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u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i525pwe | i51avst | 1,650,183,478 | 1,650,163,200 | 2 | 1 | I think it would be helpful to watch The Good Place and pay millions of attention to Jason Mendoza. Dumb can mean so many things, so try to get really specific about what that means for this character. Does their mind move too slowly to think a full day’s thoughts, or do they quickly jump to an illogical conclusion? Are there times their dumbness turns into a plus, and why? Are they dumb, or are they ignorant? Do they know they’re dumb, and how do they feel about it? Is the rest of their family smart or dumb? Someone said to consider diseases that cause them to be dumb, but that just sounds weird, and has issues that were pointed out underneath. However, if you do have an underlying physiological cause, you don’t have to state it outright, and probably shouldn’t. Consider MCU Tony Stark and Peter Parker: Announcing that they have ADHD would not be helpful to conveying what they’re like, but a symptoms list could be very helpful to writing them. | "Noooo!" Castor's voice cracked at the end, an unintentional falsetto. It sounded quite nice, actually, paired with the rumbling thud of Hokgar's hammer. "Uh, didn't ya say to help him 'rack his brains'?" Hokgar's blood-splattered face turned, his eyes round in confusion. "I meant to hurt the bastard a little so he'd talk, not kill him!" Figures of speech were off limits. How could Castor forget? He always cherished his noble's education and gift of the gab. Until he met Hokgar, that is. Eloquence became catastrophic when this giant of a man was in proximity, conscious, and in arm's reach of his hammer. Castor sighed, and sighed some more, until his breathing calmed. "Sorry. Should have been specific. It's okay, Hokkie, you did good. Nice, clean swing. Makes it easy to dispose the body and then nobody the wiser." He was probably speaking more to himself for comfort. "Oh, okay," Hokgar smiled. His hammer gestured at his handiwork, "Do I clean up? I don't like cleaning up." "We have to, Hokkie. Let's do this quickly so we're not late for that hogmeat festival, alright?" "Oooohoho, hogmeat! I really like da' belly parts," Hokgar said, eyes glazing over. "I'll buy all the belly parts you want, just you wait." "It's okay, Cas," Hokgar said as picked up the corpse, "I wanna share it with friends. You're a friend." (I don't know if I did it justice, but perhaps something like this? Might be good to showcase he's dull, but innocent, and ultimately just wants to do right by his friends. At least I think that's one way to go about it.) | 1 | 20,278 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51eh4i | i525pwe | 1,650,165,056 | 1,650,183,478 | 1 | 2 | Go with a Jar-Jar Binks accent. | I think it would be helpful to watch The Good Place and pay millions of attention to Jason Mendoza. Dumb can mean so many things, so try to get really specific about what that means for this character. Does their mind move too slowly to think a full day’s thoughts, or do they quickly jump to an illogical conclusion? Are there times their dumbness turns into a plus, and why? Are they dumb, or are they ignorant? Do they know they’re dumb, and how do they feel about it? Is the rest of their family smart or dumb? Someone said to consider diseases that cause them to be dumb, but that just sounds weird, and has issues that were pointed out underneath. However, if you do have an underlying physiological cause, you don’t have to state it outright, and probably shouldn’t. Consider MCU Tony Stark and Peter Parker: Announcing that they have ADHD would not be helpful to conveying what they’re like, but a symptoms list could be very helpful to writing them. | 0 | 18,422 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i515s61 | i526b8p | 1,650,160,585 | 1,650,183,974 | 1 | 2 | Don't make them just "dumb" look up some diseases. | Ah, the noble himbo. You could have them be your comedic character, or have their misunderstandings be a reason to write out exposition from 'smart' characters. I'd also suggest offsetting his less than smart thoughts or actions with a high emotional intelligence - maybe he's the only one who sees how much other characters are hurting, and him being more attuned to emotions than the situation at hand might make it harder for the other characters. But could also force them to face internal demons rather than focusing on external issues. No idea if all that made sense, but I love a character who genuinely and wholeheartedly means well even if they're not considered very bright by other characters. | 0 | 23,389 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i526b8p | i51avst | 1,650,183,974 | 1,650,163,200 | 2 | 1 | Ah, the noble himbo. You could have them be your comedic character, or have their misunderstandings be a reason to write out exposition from 'smart' characters. I'd also suggest offsetting his less than smart thoughts or actions with a high emotional intelligence - maybe he's the only one who sees how much other characters are hurting, and him being more attuned to emotions than the situation at hand might make it harder for the other characters. But could also force them to face internal demons rather than focusing on external issues. No idea if all that made sense, but I love a character who genuinely and wholeheartedly means well even if they're not considered very bright by other characters. | "Noooo!" Castor's voice cracked at the end, an unintentional falsetto. It sounded quite nice, actually, paired with the rumbling thud of Hokgar's hammer. "Uh, didn't ya say to help him 'rack his brains'?" Hokgar's blood-splattered face turned, his eyes round in confusion. "I meant to hurt the bastard a little so he'd talk, not kill him!" Figures of speech were off limits. How could Castor forget? He always cherished his noble's education and gift of the gab. Until he met Hokgar, that is. Eloquence became catastrophic when this giant of a man was in proximity, conscious, and in arm's reach of his hammer. Castor sighed, and sighed some more, until his breathing calmed. "Sorry. Should have been specific. It's okay, Hokkie, you did good. Nice, clean swing. Makes it easy to dispose the body and then nobody the wiser." He was probably speaking more to himself for comfort. "Oh, okay," Hokgar smiled. His hammer gestured at his handiwork, "Do I clean up? I don't like cleaning up." "We have to, Hokkie. Let's do this quickly so we're