally succeed, it feels earned. | 1 | 35,828 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyhb9pl | iyjkmyy | 1,669,895,825 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | I like having everything being a result of a character’s choices - ie. they were able to get the key because earlier in the story they chose to give the guard the benefit of the doubt and he returned that favour when he caught them stealing it I dunno, that’s probably a poor example, but I like to make bad things happen because my character made a decision based on their established flaws, and good things happen based on a decision the character made using their strengths, or by overcoming their flaw toward the end of the story Sometimes bad things happen because of a side-character’s flaws, in a subplot where they are temporarily the antagonist - it’s not usually a good idea to make good things happen because of a side-character’s strengths though, unless you think it’s necessary to move the plot forward, just don’t do it too often, find another way around Yknow? | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 34,946 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyhbmjk | iyjkmyy | 1,669,896,083 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | I think things are too convenient when characters always succeed at whatever they do, so the easiest way to avoid it is to have them fail at something. Have them get caught doing something they shouldn't or lose a fight. If you know they aren't always going to succeed at everything they try, the story has stakes, and you have to be concerned about what's going to happen. Making them incredibly unlucky helps too. If you stack the odds against them and your reader knows they don't always succeed at everything they do, they'll feel the tension you want them to feel in that moment. That's what I do anyway, obviously this is still a problem I worry about from time to time. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 34,688 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyhi1g7 | iyjkmyy | 1,669,900,192 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | Make the character lose sometimes, or make their victory hard earned and bittersweet. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 30,579 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iyhj5cz | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,900,817 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | Foreshadowing and setup: if your characters have just the right item during the climax, you give it to them many scenes before that happens. Protagonist kills bad guy with a high-powered handgun? The very first paragraph of your story mentions that he always carries a high-powered handgun. Now you know that this items exists and will probably come in useful at some point. When something that has been there from the beginning is used later, that's cool. But if the important item only shows up the moment it becomes important, it feels like it came out of nowhere. Throwing a wrench in their plans: when your characters make a plan, it is expected that it won't go smoothly. Maybe they've planned the perfect heist. They studied the guard patrol patterns, deactivated all communications in the building so no alarms can be raised, etc etc... and everything goes smoothly until they enter the vault. THEN something happens and they have to adapt. Time to pull out plan B! Smooth sailing isn't half as exciting as having to adapt to changing circumstances. | 1 | 29,954 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyhnj49 | iyjkmyy | 1,669,903,118 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | Don't make them too convenient? You're the one writing it, do it right. That's the solution. Find a problem, fix it. Or don't make a problem to begin with. There. Those magic beans will cost you, after inflation, five cents. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 27,653 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyhoow9 | iyjkmyy | 1,669,903,699 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | Well, it’s funny, because in role-playing games, you might be offered an item by a shopkeeper, but you say no, because it’s expensive and seemingly useless, and then it turns out to be super important later, so you’ve gotta backtrack all the way to that shopkeeper, to buy the item he offered earlier, and then trudge all the way back. Now, in one scenario, you had the item at just the right time, and in the other, you bored the player to tears with a ninety minute round trip. I mean, to some extent it’s MacGyver syndrome, where MacGyver has all of the items he needs to make a device that will get him out of a situation. Or it’s Michael Crichton syndrome, where an important piece of information was passed to the main character forty pages ago, but he didn’t find it important at the time. That man wrote the same book over and over again, from Congo until the day he died. And he made a lot of money doing it. The hard part is presenting clues or items to the main character without telling the reader, “THIS IS A CLUE.” Like I was saying with Crichton, when you present a piece of useless information or a useless item to a character, you might as well be slapping the reader in the face. Some readers will pick up on it and say, “I bet this comes in handy later. I am so smart,” while others will say, “I bet this will come in handy later. This writer is so stupid.” You cannot satisfy both groups. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 27,072 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyhq822 | iyjkmyy | 1,669,904,440 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | In general - characters should be unlucky. Random happenstance should work against them, not for them. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 26,331 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iyhvqkj | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,906,938 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | I remember a story from my youth where the protagonist had an ally that could get them out of every situation, know how to make a makeshift rope to climb down a mountain, they could do that; know the path out of a forest, sure, they played there as a child; fly a plane, yep, learned in the outback; know the obscure language of a tribe they encountered, yep, college roommate, but in the end when they needed the ally to drive a tank, they all turned to the person and he said, "What, I've never driven a tank before.", leaving them at a loss. This didn't just surprise the other characters that depended on him to save the day again, it surprised the reader because they expected it by this time also. It was funny and it was written to be ridiculous and funny. | 1 | 23,833 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iyi1rf1 | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,909,464 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | I’ve seen characters fail and wait for hours or days, but it only took me 2 sentences of reading to grasp their struggle. They can live through realistic inefficiency without it taking a long time for me, the reader! | 1 | 21,307 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iyifk6c | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,914,939 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | I recently watched the first season of The X-Files and it has a similar issue where Mulder arrives to investigate something just in time to see something that gives him critical information needed to solve the case. I laughed about it with my girlfriend when we were watching, but I also couldn't help but notice that the show had really good pacing as a result. A lot of shows I've seen (especially anime like Gantz and Attack on Titan) often have an issue feeling artificially long. The writing for X-Files may not have been the best, but in a way, the consequence of flawed writing actually produced a better experience from my perspective as the audience. That being said, if you do want to prevent yourself from having deus ex machina moments, you don't need to remove all the instances of convenient things happening, you just need to obfuscate it with events that contradict the expected cause and effect. Maybe event A conveniently happens to produce event B, but you could also have an event C which is an impediment that the characters needed to overcome, or perhaps there