not late for that hogmeat festival, alright?" "Oooohoho, hogmeat! I really like da' belly parts," Hokgar said, eyes glazing over. "I'll buy all the belly parts you want, just you wait." "It's okay, Cas," Hokgar said as picked up the corpse, "I wanna share it with friends. You're a friend." (I don't know if I did it justice, but perhaps something like this? Might be good to showcase he's dull, but innocent, and ultimately just wants to do right by his friends. At least I think that's one way to go about it.) | 1 | 20,774 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51eh4i | i526b8p | 1,650,165,056 | 1,650,183,974 | 1 | 2 | Go with a Jar-Jar Binks accent. | Ah, the noble himbo. You could have them be your comedic character, or have their misunderstandings be a reason to write out exposition from 'smart' characters. I'd also suggest offsetting his less than smart thoughts or actions with a high emotional intelligence - maybe he's the only one who sees how much other characters are hurting, and him being more attuned to emotions than the situation at hand might make it harder for the other characters. But could also force them to face internal demons rather than focusing on external issues. No idea if all that made sense, but I love a character who genuinely and wholeheartedly means well even if they're not considered very bright by other characters. | 0 | 18,918 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i515s61 | i530ecs | 1,650,160,585 | 1,650,204,680 | 1 | 2 | Don't make them just "dumb" look up some diseases. | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | 0 | 44,095 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51avst | i530ecs | 1,650,163,200 | 1,650,204,680 | 1 | 2 | "Noooo!" Castor's voice cracked at the end, an unintentional falsetto. It sounded quite nice, actually, paired with the rumbling thud of Hokgar's hammer. "Uh, didn't ya say to help him 'rack his brains'?" Hokgar's blood-splattered face turned, his eyes round in confusion. "I meant to hurt the bastard a little so he'd talk, not kill him!" Figures of speech were off limits. How could Castor forget? He always cherished his noble's education and gift of the gab. Until he met Hokgar, that is. Eloquence became catastrophic when this giant of a man was in proximity, conscious, and in arm's reach of his hammer. Castor sighed, and sighed some more, until his breathing calmed. "Sorry. Should have been specific. It's okay, Hokkie, you did good. Nice, clean swing. Makes it easy to dispose the body and then nobody the wiser." He was probably speaking more to himself for comfort. "Oh, okay," Hokgar smiled. His hammer gestured at his handiwork, "Do I clean up? I don't like cleaning up." "We have to, Hokkie. Let's do this quickly so we're not late for that hogmeat festival, alright?" "Oooohoho, hogmeat! I really like da' belly parts," Hokgar said, eyes glazing over. "I'll buy all the belly parts you want, just you wait." "It's okay, Cas," Hokgar said as picked up the corpse, "I wanna share it with friends. You're a friend." (I don't know if I did it justice, but perhaps something like this? Might be good to showcase he's dull, but innocent, and ultimately just wants to do right by his friends. At least I think that's one way to go about it.) | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | 0 | 41,480 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51eh4i | i530ecs | 1,650,165,056 | 1,650,204,680 | 1 | 2 | Go with a Jar-Jar Binks accent. | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | 0 | 39,624 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i530ecs | i529q4r | 1,650,204,680 | 1,650,186,890 | 2 | 1 | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | How does your character being dumb slow down the plot? | 1 | 17,790 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i530ecs | i52c5cp | 1,650,204,680 | 1,650,188,963 | 2 | 1 | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | Make their other qualities shine through. You can have a character that needs things explaining to them, but it won't be annoying if they come across as genuine and confused. I have a character in my story who's an exile from another country, who starts off barely knowing the other characters' language beyond a simple conversational level. He constantly needs things explaining to him, but from what the (few) people who've read so far say, he's one of the most likeable characters. Because he's kind and he asks out of a genuine desire to understand. Also, you can make them unintelligent in some areas, but intelligent in others. People have strengths and weaknesses. He might not be good at complicated plans or complex concepts, maybe a discussion about politics will make his head spin. If he's a good fighter, for example, maybe if someone mentioned fighting techniques, he'd talk all about it and it'd show that he's got knowledge, but only about the things he's good at. Maybe he's great at baking and he knows the exact ingredients and quantities for the perfect recipe. | 1 | 15,717 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52da0r | i530ecs | 1,650,189,934 | 1,650,204,680 | 1 | 2 | Like with all characters, to prevent them being annoying through repetition or whatever the case may be, just have others relate to them, identify with them in some way. | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | 0 | 14,746 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i530ecs | i52vljh | 1,650,204,680 | 1,650,202,327 | 2 | 0 | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 2,353 | 2,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i530ecs | i52vuy3 | 1,650,204,680 | 1,650,202,458 | 2 | 1 | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | I would write the character as being simple, and that could take one or a mix of approaches. The key point though is that they don’t think about a critical aspect of a given situation or even necessarily the situation at all. They are bound by the end-goal or image in their mind. Simple can be: rule-bound end goal focused disconnected from reality child-like idealization limited references unfortunate habituation I hate to say it, but taking a walk through a psychologist’s diagnostic manual and throw a stone at something. You don’t necessarily need to be true to a disfunction, but reading about psychology will give you a menu of options that are truer to life. Then after you understand that the simple rule is a weakness of the character’s train of thought, make them someone’s sibling, parent, partner... give them some form of positive human relationship. The character is fully capable of love, worthy of it; they are fully capable of duty, stalwart to it. Outwardly though, the reader may question it, because your character takes direct paths that introduce a complication, such as causing an injury or avoided a bit of bureaucracy. Always, because they can not help themselves. There are also plenty archetypes to play with too, right Like the doting mother, she wants you in bed, no excuses. A simplified doting mother knows this because thats how its always should be (tradition), but doesn’t really know why (bed rest), or doesn’t see how it could be different for someone else (empathetic limitation), or is unconcerned that opportunities could exist by doing something else at that time (ideation limit). Is it a grave sin? Not necessarily, but its a rule for this character that’s been broken and requests a reaction that can not be reasoned with. She’ll always put someone to bed with loving care, but for her, the night simply leads to day. Anything else, she’ll be unable to express an explanation for or meaningfully navigate without someone else. | 1 | 2,222 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52z7uv | i530ecs | 1,650,204,113 | 1,650,204,680 | 1 | 2 | Give their dumbness warmth and sincerity and if there are negative consequences of it make them feel bad Ignorance is the root of evil and arrogance makes one excuse their evils Greed plus arrogance = harmful entitlement Greed plus humility = oh my gosh I'm hurting people, I must stop | Make them funny. Get them into mishaps. The character themselves may not find it funny, in fact they may find it annoying or confusing, but the audience will be in on the joke and love the character. | 0 | 567 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i531icg | i515s61 | 1,650,205,204 | 1,650,160,585 | 2 | 1 | Four words: find their endearing quality | Don't make them just "dumb" look up some diseases. | 1 | 44,619 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51avst | i531icg | 1,650,163,200 | 1,650,205,204 | 1 | 2 | "Noooo!" Castor's voice cracked at the end, an unintentional falsetto. It sounded quite nice, actually, paired with the rumbling thud of Hokgar's hammer. "Uh, didn't ya say to help him 'rack his brains'?" Hokgar's blood-splattered face turned, his eyes round in confusion. "I meant to hurt the bastard a little so he'd talk, not kill him!" Figures of speech were off limits. How could Castor forget? He always cherished his noble's education and gift of the gab. Until he met Hokgar, that is. Eloquence became catastrophic when this giant of a man was in proximity, conscious, and in arm's reach of his hammer. Castor sighed, and sighed some more, until his breathing calmed. "Sorry. Should have been specific. It's okay, Hokkie, you did good. Nice, clean swing. Makes it easy to dispose the body and then nobody the wiser." He was probably speaking more to himself for comfort. "Oh, okay," Hokgar smiled. His hammer gestured at his handiwork, "Do I clean up? I don't like cleaning up." "We have to, Hokkie. Let's do this quickly so we're not late for that hogmeat festival, alright?" "Oooohoho, hogmeat! I really like da' belly parts," Hokgar said, eyes glazing over. "I'll buy all the belly parts you want, just you wait." "It's okay, Cas," Hokgar said as picked up the corpse, "I wanna share it with friends. You're a friend." (I don't know if I did it justice, but perhaps something like this? Might be good to showcase he's dull, but innocent, and ultimately just wants to do right by his friends. At least I think that's one way to go about it.) | Four words: find their endearing quality | 0 | 42,004 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51eh4i | i531icg | 1,650,165,056 | 1,650,205,204 | 1 | 2 | Go with a Jar-Jar Binks accent. | Four words: find their endearing quality | 0 | 40,148 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i531icg | i529q4r | 1,650,205,204 | 1,650,186,890 | 2 | 1 | Four words: find their endearing quality | How does your character being dumb slow down the plot? | 1 | 18,314 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52c5cp | i531icg | 1,650,188,963 | 1,650,205,204 | 1 | 2 | Make their other qualities shine through. You can have a character that needs things explaining to them, but it won't be annoying if they come across as genuine and confused. I have a character in my story who's an exile from another country, who starts off barely knowing the other characters' language beyond a simple conversational level. He constantly needs things explaining to him, but from what the (few) people who've read so far say, he's one of the most likeable characters. Because he's kind and he asks out of a genuine desire to understand. Also, you can make them unintelligent in some areas, but intelligent in others. People have strengths and weaknesses. He might not be good at complicated plans or complex concepts, maybe a discussion about politics will make his head spin. If he's a good fighter, for example, maybe if someone mentioned fighting techniques, he'd talk all about it and it'd show that he's got knowledge, but only about the things he's good at. Maybe he's great at baking and he knows the exact ingredients and quantities for the perfect recipe. | Four words: find their endearing quality | 0 | 16,241 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i531icg | i52da0r | 1,650,205,204 | 1,650,189,934 | 2 | 1 | Four words: find their endearing quality | Like with all characters, to prevent them being annoying through repetition or whatever the case may be, just have others relate to them, identify with them in some way. | 1 | 15,270 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i531icg | i52vljh | 1,650,205,204 | 1,650,202,327 | 2 | 0 | Four words: find their endearing quality | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 2,877 | 2,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52vuy3 | i531icg | 1,650,202,458 | 1,650,205,204 | 1 | 2 | I would write the character as being simple, and that could take one or a mix of approaches. The key point though is that they don’t think about a critical aspect of a given situation or even necessarily the situation at all. They are bound by the end-goal or image in their mind. Simple can be: rule-bound end goal focused disconnected from reality child-like idealization limited references unfortunate habituation I hate to say it, but taking a walk through a psychologist’s