is an event D which is an unintended consequence of event A, so event B happens but it comes at some other cost. Stories that are too convenient or too tragic expose the deliberation on the side of the writers because real life is usually a mix if factors simultaneously working with and against you as you strive for a goal, and working toward any goal usually results in a mix of positive and negative outcomes. Another thing that I like to do is what I like to call a subverted deus ex machina; I will sometimes throw my characters a really improbable life raft, only for it to ***still*** not be enough to save them. | 1 | 15,832 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyifxrd | iyjkmyy | 1,669,915,085 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | One of the best ways to avoid making everything too convenient is to have them fail and have to recover from it. If the main character succeeds at everything and figures out every puzzle, that's when you run into the 'plot armor' problems. People screw up, make mistakes and do stupid things all the time. It's what makes us human. If your main character never messes up, they become unrelatable and boring. As for sacrifice, you have to have something that the character has an attachment to and you have to show their attachment to it. Maybe it's something their loved one gave them. Have a flashback about them receiving it. If you don't show the attachment, then it becomes a plot device and meaningless. And they have to react to losing the item. It has to effect them more than just in the moment of loss. Have the grieve losing it later. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 15,686 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyihaof | iyjkmyy | 1,669,915,605 | 1,669,930,771 | 0 | 2 | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 15,166 | 2,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyin47l | iyjkmyy | 1,669,917,856 | 1,669,930,771 | 0 | 2 | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 12,915 | 2,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyisdrd | iyjkmyy | 1,669,919,903 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | Often this means they need to try the obvious, then the not so obvious, then dig deep and do something drastic once in a while.. then sometimes even THAT doesn't work and they need to do something even more drastic Often "too easy" is more about the presentation of the danger rather than the ease of the solution. If they're some random dummy then sure the brilliant detective can talk circles around them. But when they're a diabolical genius built up to be the hero's ultimate nemesis then it should truly feel difficult to overcome them. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 10,868 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyiuvv0 | iyjkmyy | 1,669,920,864 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | Here's a reality based take I haven't seen yet. What's more interesting? The self-made billionaire who built themselves up from nothing? Or the billionaire who simply inherited their fortune and businesses without having to actually do the work themselves? I'm not going to name drop anyone specifically, but you can probably think of multiple super wealthy people right off the top of your head, and many of them will conjure fairly negative connotations and emotions. The majority of the hyper wealthy people you can think of generally inherited their fortune or at least a business or something that made it so that everything they have was essentially handed to them. People read stories about these people and even stories about how they got their wealth and built it further, and it frequently inspires VERY negative things if not outright rage in many. Now, create the concept of a truly self-made billionaire. No inheritance. Nobody to help push them to the top. No family or friends or anyone to give them anything. They start at a job less than minimum wage, maybe working multiple jobs, scrimp and save and maybe they eventually start their own business, fighting for every opportunity they can get. They don't have anyone to vouch for them, so getting everything is a true struggle. Maybe they are making a product literally out of the backseat of their car, and eventually, it sells. Getting their first customer is so exciting! They made something with their own hands! They didn't have a factory or employees or anything. This person's story can keep growing and they are truly successful by the sweat of their own brow. Which do you like more? The one who had everything handed to them with no real struggle? Or the one who started at the bottom and had to fight their way to the top? Which one makes you root for them, hoping they'll win, and which is often a villain portrayal? Whose story would you want to read more? Who is more relatable? | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 9,907 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyj6t3c | iyjkmyy | 1,669,925,525 | 1,669,930,771 | 1 | 2 | So, there’s a lot of ways to avoid an issue like this, but it heavily depends on the type of story you’re trying to tell. Sometimes, you straight up can’t avoid an overly convenient solution (for example, if you’ve already got a story outline you’re trying to follow, getting a character from point A to B may be easy, logical, and clean in the story, but once you get to G to H, it may not make a ton of logical sense how they get from the lobby of a hotel to the penthouse in less than 20 seconds to get to their next required story point, if I’m makin any sense), so in cases like that I’d recommend giving up some of your vision for the story in order to restructure and rethink it a bit. I’d also recommend the classic solution: the worst possible thing that could happen at this moment…happens. If you’ve spent some time fleshing out your setting, then this doesn’t necessarily mean, like, a meteor crashes into the planet causing a massive cataclysm or anything, but instead maybe your main characters are in the middle of an undercover drug bust or something similar, only for the FBI to swing into the windows and a massive shootout starts up. Don’t try and plan around this happening, try to work through it in the mindset of your characters instead, heavily relying on their previous characterization and established skills/ attributes. I won’t lie, some of my favorite stories involve this sort of “and then the worst thing ever happened” moment, because it’s a great tool to keep yourself and your readers on their toes. It doesn’t need to kill any named characters, of course, but it should inflict possibly permanent change on them. | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | 0 | 5,246 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjkmyy | iyje9xo | 1,669,930,771 | 1,669,928,342 | 2 | 1 | Here is an expert from a review I gave where the book was horrible specifically because everything was too convenient for the characters: “the book is about two strangers who become friends in their attempt to solve a Templar puzzle, while evading an anti-Templar mysterious Italian assassin group. Ok. *GOOD THING* David is a genealogist computer hacker who used to be a police officer and is ALSO writing a book on the Templars so he’s a Templar history expert. And *GOOD THING* Robin, the women he befriends is a antique book seller fluent in Latin who also is a race car driver, pilot and expert martial artist. And good thing they both are ridiculously rich somehow so anytime they need any supply they can just hop to an ATM and withdrawal boat loads of cash. Like really? REALLY??” There were zero stakes for them because at every turn they had a ridiculously convenient (and so effing Improbable) solution to all of their problems. Like there is 0 chance of this happening in real life. I think the important thing is finding balance. It might have been ok if there were 1 or 2 coneveninet line ups. But when ever challenge is immediately met with a solution that requires 0 effort from the character, it gets so boring. (Ps- I am not a professional writer, just a reader and someone who writes casually for myself, so excuse my unprofessional review. I angry typed it when I finished the book) | Have them fail and get frustrated first before eventually succeeding. Let tension and potentially danger build while they're failing. | 1 | 2,429 | 2 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyisdrd | iyihaof | 