diagnostic manual and throw a stone at something. You don’t necessarily need to be true to a disfunction, but reading about psychology will give you a menu of options that are truer to life. Then after you understand that the simple rule is a weakness of the character’s train of thought, make them someone’s sibling, parent, partner... give them some form of positive human relationship. The character is fully capable of love, worthy of it; they are fully capable of duty, stalwart to it. Outwardly though, the reader may question it, because your character takes direct paths that introduce a complication, such as causing an injury or avoided a bit of bureaucracy. Always, because they can not help themselves. There are also plenty archetypes to play with too, right Like the doting mother, she wants you in bed, no excuses. A simplified doting mother knows this because thats how its always should be (tradition), but doesn’t really know why (bed rest), or doesn’t see how it could be different for someone else (empathetic limitation), or is unconcerned that opportunities could exist by doing something else at that time (ideation limit). Is it a grave sin? Not necessarily, but its a rule for this character that’s been broken and requests a reaction that can not be reasoned with. She’ll always put someone to bed with loving care, but for her, the night simply leads to day. Anything else, she’ll be unable to express an explanation for or meaningfully navigate without someone else. | Four words: find their endearing quality | 0 | 2,746 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i531icg | i52z7uv | 1,650,205,204 | 1,650,204,113 | 2 | 1 | Four words: find their endearing quality | Give their dumbness warmth and sincerity and if there are negative consequences of it make them feel bad Ignorance is the root of evil and arrogance makes one excuse their evils Greed plus arrogance = harmful entitlement Greed plus humility = oh my gosh I'm hurting people, I must stop | 1 | 1,091 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i515s61 | i535ktk | 1,650,160,585 | 1,650,207,027 | 1 | 2 | Don't make them just "dumb" look up some diseases. | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | 0 | 46,442 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i535ktk | i51avst | 1,650,207,027 | 1,650,163,200 | 2 | 1 | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | "Noooo!" Castor's voice cracked at the end, an unintentional falsetto. It sounded quite nice, actually, paired with the rumbling thud of Hokgar's hammer. "Uh, didn't ya say to help him 'rack his brains'?" Hokgar's blood-splattered face turned, his eyes round in confusion. "I meant to hurt the bastard a little so he'd talk, not kill him!" Figures of speech were off limits. How could Castor forget? He always cherished his noble's education and gift of the gab. Until he met Hokgar, that is. Eloquence became catastrophic when this giant of a man was in proximity, conscious, and in arm's reach of his hammer. Castor sighed, and sighed some more, until his breathing calmed. "Sorry. Should have been specific. It's okay, Hokkie, you did good. Nice, clean swing. Makes it easy to dispose the body and then nobody the wiser." He was probably speaking more to himself for comfort. "Oh, okay," Hokgar smiled. His hammer gestured at his handiwork, "Do I clean up? I don't like cleaning up." "We have to, Hokkie. Let's do this quickly so we're not late for that hogmeat festival, alright?" "Oooohoho, hogmeat! I really like da' belly parts," Hokgar said, eyes glazing over. "I'll buy all the belly parts you want, just you wait." "It's okay, Cas," Hokgar said as picked up the corpse, "I wanna share it with friends. You're a friend." (I don't know if I did it justice, but perhaps something like this? Might be good to showcase he's dull, but innocent, and ultimately just wants to do right by his friends. At least I think that's one way to go about it.) | 1 | 43,827 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51eh4i | i535ktk | 1,650,165,056 | 1,650,207,027 | 1 | 2 | Go with a Jar-Jar Binks accent. | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | 0 | 41,971 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i535ktk | i529q4r | 1,650,207,027 | 1,650,186,890 | 2 | 1 | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | How does your character being dumb slow down the plot? | 1 | 20,137 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52c5cp | i535ktk | 1,650,188,963 | 1,650,207,027 | 1 | 2 | Make their other qualities shine through. You can have a character that needs things explaining to them, but it won't be annoying if they come across as genuine and confused. I have a character in my story who's an exile from another country, who starts off barely knowing the other characters' language beyond a simple conversational level. He constantly needs things explaining to him, but from what the (few) people who've read so far say, he's one of the most likeable characters. Because he's kind and he asks out of a genuine desire to understand. Also, you can make them unintelligent in some areas, but intelligent in others. People have strengths and weaknesses. He might not be good at complicated plans or complex concepts, maybe a discussion about politics will make his head spin. If he's a good fighter, for example, maybe if someone mentioned fighting techniques, he'd talk all about it and it'd show that he's got knowledge, but only about the things he's good at. Maybe he's great at baking and he knows the exact ingredients and quantities for the perfect recipe. | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | 0 | 18,064 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i535ktk | i52da0r | 1,650,207,027 | 1,650,189,934 | 2 | 1 | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | Like with all characters, to prevent them being annoying through repetition or whatever the case may be, just have others relate to them, identify with them in some way. | 1 | 17,093 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52vljh | i535ktk | 1,650,202,327 | 1,650,207,027 | 0 | 2 | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | 0 | 4,700 | 2,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i535ktk | i52vuy3 | 1,650,207,027 | 1,650,202,458 | 2 | 1 | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | I would write the character as being simple, and that could take one or a mix of approaches. The key point though is that they don’t think about a critical aspect of a given situation