1,669,919,903 | 1,669,915,605 | 1 | 0 | Often this means they need to try the obvious, then the not so obvious, then dig deep and do something drastic once in a while.. then sometimes even THAT doesn't work and they need to do something even more drastic Often "too easy" is more about the presentation of the danger rather than the ease of the solution. If they're some random dummy then sure the brilliant detective can talk circles around them. But when they're a diabolical genius built up to be the hero's ultimate nemesis then it should truly feel difficult to overcome them. | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | 1 | 4,298 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyihaof | iyiuvv0 | 1,669,915,605 | 1,669,920,864 | 0 | 1 | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | Here's a reality based take I haven't seen yet. What's more interesting? The self-made billionaire who built themselves up from nothing? Or the billionaire who simply inherited their fortune and businesses without having to actually do the work themselves? I'm not going to name drop anyone specifically, but you can probably think of multiple super wealthy people right off the top of your head, and many of them will conjure fairly negative connotations and emotions. The majority of the hyper wealthy people you can think of generally inherited their fortune or at least a business or something that made it so that everything they have was essentially handed to them. People read stories about these people and even stories about how they got their wealth and built it further, and it frequently inspires VERY negative things if not outright rage in many. Now, create the concept of a truly self-made billionaire. No inheritance. Nobody to help push them to the top. No family or friends or anyone to give them anything. They start at a job less than minimum wage, maybe working multiple jobs, scrimp and save and maybe they eventually start their own business, fighting for every opportunity they can get. They don't have anyone to vouch for them, so getting everything is a true struggle. Maybe they are making a product literally out of the backseat of their car, and eventually, it sells. Getting their first customer is so exciting! They made something with their own hands! They didn't have a factory or employees or anything. This person's story can keep growing and they are truly successful by the sweat of their own brow. Which do you like more? The one who had everything handed to them with no real struggle? Or the one who started at the bottom and had to fight their way to the top? Which one makes you root for them, hoping they'll win, and which is often a villain portrayal? Whose story would you want to read more? Who is more relatable? | 0 | 5,259 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyj6t3c | iyihaof | 1,669,925,525 | 1,669,915,605 | 1 | 0 | So, there’s a lot of ways to avoid an issue like this, but it heavily depends on the type of story you’re trying to tell. Sometimes, you straight up can’t avoid an overly convenient solution (for example, if you’ve already got a story outline you’re trying to follow, getting a character from point A to B may be easy, logical, and clean in the story, but once you get to G to H, it may not make a ton of logical sense how they get from the lobby of a hotel to the penthouse in less than 20 seconds to get to their next required story point, if I’m makin any sense), so in cases like that I’d recommend giving up some of your vision for the story in order to restructure and rethink it a bit. I’d also recommend the classic solution: the worst possible thing that could happen at this moment…happens. If you’ve spent some time fleshing out your setting, then this doesn’t necessarily mean, like, a meteor crashes into the planet causing a massive cataclysm or anything, but instead maybe your main characters are in the middle of an undercover drug bust or something similar, only for the FBI to swing into the windows and a massive shootout starts up. Don’t try and plan around this happening, try to work through it in the mindset of your characters instead, heavily relying on their previous characterization and established skills/ attributes. I won’t lie, some of my favorite stories involve this sort of “and then the worst thing ever happened” moment, because it’s a great tool to keep yourself and your readers on their toes. It doesn’t need to kill any named characters, of course, but it should inflict possibly permanent change on them. | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | 1 | 9,920 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyihaof | iyje9xo | 1,669,915,605 | 1,669,928,342 | 0 | 1 | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | Have them fail and get frustrated first before eventually succeeding. Let tension and potentially danger build while they're failing. | 0 | 12,737 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyjs3q9 | iyihaof | 1,669,933,833 | 1,669,915,605 | 1 | 0 | Also realize you’re never going to make everyone happy. When characters have to go through some arduous trial to achieve a result we all know is going to happen anyway I can find it really contrived. Just make your characters and situations interesting and you should be fine. To paraphrase one of the writers for Re-Animator “we had a whole backstory on how Dr. Hill gets his psychic powers, but then we realized nobody cares” | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | 1 | 18,228 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyihaof | iykb059 | 1,669,915,605 | 1,669,942,238 | 0 | 1 | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | well lets flip it: if we dont want things to be convenient, because that makes things unbelievable and uninteresting, then what do we want? inconvenience - because that gives us tension. all stories are built on tension. a character wanting something and getting it isnt really a story. its the conflict and complications that make it work. a character wants something but cant get it, because x, y, and z. the story is our character working their way around those complications somehow. its what makes happy ending satisfying, its what keeps a reader engaged on a scene-by-scene basis. make things inconvenient for your character - your readers will love you for it. | 0 | 26,633 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iykbprn | iyihaof | 1,669,942,573 | 1,669,915,605 | 1 | 0 | "Is the solution to make characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice." One hundred percent yes. Indulge your sadist side, you are Jigsaw and it's up to your characters to escape the ghastly intricate traps you've designed for them, perfectly tailored to exploit their deepest fears and weaknesses. You're attempting a trial by fire, you intend to purge them of their lesser selves in the hope that something stronger emerges. Do they survive your Saw traps? Up to them really. Is that character willing to break from their comfortable state, risk hard, and sacrifice everything for metamorphosis? Or, for whatever reason, are they unable to? Remember, it's okay to have your characters fail. Failure in stories is the result of a refusal to change. As the audience we understand that change is hard, so we relate to the struggle. And we want the victory, when it's finally achieved, to feel earned. | I follow the rule of “But”. You can have everything you want any happen, but it has a cost. That relic? Exactly what you needed, but it either only works well enough to make another strategy possible. Yea weapon? Works, but it belonged to another character’s parent and they want it back, creating friction in the relationship, maybe a new antagonist. Et cetera. All things have a cost. | 1 | 26,968 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyisdrd | iyin47l | 1,669,919,903 | 1,669,917,856 | 1 | 0 | Often this means they need to try the obvious, then the not so obvious, then dig deep and do something drastic once in a while.. then sometimes even THAT doesn't work and they need to do something even more drastic Often "too easy" is more about the presentation of the danger rather than the ease of the solution. If they're some random dummy then sure the brilliant detective can talk circles around them. But when they're a diabolical genius built up to be the hero's ultimate nemesis then it should truly feel difficult to overcome them. | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | 1 | 2,047 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyin47l | iyiuvv0 | 1,669,917,856 | 1,669,920,864 | 0 | 1 | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | Here's a reality based take I haven't seen yet. What's more interesting? The self-made billionaire who built themselves up from nothing? Or the billionaire who simply inherited their fortune and businesses without having to actually do the work themselves? I'm not going to name drop anyone specifically, but you can probably think of multiple super wealthy people right off the top of your head, and many of them will conjure fairly negative connotations and emotions. The majority of the hyper wealthy people you can think of generally inherited their fortune or at least a business or something that made it so that everything they have was essentially handed to them. People read stories about these people and even stories about how they got their wealth and built it further, and it frequently inspires VERY negative things if not outright rage in many. Now, create the concept of a truly self-made billionaire. No inheritance. Nobody to help push them to the top. No family or friends or anyone to give them anything. They start at a job less than minimum wage, maybe working multiple jobs, scrimp and save and maybe they eventually start their own business, fighting for every opportunity they can get. They don't have anyone to vouch for them, so getting everything is a true struggle. Maybe they are making a product literally out of the backseat of their car, and eventually, it sells. Getting their first customer is so exciting! They made something with their own hands! They didn't have a factory or employees or anything. This person's story can keep growing and they are truly successful by the sweat of their own brow. Which do you like more? The one who had everything handed to them with no real struggle? Or the one who started at the bottom and had to fight their way to the top? Which one makes you root for them, hoping they'll win, and which is often a villain portrayal? Whose story would you want to read more? Who is more relatable? | 0 | 3,008 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyj6t3c | iyin47l | 1,669,925,525 | 1,669,917,856 | 1 | 0 | So, there’s a lot of ways to avoid an issue like this, but it heavily depends on the type of story you’re trying to tell. Sometimes, you straight up can’t avoid an overly convenient solution (for example, if you’ve already got a story outline you’re trying to follow, getting a character from point A to B may be easy, logical, and clean in the story, but once you get to G to H, it may not make a ton of logical sense how they get from the lobby of a hotel to the penthouse in less than 20 seconds to get to their next required story point, if I’m makin any sense), so in cases like that I’d recommend giving up some of your vision for the story in order to restructure and rethink it a bit. I’d also recommend the classic solution: the worst possible thing that could happen at this moment…happens. If you’ve spent some time fleshing out your setting, then this doesn’t necessarily mean, like, a meteor crashes into the planet causing a massive cataclysm or anything, but instead maybe your main characters are in the middle of an undercover drug bust or something similar, only for the FBI to swing into the windows and a massive shootout starts up. Don’t try and plan around this happening, try to work through it in the mindset of your characters instead, heavily relying on their previous characterization and established skills/ attributes. I won’t lie, some of my favorite stories involve this sort of “and then the worst thing ever happened” moment, because it’s a great tool to keep yourself and your readers on their toes. It doesn’t need to kill any named characters, of course, but it should inflict possibly permanent change on them. | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | 1 | 7,669 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyje9xo | iyin47l | 1,669,928,342 | 1,669,917,856 | 1 | 0 | Have them fail and get frustrated first before eventually succeeding. Let tension and potentially danger build while they're failing. | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | 1 | 10,486 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyin47l | iyjs3q9 | 1,669,917,856 | 1,669,933,833 | 0 | 1 | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | Also realize you’re never going to make everyone happy. When characters have to go through some arduous trial to achieve a result we all know is going to happen anyway I can find it really contrived. Just make your characters and situations interesting and you should be fine. To paraphrase one of the writers for Re-Animator “we had a whole backstory on how Dr. Hill gets his psychic powers, but then we realized nobody cares” | 0 | 15,977 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iykb059 | iyin47l | 1,669,942,238 | 1,669,917,856 | 1 | 0 | well lets flip it: if we dont want things to be convenient, because that makes things unbelievable and uninteresting, then what do we want? inconvenience - because that gives us tension. all stories are built on tension. a character wanting something and getting it isnt really a story. its the conflict and complications that make it work. a character wants something but cant get it, because x, y, and z. the story is our character working their way around those complications somehow. its what makes happy ending satisfying, its what keeps a reader engaged on a scene-by-scene basis. make things inconvenient for your character - your readers will love you for it. | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | 1 | 24,382 | 1,000 | ||
z9bou4 | writing_train | 0.94 | How to avoid things being too convenient for characters? I’ve seen a lot of posts in reading groups and reviews about books online where there are complaints about things being too convenient. As in, they just happen to have the exact object they need at the right time, or everything plays out exactly perfectly, etc. I’m just not sure how to combat this? Isn’t our job (assuming a happy ending, I guess), to set up the characters to succeed in their goals? How do you do this in a way that feels organic? How do you avoid things feeling too convenient? Is the solution to make the characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice? I apologize if this is a convoluted question. I don’t want readers of my story in the future to think things happened too conveniently, but idk what the solution is. Thanks for any help! | iyin47l | iykbprn | 1,669,917,856 | 1,669,942,573 | 0 | 1 | Good questions, and the answer is to be creative about the story and reduce dependence on lazy writing such as the typical *Deus Ex Machina.* When I learned it, the warning was against "the three Cs": * convenience * contrivance * coincidence As always, there are examples where these are used well, especially if they're the core theme. Sliding Doors is about coincidence. | "Is the solution to make characters struggle more, and probably have some sort of sacrifice." One hundred percent yes. Indulge your sadist side, you are Jigsaw and it's up to your characters to escape the ghastly intricate traps you've designed for them, perfectly tailored to exploit their deepest fears and weaknesses. You're attempting a trial by fire, you intend to purge them of their lesser selves in the hope that something stronger emerges. Do they survive your Saw traps? Up to them really. Is that character willing to break from their comfortable state, risk hard, and sacrifice everything for metamorphosis? Or, for whatever reason, are they unable to? Remember, it's okay to have your characters fail. Failure in stories is the result of a refusal to change. As the audience we understand that change is hard, so we relate to the struggle. And we want the victory, when it's finally achieved, to feel earned. | 0 | 24,717 | 1,000 | ||
wb5o61 | writing_train | 0.71 | I adore writing but stop myself from being able to experience the buzz of it... How do I just write and enjoy it?! Reasons I love writing: - Getting lost in building your very own world - Documenting, sharing and combining topics and stories that I find interesting and/or important - Slowly getting to know my characters in a way that is both like and very unlike reading characters in somebody else's book - Feeling like I am connecting with my childhood sense of wonder in a way that is stronger than anything else, and rare for me regardless - The boost of having an epiphany or aha! moment about what your writing, or even about yourself or your life while writing - Stories feeling like a tiny soft baby plant I can water into anything from a daisy to a cactus, a big ol' redwood or a bloodthirsty venus flytrap... they're like a pet or a child, a whole world YOU make but makes itself, too, and can surprise and amaze you at any given moment - Feeling that it's something I'm good at and comes naturally to me and, even in periods where I haven't written, has never been a skill I've totally lost - AND is something I can always get so much better at by any bit of practice - When I do actually just have a block of time and know what I'm writing, it just floods out, and THIS is the main feeling I love, the "oh, I just wrote 6000 words in 3 hours without even meaning to, huh" feeling, the momentum and the realness that brings Reasons it feels like I rarely get to love writing: - I suck at outlining because I LOVE researching and new ideas and I am just pure chaos, v little order. Which means I rarely get to the part where I start actually WRITING, because I'm enjoying/attempting badly to perfect an outline that I suck at - But god only knows if I totally wing it, it'll be a chaotic disaster, too - When I do have bigger chunks of time alone to write, I usually think about writing and get upset at myself for the above two points and then just get sad and can't think clearly to find any solutions - I'm a bookseller, meaning I read a lot (or try to lol), and I find it incredibly hard to keep up on both reading AND writing - Fear of failure and shitty self esteem and imposter syndrome etc etc - I never finish anything which makes me feel like a failure and further turns the cogs of self-criticism which I know stuns every bit of creative freedom and wonder that I love... ugh *sigh* How on earth do people get to enjoy how amazing writing is without digging themselves into a hopeless pit? Would love any tips, encouragement, etc. I've just spent 2 hours of a day off getting myself all worked up about this and only getting more stuck instead of finding any solution or relief... beyond frustrated with myself. | ii4wc49 | ii4pmb7 | 1,659,107,095 | 1,659,104,433 | 3 | 1 | You might try less involved outlining methods and give yourself a limit on how much research you are allowed to do before you start writing. | I outline in my head. If your story is too complicated to keep in your head, perhaps the story is too big. Also, try to research in the second draft. It would save you a lot of time. | 1 | 2,662 | 3 | ||
wb5o61 | writing_train | 0.71 | I adore writing but stop myself from being able to experience the buzz of it... How do I just write and enjoy it?! Reasons I love writing: - Getting lost in building your very own world - Documenting, sharing and combining topics and stories that I find interesting and/or important - Slowly getting to know my characters in a way that is both like and very unlike reading characters in somebody else's book - Feeling like I am connecting with my childhood sense of wonder in a way that is stronger than anything else, and rare for me regardless - The boost of having an epiphany or aha! moment about what your writing, or even about yourself or your life while writing - Stories feeling like a tiny soft baby plant I can water into anything from a daisy to a cactus, a big ol' redwood or a bloodthirsty venus flytrap... they're like a pet or a child, a whole world YOU make but makes itself, too, and can surprise and amaze you at any given moment - Feeling that it's something I'm good at and comes naturally to me and, even in periods where I haven't written, has never been a skill I've totally lost - AND is something I can always get so much better at by any bit of practice - When I do actually just have a block of time and know what I'm writing, it just floods out, and THIS is the main feeling I love, the "oh, I just wrote 6000 words in 3 hours without even meaning to, huh" feeling, the momentum and the realness that brings Reasons it feels like I rarely get to love writing: - I suck at outlining because I LOVE researching and new ideas and I am just pure chaos, v little order. Which means I rarely get to the part where I start actually WRITING, because I'm enjoying/attempting badly to perfect an outline that I suck at - But god only knows if I totally wing it, it'll be a chaotic disaster, too - When I do have bigger chunks of time alone to write, I usually think about writing and get upset at myself for the above two points and then just get sad and can't think clearly to find any solutions - I'm a bookseller, meaning I read a lot (or try to lol), and I find it incredibly hard to keep up on both reading AND writing - Fear of failure and shitty self esteem and imposter syndrome etc etc - I never finish anything which makes me feel like a failure and further turns the cogs of self-criticism which I know stuns every bit of creative freedom and wonder that I love... ugh *sigh* How on earth do people get to enjoy how amazing writing is without digging themselves into a hopeless pit? Would love any tips, encouragement, etc. I've just spent 2 hours of a day off getting myself all worked up about this and only getting more stuck instead of finding any solution or relief... beyond frustrated with myself. | ii4pmb7 | ii4xx7d | 1,659,104,433 | 1,659,107,716 | 1 | 2 | I outline in my head. If your story is too complicated to keep in your head, perhaps the story is too big. Also, try to research in the second draft. It would save you a lot of time. | I feel like you have to trust the process to a certain extent. It's so easy to stifle your creativity by overthinking and over-analyzing your work as you go. On a first draft, focus on telling the story you want to tell, and exploring what made you excited about an idea in the first place. I think you have to trust that, if you continue to put in the effort, eventually you will wind up with something you can be proud of. | 0 | 3,283 | 2 | ||
wb5o61 | writing_train | 0.71 | I adore writing but stop myself from being able to experience the buzz of it... How do I just write and enjoy it?! Reasons I love writing: - Getting lost in building your very own world - Documenting, sharing and combining topics and stories that I find interesting and/or important - Slowly getting to know my characters in a way that is both like and very unlike reading characters in somebody else's book - Feeling like I am connecting with my childhood sense of wonder in a way that is stronger than anything else, and rare for me regardless - The boost of having an epiphany or aha! moment about what your writing, or even about yourself or your life while writing - Stories feeling like a tiny soft baby plant I can water into anything from a daisy to a cactus, a big ol' redwood or a bloodthirsty venus flytrap... they're like a pet or a child, a whole world YOU make but makes itself, too, and can surprise and amaze you at any given moment - Feeling that it's something I'm good at and comes naturally to me and, even in periods where I haven't written, has never been a skill I've totally lost - AND is something I can always get so much better at by any bit of practice - When I do actually just have a block of time and know what I'm writing, it just floods out, and THIS is the main feeling I love, the "oh, I just wrote 6000 words in 3 hours without even meaning to, huh" feeling, the momentum and the realness that brings Reasons it feels like I rarely get to love writing: - I suck at outlining because I LOVE researching and new ideas and I am just pure chaos, v little order. Which means I rarely get to the part where I start actually WRITING, because I'm enjoying/attempting badly to perfect an outline that I suck at - But god only knows if I totally wing it, it'll be a chaotic disaster, too - When I do have bigger chunks of time alone to write, I usually think about writing and get upset at myself for the above two points and then just get sad and can't think clearly to find any solutions - I'm a bookseller, meaning I read a lot (or try to lol), and I find it incredibly hard to keep up on both reading AND writing - Fear of failure and shitty self esteem and imposter syndrome etc etc - I never finish anything which makes me feel like a failure and further turns the cogs of self-criticism