or even necessarily the situation at all. They are bound by the end-goal or image in their mind. Simple can be: rule-bound end goal focused disconnected from reality child-like idealization limited references unfortunate habituation I hate to say it, but taking a walk through a psychologist’s diagnostic manual and throw a stone at something. You don’t necessarily need to be true to a disfunction, but reading about psychology will give you a menu of options that are truer to life. Then after you understand that the simple rule is a weakness of the character’s train of thought, make them someone’s sibling, parent, partner... give them some form of positive human relationship. The character is fully capable of love, worthy of it; they are fully capable of duty, stalwart to it. Outwardly though, the reader may question it, because your character takes direct paths that introduce a complication, such as causing an injury or avoided a bit of bureaucracy. Always, because they can not help themselves. There are also plenty archetypes to play with too, right Like the doting mother, she wants you in bed, no excuses. A simplified doting mother knows this because thats how its always should be (tradition), but doesn’t really know why (bed rest), or doesn’t see how it could be different for someone else (empathetic limitation), or is unconcerned that opportunities could exist by doing something else at that time (ideation limit). Is it a grave sin? Not necessarily, but its a rule for this character that’s been broken and requests a reaction that can not be reasoned with. She’ll always put someone to bed with loving care, but for her, the night simply leads to day. Anything else, she’ll be unable to express an explanation for or meaningfully navigate without someone else. | 1 | 4,569 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52z7uv | i535ktk | 1,650,204,113 | 1,650,207,027 | 1 | 2 | Give their dumbness warmth and sincerity and if there are negative consequences of it make them feel bad Ignorance is the root of evil and arrogance makes one excuse their evils Greed plus arrogance = harmful entitlement Greed plus humility = oh my gosh I'm hurting people, I must stop | they themselves must not be dumb. but the situations they get into will be the dumbest of all time | 0 | 2,914 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i538om1 | i515s61 | 1,650,208,375 | 1,650,160,585 | 2 | 1 | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | Don't make them just "dumb" look up some diseases. | 1 | 47,790 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i51avst | i538om1 | 1,650,163,200 | 1,650,208,375 | 1 | 2 | "Noooo!" Castor's voice cracked at the end, an unintentional falsetto. It sounded quite nice, actually, paired with the rumbling thud of Hokgar's hammer. "Uh, didn't ya say to help him 'rack his brains'?" Hokgar's blood-splattered face turned, his eyes round in confusion. "I meant to hurt the bastard a little so he'd talk, not kill him!" Figures of speech were off limits. How could Castor forget? He always cherished his noble's education and gift of the gab. Until he met Hokgar, that is. Eloquence became catastrophic when this giant of a man was in proximity, conscious, and in arm's reach of his hammer. Castor sighed, and sighed some more, until his breathing calmed. "Sorry. Should have been specific. It's okay, Hokkie, you did good. Nice, clean swing. Makes it easy to dispose the body and then nobody the wiser." He was probably speaking more to himself for comfort. "Oh, okay," Hokgar smiled. His hammer gestured at his handiwork, "Do I clean up? I don't like cleaning up." "We have to, Hokkie. Let's do this quickly so we're not late for that hogmeat festival, alright?" "Oooohoho, hogmeat! I really like da' belly parts," Hokgar said, eyes glazing over. "I'll buy all the belly parts you want, just you wait." "It's okay, Cas," Hokgar said as picked up the corpse, "I wanna share it with friends. You're a friend." (I don't know if I did it justice, but perhaps something like this? Might be good to showcase he's dull, but innocent, and ultimately just wants to do right by his friends. At least I think that's one way to go about it.) | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | 0 | 45,175 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i538om1 | i51eh4i | 1,650,208,375 | 1,650,165,056 | 2 | 1 | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | Go with a Jar-Jar Binks accent. | 1 | 43,319 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i529q4r | i538om1 | 1,650,186,890 | 1,650,208,375 | 1 | 2 | How does your character being dumb slow down the plot? | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | 0 | 21,485 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52c5cp | i538om1 | 1,650,188,963 | 1,650,208,375 | 1 | 2 | Make their other qualities shine through. You can have a character that needs things explaining to them, but it won't be annoying if they come across as genuine and confused. I have a character in my story who's an exile from another country, who starts off barely knowing the other characters' language beyond a simple conversational level. He constantly needs things explaining to him, but from what the (few) people who've read so far say, he's one of the most likeable characters. Because he's kind and he asks out of a genuine desire to understand. Also, you can make them unintelligent in some areas, but intelligent in others. People have strengths and weaknesses. He might not be good at complicated plans or complex concepts, maybe a discussion about politics will make his head spin. If he's a good fighter, for example, maybe if someone mentioned fighting techniques, he'd talk all about it and it'd show that he's got knowledge, but only about the things he's good at. Maybe he's great at baking and he knows the exact ingredients and quantities for the perfect recipe. | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | 0 | 19,412 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52da0r | i538om1 | 1,650,189,934 | 1,650,208,375 | 1 | 2 | Like with all characters, to prevent them being annoying through repetition or whatever the case may be, just have others relate to them, identify with them in some way. | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | 0 | 18,441 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i538om1 | i52vljh | 1,650,208,375 | 1,650,202,327 | 2 | 0 | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 6,048 | 2,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i538om1 | i52vuy3 | 1,650,208,375 | 1,650,202,458 | 2 | 1 | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | I would write the character as being simple, and that could take one or a mix of approaches. The key point though is that they don’t think about a critical aspect of a given situation or even necessarily the situation at all. They are bound by the end-goal or image in their mind. Simple can be: rule-bound end goal focused disconnected from reality child-like idealization limited references unfortunate habituation I hate to say it, but taking a walk through a psychologist’s diagnostic manual and throw a stone at something. You don’t necessarily need to be true to a disfunction, but reading about psychology will give you a menu of options that are truer to life. Then after you understand that the simple rule is a weakness of the character’s train of thought, make them someone’s sibling, parent, partner... give them some form of positive human relationship. The character is fully capable of love, worthy of it; they are fully capable of duty, stalwart to it. Outwardly though, the reader may question it, because your character takes direct paths that introduce a complication, such as causing an injury or avoided a bit of bureaucracy. Always, because they can not help themselves. There are also plenty archetypes to play with too, right Like the doting mother, she wants you in bed, no excuses. A simplified doting mother knows this because thats how its always should be (tradition), but doesn’t really know why (bed rest), or doesn’t see how it could be different for someone else (empathetic limitation), or is unconcerned that opportunities could exist by doing something else at that time (ideation limit). Is it a grave sin? Not necessarily, but its a rule for this character that’s been broken and requests a reaction that can not be reasoned with. She’ll always put someone to bed with loving care, but for her, the night simply leads to day. Anything else, she’ll be unable to express an explanation for or meaningfully navigate without someone else. | 1 | 5,917 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i538om1 | i52z7uv | 1,650,208,375 | 1,650,204,113 | 2 | 1 | Internal dialogue. *Why* do they do what they do? What do they *think* is going on? You don't have to write it, just be aware of it and let it inform what you *do* write. | Give their dumbness warmth and sincerity and if there are negative consequences of it make them feel bad Ignorance is the root of evil and arrogance makes one excuse their evils Greed plus arrogance = harmful entitlement Greed plus humility = oh my gosh I'm hurting people, I must stop | 1 | 4,262 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i515s61 | i515t9r | 1,650,160,585 | 1,650,160,601 | 1 | 2 | Don't make them just "dumb" look up some diseases. | Ignorance is a lack of knowledge so make the reason they lack knowledge make sense. A person doesn't want to be dumb and by the time they realize they are they may feel its too late to learn. Or maybe what inhibited them is still a persistent factor. A negative quality can be portrayed in an apathetic light | 0 | 16 | 2 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52vljh | i52vuy3 | 1,650,202,327 | 1,650,202,458 | 0 | 1 | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | I would write the character as being simple, and that could take one or a mix of approaches. The key point though is that they don’t think about a critical aspect of a given situation or even necessarily the situation at all. They are bound by the end-goal or image in their mind. Simple can be: rule-bound end goal focused disconnected from reality child-like idealization limited references unfortunate habituation I hate to say it, but taking a walk through a psychologist’s diagnostic manual and throw a stone at something. You don’t necessarily need to be true to a disfunction, but reading about psychology will give you a menu of options that are truer to life. Then after you understand that the simple rule is a weakness of the character’s train of thought, make them someone’s sibling, parent, partner... give them some form of positive human relationship. The character is fully capable of love, worthy of it; they are fully capable of duty, stalwart to it. Outwardly though, the reader may question it, because your character takes direct paths that introduce a complication, such as causing an injury or avoided a bit of bureaucracy. Always, because they can not help themselves. There are also plenty archetypes to play with too, right Like the doting mother, she wants you in bed, no excuses. A simplified doting mother knows this because thats how its always should be (tradition), but doesn’t really know why (bed rest), or doesn’t see how it could be different for someone else (empathetic limitation), or is unconcerned that opportunities could exist by doing something else at that time (ideation limit). Is it a grave sin? Not necessarily, but its a rule for this character that’s been broken and requests a reaction that can not be reasoned with. She’ll always put someone to bed with loving care, but for her, the night simply leads to day. Anything else, she’ll be unable to express an explanation for or meaningfully navigate without someone else. | 0 | 131 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52vljh | i52z7uv | 1,650,202,327 | 1,650,204,113 | 0 | 1 | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | Give their dumbness warmth and sincerity and if there are negative consequences of it make them feel bad Ignorance is the root of evil and arrogance makes one excuse their evils Greed plus arrogance = harmful entitlement Greed plus humility = oh my gosh I'm hurting people, I must stop | 0 | 1,786 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i53lyw6 | i52vljh | 1,650,214,014 | 1,650,202,327 | 1 | 0 | They could be self aware. Like they realize their *shortcomings* and react to it with an array of tactics. They could be well spoken when in a private known setting but lose their sharpness as soon as they leave the house, for they truly are *unconfident*. They could be mean, evil even, but what they do turn out nice. A failed madman. They could have a life and hobbies that shine in the off unaddressed comments, like usually dumb, then a deep question about herbs, food, or survival instinct comes and bang: the rest of the people are too stunned to speak about the event again, *skillsets* never mentioned again. They can sound dumb at first