which I know stuns every bit of creative freedom and wonder that I love... ugh *sigh* How on earth do people get to enjoy how amazing writing is without digging themselves into a hopeless pit? Would love any tips, encouragement, etc. I've just spent 2 hours of a day off getting myself all worked up about this and only getting more stuck instead of finding any solution or relief... beyond frustrated with myself. | ii51h4k | ii4pmb7 | 1,659,109,084 | 1,659,104,433 | 2 | 1 | Is it possible that it's a question of seeing something in your head that's great and exciting, but having no real idea of making it a reality? If that's the case, the only real answer is to study and practice both editing and writing technique, until you've surpassed your technical limitations and your vision is within your grasp. It's something that happens to every artist, and something every artist need to get past if they want to find out what their art really is. See if you can set the measure of your success by how much you are learning, rather than the quality and popularity of your art. It's a great space to be in, and odds are you're going to surpass your own expectations in no time. | I outline in my head. If your story is too complicated to keep in your head, perhaps the story is too big. Also, try to research in the second draft. It would save you a lot of time. | 1 | 4,651 | 2 | ||
wb5o61 | writing_train | 0.71 | I adore writing but stop myself from being able to experience the buzz of it... How do I just write and enjoy it?! Reasons I love writing: - Getting lost in building your very own world - Documenting, sharing and combining topics and stories that I find interesting and/or important - Slowly getting to know my characters in a way that is both like and very unlike reading characters in somebody else's book - Feeling like I am connecting with my childhood sense of wonder in a way that is stronger than anything else, and rare for me regardless - The boost of having an epiphany or aha! moment about what your writing, or even about yourself or your life while writing - Stories feeling like a tiny soft baby plant I can water into anything from a daisy to a cactus, a big ol' redwood or a bloodthirsty venus flytrap... they're like a pet or a child, a whole world YOU make but makes itself, too, and can surprise and amaze you at any given moment - Feeling that it's something I'm good at and comes naturally to me and, even in periods where I haven't written, has never been a skill I've totally lost - AND is something I can always get so much better at by any bit of practice - When I do actually just have a block of time and know what I'm writing, it just floods out, and THIS is the main feeling I love, the "oh, I just wrote 6000 words in 3 hours without even meaning to, huh" feeling, the momentum and the realness that brings Reasons it feels like I rarely get to love writing: - I suck at outlining because I LOVE researching and new ideas and I am just pure chaos, v little order. Which means I rarely get to the part where I start actually WRITING, because I'm enjoying/attempting badly to perfect an outline that I suck at - But god only knows if I totally wing it, it'll be a chaotic disaster, too - When I do have bigger chunks of time alone to write, I usually think about writing and get upset at myself for the above two points and then just get sad and can't think clearly to find any solutions - I'm a bookseller, meaning I read a lot (or try to lol), and I find it incredibly hard to keep up on both reading AND writing - Fear of failure and shitty self esteem and imposter syndrome etc etc - I never finish anything which makes me feel like a failure and further turns the cogs of self-criticism which I know stuns every bit of creative freedom and wonder that I love... ugh *sigh* How on earth do people get to enjoy how amazing writing is without digging themselves into a hopeless pit? Would love any tips, encouragement, etc. I've just spent 2 hours of a day off getting myself all worked up about this and only getting more stuck instead of finding any solution or relief... beyond frustrated with myself. | ii4pmb7 | ii65bqm | 1,659,104,433 | 1,659,124,689 | 1 | 2 | I outline in my head. If your story is too complicated to keep in your head, perhaps the story is too big. Also, try to research in the second draft. It would save you a lot of time. | My .02 about getting stuck in a hard spot between outlining and winging it. It sounds like you're letting yourself get caught not having a perfect outline -- this doesn't exist -- and worrying yourself over going off the rails by pantsing -- also an inevitability to some degree if you're abandoning your outline altogether. My personal strategy for first drafts may be of some help to someone finding themselves with writing paralysis while jammed between those two worries. I outline very loosely to start, usually little more than bullet points to start, generally with a decent idea of a handful of major events in the story and some eye on the climax and ending. From there, I do what I call "bracketing" my story while writing. I have my starting point and it's time to start writing. Once I start a chapter/scene I don't cut out until I've completed the draft of that segment of the story. After every chapter I briefly look at how well I accomplished my goals for the chunk of writing. Just bullet points about how effective I felt I was, if I went off the rails on an unnecessary tangent, or if there were aspects that I feel should've been expanded upon. Next, I quickly jot a couple notes about where I need to go next, or what makes sense for my character to do next given what just happened in the previous scene. While actively writing I let myself go wherever the scene, or my POV character takes me. Usually I have a decent idea of where this is, but I let my character, and consequentially myself, get surprised by what they find. This keeps things fresh and allows me to feel the excitement of discovering the story in real time, but also keeps me grounded enough that I don't get completely lost in the forest of my first draft. Moving on to worldbuilding, I take a similar approach. Once I've done the base level of worldbuilding needed (I write fantasy, so there's usually a fair amount of this going on, whether in my head or on the page), I write. I let the story and the characters build the world as I go. Much like my strategy between chapters for outlining, I take the breathing room to expand upon my worldbuilding in between chapters, filling in the important details as needed. There's a piece of advise floating around about giving the illusion of a massive iceberg of worldbuilding while only showing the tip. The reality is that the reader doesn't need to know everything beneath the surface, and generally neither do I (or you). Once you've gotten a first draft down it should become much clearer just what you need to research and build out in your world and will hopefully help keep you from going deep into rabbit holes that ultimately add nothing to your story or world. I like to think of the process as an active dialogue between the logistics and planning of my writing and the creative, exciting aspects of writing for me. I ground myself by always keeping the other side in the background and reminding myself that both exist in service of the story at large and that without either that ultimate goal of an entertaining and emotionally moving story will suffer. Hopefully that wasn't too long winded and is of some help in sorting through your own thoughts and worries around your writing. Nothing will be perfect going into the start of a story or novel and the joy of the process, at least partially for me, is sorting through the roadblocks to craft something worth reading (and writing). | 0 | 20,256 | 2 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsa6d4 | ifs8fix | 1,657,580,208 | 1,657,579,466 | 108 | 78 | Protagonists need to be thoughtful, and often dumber than they realize -- this creates the loop of PREMISE + CHANGE There's this great thread somewhere on Reddit that uses FINDING NEMO as an example of writing with theme. I can never find it but if you can it's worth the hunt. Marlin is one of the protagonists on which the entire story hinges the theme. He is quickly established as an overprotective parent. BECAUSE OF the desperate search for his son he learns lessons that revise his initial thought process, and becomes smarter (and slightly happier and a definitely better parent) To make protagonists more interesting, they will either learn something new (like in the example above; starting at a 4 or 5 and then attaining status nearer 9 and 10) or tend to be victorious at the end of each chapter/brouhaha | Plain protagonists are designed to appeal to multiple audiences who place themselves into the plot. Complex protagonists are designed to appeal to audiences who place themselves into the setting. To loosely paraphrase what was said by u/MikeWillHugYou, if you're looking to reduce art to what the market is favoring, that reduces what you interpret as art. | 1 | 742 | 1.384615 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifslnwi | ifsn5ok | 1,657,585,288 | 1,657,585,956 | 8 | 50 | Break their spirit. Deny everything they want and hurt them on a personal, emotional level they’ll never recover from | Unavoidably, there will be more mystery to secondary and tertiary characters. There’s more for us to project onto them, so they seem more interesting. Because we know everything about the protagonist, there’s less for us to engage with insofar as imagination. Everyone else has good points on how to make a protagonist more interesting, but this could also be contributing to that feeling you have. | 0 | 668 | 6.25 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsc8fr | ifsn5ok | 1,657,581,097 | 1,657,585,956 | 7 | 50 | Make your protagonists extravagantly atypical. Never cast Zeppo Marx in a leading role. Too normal. Cast Groucho. | Unavoidably, there will be more mystery to secondary and tertiary characters. There’s more for us to project onto them, so they seem more interesting. Because we know everything about the protagonist, there’s less for us to engage with insofar as imagination. Everyone else has good points on how to make a protagonist more interesting, but this could also be contributing to that feeling you have. | 0 | 4,859 | 7.142857 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsn5ok | ifsfepk | 1,657,585,956 | 1,657,582,501 | 50 | 4 | Unavoidably, there will be more mystery to secondary and tertiary characters. There’s more for us to project onto them, so they seem more interesting. Because we know everything about the protagonist, there’s less for us to engage with insofar as imagination. Everyone else has good points on how to make a protagonist more interesting, but this could also be contributing to that feeling you have. | Preventive apology: English is not my first language. My greatest complain when we are talking about "plain protagonists" are their total lack of ambition. Almost all the main casting in any story have some short of goal, gimmick, idiosyncrasy, or anything else, but almost always the protagonist have... Nothing. If you are making efforts for your audience to care about the actions, decisions and thoughts from your characters, the protagonist should have the most important goal, be the emotionally compromised character, or their wishes have the bigger long term consequence in your fictional world. If you find yourself writing a character living a boring, anodine life without anything worth talking about, IMO you are not writing about anyone worth to be the protagonist at all. If you believe that the other characters, friends, relatives and companions of our protagonist are more interesting that him, try to become him in a nexus capable to interconnect all the other stories. Even if, at the beginning, their personality does not bright that much, the experiences lived through the plot and the interactions with the other characters would give you, as the author, the opportunity to mold their personality to one more awesome. | 1 | 3,455 | 12.5 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsn5ok | ifsc0y7 | 1,657,585,956 | 1,657,581,005 | 50 | 2 | Unavoidably, there will be more mystery to secondary and tertiary characters. There’s more for us to project onto them, so they seem more interesting. Because we know everything about the protagonist, there’s less for us to engage with insofar as imagination. Everyone else has good points on how to make a protagonist more interesting, but this could also be contributing to that feeling you have. | Reading things written before can give you a good idea of how unusual or unlikeable a character can be before you go too far. If you have a brainstorming partner, maybe come up with some situational problems and see how they react to them. Real people are rarely plain in every scenario. Play some DND Stepping into someone else's setting and making bold decisions seems like useful practice! Plus, if the problem is actually that you're scared to make a bold decision, having fun with friends can help. Just some ideas good luck with your block brother. | 1 | 4,951 | 25 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsn5ok | ifsdlpn | 1,657,585,956 | 1,657,581,701 | 50 | 2 | Unavoidably, there will be more mystery to secondary and tertiary characters. There’s more for us to project onto them, so they seem more interesting. Because we know everything about the protagonist, there’s less for us to engage with insofar as imagination. Everyone else has good points on how to make a protagonist more interesting, but this could also be contributing to that feeling you have. | Give them a flaw, a darker side. Something they don't want people to know but doesn't necessarily require you to rewrite your story. Maybe your main character is an alcoholic and even though they are sober now it's still always there. Or maybe they get panic attacks, have ptsd from their messed up childhood. Dark, traumatic pasts make characters more interesting and if you want a likable character then sarcasm/cynicism are great helps. Another great way is change how they dress, don't make them dress like everyone else. Have them be a bit more alternative or flashy. | 1 | 4,255 | 25 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsn5ok | ifsjaam | 1,657,585,956 | 1,657,584,234 | 50 | 2 | Unavoidably, there will be more mystery to secondary and tertiary characters. There’s more for us to project onto them, so they seem more interesting. Because we know everything about the protagonist, there’s less for us to engage with insofar as imagination. Everyone else has good points on how to make a protagonist more interesting, but this could also be contributing to that feeling you have. | The more relatable they are the less plain they will be. Less is more. | 1 | 1,722 | 25 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifta0ly | ifsql8v | 1,657,596,472 | 1,657,587,491 | 43 | 18 | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | Get to know them before you start writing about them. * Where were they before their story started? What is their normal life like? * How do they see the world around them? What is important to them? * Where are they going and why are they going there? * What might happen to slow them down and how will they overcome it? * How do they react to people in general? How are they about asking for help? Accepting help? Giving help to others? * Are they laid back or nervous? What makes them more nervouse? How do they relax? * What impression do they leave with the people they meet? * Will they succeed or fail in reaching their goal? | 1 | 8,981 | 2.388889 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifta0ly | ifszluz | 1,657,596,472 | 1,657,591,515 | 43 | 16 | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | Make sure they have a weakness that actually affects the story. Give them an interest or hobby that isn't obviously beneficial to the plot. Like a police officer that knits in their spare time or a lawyer with a deep love of all things Elvis. | 1 | 4,957 | 2.6875 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ift7p35 | ifta0ly | 1,657,595,302 | 1,657,596,472 | 12 | 43 | I always see a lot of advice about giving them flaws, but I find that often can turn out a little two dimensional if you just paste a flaw onto a bland character. The real trick is making sure that the character’s decisions have real consequences. What they decide to do will push the story along, fueling the conflict. If you’re struggling, try asking yourself “what does my protagonist want and what is it about them that is stopping them from getting it?” That will be the foundation of your character development, as their struggle to overcome it will be what allows them to succeed or fail in their