but then they end up foreshadowing future event, because they may not be as *intelligible* as they are wise. | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 11,687 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52vljh | i53oe5m | 1,650,202,327 | 1,650,215,016 | 0 | 1 | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | depends heavily on your setting and plot. Is your character legit low intelligence or are they just an uneducated regular joe? Are they surrounded by smart people for some reason or are they surrounded by regular joes, and they are legit low intelligence or uneducated compared to those regular joes? is this “dumb” person the star of the show or are they a side character? what is the setting / plot? Is it a crime drama and your dumb guy is a victim of a crime? is it a sci fi setting and they’re a security guard? is it a fantasy setting and they’re maybe just a farmer or laborer? to me how you portray them depends heavily on all of the above. lower intelligence folks don’t think of themselves as dumb. they normally just recognize they have some short comings, like they’re bad spellers, aren’t good at math, not very good readers, not very educated. But walking around doing they’re everyday life, they are just perfectly fine. i mean how often do “smart” people really need to use this higher level intel anyway, unless they’re a doctor lawyer rocker scientist? Not very often. those people are doing the same crap we’re all doing. watching tv, playing sports, general stuff | 0 | 12,689 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i54bcr9 | i52vljh | 1,650,224,654 | 1,650,202,327 | 1 | 0 | My first thought was Forrest Gump. | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 22,327 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i54hfuc | i52vljh | 1,650,227,281 | 1,650,202,327 | 1 | 0 | I've been watching an older show called Cheers. Coach (and later Woody) were dumb, but endearing characters. Or go even further back to Get Smart. | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 24,954 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i54hz14 | i52vljh | 1,650,227,513 | 1,650,202,327 | 1 | 0 | I know somebody is mentally disabled who can't take care of themselves alone or be trusted with money, do any paperwork, or make sense of complicated social situations. They can't get a job at many minimum wage jobs because they don't understand a single question on the personality tests those companies give them. They can only use a computer to browse a few sites they've been using for years, despite having internet access and a computer since the early 90s. They write really well, their dialog is fantastic, they make friends very easily, and have almost no anxiety at all. They have a near-perfect memory, and they can remember how to get anywhere they've ever been without a GPS, and if you asked them to use one, they would not be able to. If you wrote a 'dumb' character, you would be writing a normal character who is severely lacking in abilities most people find easy. Most people, not even the reader, should usually notice their issues. | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 25,186 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i54owgz | i52vljh | 1,650,230,483 | 1,650,202,327 | 1 | 0 | I think a great way to do this is to make the character actually super competent. Bear with me, the best way to make a dumb character effective is to make them smart in a certain field, any field. You could make this character a brilliant genius when it comes to medicine, but because they are naive/dumb, they accidentally make a deal with a corrupt pharmaceutical and their work ends up being used for harm more than good. In my opinion, dumb characters are the best when they're well-intentioned geniuses but ultimately fail to meet their own moral standards because of their poor/dumb decisions. Let it be a question of their morality, not their actual incompetence. I hope this makes sense. | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 28,156 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i52vljh | i54yl1m | 1,650,202,327 | 1,650,234,676 | 0 | 1 | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | Give them a solid, reliable skill. Instead of thinking of the character as “dumb”, think of them as smart in this one, specific area. | 0 | 32,349 | 1,000 | ||
u5cflp | writing_train | 0.85 | How do I write a dumb character without having them become annoying? I’m trying to write a character with low intelligence. What I *want* to do is make him strong and dumb yet soft-hearted and endearing. I don’t want him to fall into the archetype of the annoying, meathead brute, but I’ve got a bit of writers block. What are some ways to compensate for their lower intelligence? How can I make their shortcomings seem less like a dumb contrivance that only serves to slow down the plot? | i55hgq8 | i52vljh | 1,650,243,331 | 1,650,202,327 | 1 | 0 | One thing that can help flesh them out - do they think they're dumb? If not, then they're annoying because they're oblivious. If they do think they're dumb, why do they think that? | Take good long look in the mirror. Describe what you see. | 1 | 41,004 | 1,000 | ||
t8zhr8 | writing_train | 0.9 | How do I effectively write multiple storylines in one novel without confusing the reader? The novel I'm working on has multiple perspectives, each working toward a different goal, but in the end each of their stories contribute something to the endgame of the novel as a whole. There's 5 main characters that eventually meet up and band together to defeat a common enemy, with teams or pairings forming within that pool for small intervals throughout the novel. One of the five is the central focus and has the most chapters devoted to their perspective, and the rest are given equal attention. Two of the five stick together for almost the whole novel and work toward the same goal, but the perspective of that storyline alternates between the two. The whole thing is told in third person limited. Idk if any of that made sense, but I've only outlined the story so far and I haven't started actually writing it, save for a few scenes or pieces of dialogue that I don't want to forget. I just wanna know if any of you have tips or advice for how to write this effectively without making it confusing or boring to the reader. | hzr4jt5 | hzrhw01 | 1,646,687,370 | 1,646,692,514 | 1 | 2 | Maybe in the chapter titles? A1, B1, C1, etc, or just shiftless POVs (Character A POV, Character B POV)? | Readers can figure stuff like that out. Don't be afraid to give them a bit of a challenge. | 0 | 5,144 | 2 | ||