goal. | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 1,170 | 3.583333 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifslnwi | ifta0ly | 1,657,585,288 | 1,657,596,472 | 8 | 43 | Break their spirit. Deny everything they want and hurt them on a personal, emotional level they’ll never recover from | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 11,184 | 5.375 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ift0m4x | ifta0ly | 1,657,591,970 | 1,657,596,472 | 9 | 43 | Typically a plain character is reacting to their environment in predictable ways. A complex character both reacts interestingly and creates their own plot | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 4,502 | 4.777778 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsc8fr | ifta0ly | 1,657,581,097 | 1,657,596,472 | 7 | 43 | Make your protagonists extravagantly atypical. Never cast Zeppo Marx in a leading role. Too normal. Cast Groucho. | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 15,375 | 6.142857 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifta0ly | ift9328 | 1,657,596,472 | 1,657,596,001 | 43 | 6 | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | This harkens back to “the hero’s tale”. A story telling method that starts out with a plain, ordinary person who has one surprising thing that makes them potentially extraordinary. The story would be boring if that extraordinary person just did something extraordinary and then the story was over. The story is taking this plain, normal, slightly off person and making them extraordinary. Basically stories are journeys. A lot of people relate to starting out completely normal, young, stupid, naïveté, etc. Many authors try to relate to their readers by giving them a familiar starting point. From that point on, readers and the author enter an agreement to suspend reality. The author lays out the ground rules of the world, and the reader says “yeah, yeah, tell me more” and as long as the author doesn’t break the rules of the world, the reader will accept those rules as written. Now that the author has the reader at the start of their journey, they can take them on a wild ride about a familiar theme of growing up and becoming a complex individual. That is the hero’s journey in a nutshell. All of story telling is at its core, a person’s change over time. (Look at the engineer making a calc joke…) So if your character is 90 years old, the obvious change is from the immortality of middle age to accepting that the ride is coming to an end. If your character is a new mom, then the story is about how she goes from an individual to a symbiosis. Most authors wright about experiences that they have gone through. Love, loss, painful growth, joy and tragedy. Finally consider this, is your character experiencing the story or driving the story. Patricia Briggs (great author) said in a workshop, “your character must drive the story. When I was writing ‘A Hob’s Bargain’ the main character was boring. She didn’t do anything the story couldn’t move forward. I kept throwing these awful things at her and torturing her. It wasn’t until she was locked in a cellar listening to everyone die that she made a decision, and began to drive the story. From there the story move forward….” (I’m paraphrasing, I did this workshop in like 2015 so bear with me) So ask yourself if your character is making any decisions or if they are simply experiencing the world around them. | 1 | 471 | 7.166667 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsfepk | ifta0ly | 1,657,582,501 | 1,657,596,472 | 4 | 43 | Preventive apology: English is not my first language. My greatest complain when we are talking about "plain protagonists" are their total lack of ambition. Almost all the main casting in any story have some short of goal, gimmick, idiosyncrasy, or anything else, but almost always the protagonist have... Nothing. If you are making efforts for your audience to care about the actions, decisions and thoughts from your characters, the protagonist should have the most important goal, be the emotionally compromised character, or their wishes have the bigger long term consequence in your fictional world. If you find yourself writing a character living a boring, anodine life without anything worth talking about, IMO you are not writing about anyone worth to be the protagonist at all. If you believe that the other characters, friends, relatives and companions of our protagonist are more interesting that him, try to become him in a nexus capable to interconnect all the other stories. Even if, at the beginning, their personality does not bright that much, the experiences lived through the plot and the interactions with the other characters would give you, as the author, the opportunity to mold their personality to one more awesome. | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 13,971 | 10.75 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ift9gga | ifta0ly | 1,657,596,188 | 1,657,596,472 | 3 | 43 | Seems like an easy fix. Just give the protagonist role to your side character, or give your side-characters character to your protagonist. | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 284 | 14.333333 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsv9pk | ifta0ly | 1,657,589,573 | 1,657,596,472 | 3 | 43 | Flaws, flaws, flaws. My favorite protagonists are bad at something. They struggle. They have a defined point of view. If they are only a window onto the story, without a perspective they may as well be left out. | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 6,899 | 14.333333 | ||
vwv9fd | writing_train | 0.96 | How do I stop my protagonists from being so plain? A recurring problem I've noticed is that everytime I work on a storyline with multiple characters, the "main" one always ends up being rather bland and forgettable. The problem is I've seen this in a lot of media too. I always end up finding side characters and villains far more interesting than any "main protagonist" character, and the works where the main hero is my favourite character can be counted on one hand and none spring to mind as I'm writing this. The cynical part of me presumes that it's due to focus groups and marketting reasons; executives force the work to have a character that appeals to the widest demographic. I'm sure we've all heard the complaints about every Hollywood movie or video game staring a straight white cis-man at this point. The more idealistic part of me thinks it might just be an innate side-effect of writing multiple characters. Your main hero is always going to be much more "vanilla" than the others because they're the one that'll be interacting with the rest and serve as a baseline your other characters bounce off of. The point is, because this is something I see so often, I don't actually know how to avoid it in my own projects. Does anyone have any ideas? | ifsxnzt | ifta0ly | 1,657,590,646 | 1,657,596,472 | 3 | 43 | Sounds like your main needs a flaw | If you want a character with dimensions, you have give those dimensions: Direction, Defects, Decisions, and Determination. Direction is the first bit. Your protagonist is going to need a reason to be part of the story in the first place. Doesn't have to be anything ground breaking, and it could be external forces pushing them that way. Defects because no one is perfect. And not just superficial sprinkling... You have to think about chain of events in their life lead to these defects manifesting. If you are going to have a defect be part of this character, you are going to really need to make sure the roots run deep. It's got to influence every other aspect and something they have to contend with. Decisions are key. Good characters make decisions of consequence and not all of them are going to be the best. But, these choices are the result of their autonomy in the world. The character picks a path at the fork in the story, and will experience what lies beyond. Determination. Why does this character continue to exist in the story? What really drives them to move forward in the timeline, despite everything else? If given other options to leave the pages for good, why do they continue to be there? What propels them down their decided direction despite their defects? Just an example of the thoughts I've had when making characters myself. Maybe it'll provide some sparks to light a way you like. | 0 | 5,826 | 14.333333 |
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