t8zhr8 | writing_train | 0.9 | How do I effectively write multiple storylines in one novel without confusing the reader? The novel I'm working on has multiple perspectives, each working toward a different goal, but in the end each of their stories contribute something to the endgame of the novel as a whole. There's 5 main characters that eventually meet up and band together to defeat a common enemy, with teams or pairings forming within that pool for small intervals throughout the novel. One of the five is the central focus and has the most chapters devoted to their perspective, and the rest are given equal attention. Two of the five stick together for almost the whole novel and work toward the same goal, but the perspective of that storyline alternates between the two. The whole thing is told in third person limited. Idk if any of that made sense, but I've only outlined the story so far and I haven't started actually writing it, save for a few scenes or pieces of dialogue that I don't want to forget. I just wanna know if any of you have tips or advice for how to write this effectively without making it confusing or boring to the reader. | hzrhw01 | hzrbpl0 | 1,646,692,514 | 1,646,690,090 | 2 | 1 | Readers can figure stuff like that out. Don't be afraid to give them a bit of a challenge. | I've got a similar issue with mine. I've got at least 5 stories going simultaneously, and only one of them is the "real" one, will likely be shorter than the others when done, and I'm going to need to figure out another organizational system because I'm starting to go batty. Amidst my self-inflicted headache I regularly willingly indulge in, I've figured something out. Each character has their own story, right? There's a fair chance a lot of each character's own story will not be brought up in the "main" story, because not all of each one will be relevant, or some things might just need to happen "off camera" as it were. As far as handling my own issue, I've been coming to terms with the possibility that I'll either end up writing several different books to eventually be published, or most of the total accumulated material will never see an audience. | 1 | 2,424 | 2 | ||
t8zhr8 | writing_train | 0.9 | How do I effectively write multiple storylines in one novel without confusing the reader? The novel I'm working on has multiple perspectives, each working toward a different goal, but in the end each of their stories contribute something to the endgame of the novel as a whole. There's 5 main characters that eventually meet up and band together to defeat a common enemy, with teams or pairings forming within that pool for small intervals throughout the novel. One of the five is the central focus and has the most chapters devoted to their perspective, and the rest are given equal attention. Two of the five stick together for almost the whole novel and work toward the same goal, but the perspective of that storyline alternates between the two. The whole thing is told in third person limited. Idk if any of that made sense, but I've only outlined the story so far and I haven't started actually writing it, save for a few scenes or pieces of dialogue that I don't want to forget. I just wanna know if any of you have tips or advice for how to write this effectively without making it confusing or boring to the reader. | hzrhw01 | hzrc0x8 | 1,646,692,514 | 1,646,690,210 | 2 | 1 | Readers can figure stuff like that out. Don't be afraid to give them a bit of a challenge. | The most important is to know when to transition to another. Just always imagine yourself as the reader, imagining your story, while also you as the writer knowing what you want your readers to feel. Imagine watching it as a movie and you will kno when to go to another scene. | 1 | 2,304 | 2 | ||
t8zhr8 | writing_train | 0.9 | How do I effectively write multiple storylines in one novel without confusing the reader? The novel I'm working on has multiple perspectives, each working toward a different goal, but in the end each of their stories contribute something to the endgame of the novel as a whole. There's 5 main characters that eventually meet up and band together to defeat a common enemy, with teams or pairings forming within that pool for small intervals throughout the novel. One of the five is the central focus and has the most chapters devoted to their perspective, and the rest are given equal attention. Two of the five stick together for almost the whole novel and work toward the same goal, but the perspective of that storyline alternates between the two. The whole thing is told in third person limited. Idk if any of that made sense, but I've only outlined the story so far and I haven't started actually writing it, save for a few scenes or pieces of dialogue that I don't want to forget. I just wanna know if any of you have tips or advice for how to write this effectively without making it confusing or boring to the reader. | hztdhpn | hzr4jt5 | 1,646,728,348 | 1,646,687,370 | 2 | 1 | Look at how other writers with multiple POVs/storylines handle it. Super common in genre fiction. Generally with that many POVs you probably want to have each chapter be from a single character's perspective, or do clearly delineated breaks when you change characters. Since you already have your outline, go ahead and write the first draft. You can always shuffle the order of the chapters/POVs around later once you figure out how you want to do it. There's no law that says your chapter order has to be exactly how you've written it in the first draft, especially since copy + paste exists. | Maybe in the chapter titles? A1, B1, C1, etc, or just shiftless POVs (Character A POV, Character B POV)? | 1 | 40,978 | 2 | ||
t8zhr8 | writing_train | 0.9 | How do I effectively write multiple storylines in one novel without confusing the reader? The novel I'm working on has multiple perspectives, each working toward a different goal, but in the end each of their stories contribute something to the endgame of the novel as a whole. There's 5 main characters that eventually meet up and band together to defeat a common enemy, with teams or pairings forming within that pool for small intervals throughout the novel. One of the five is the central focus and has the most chapters devoted to their perspective, and the rest are given equal attention. Two of the five stick together for almost the whole novel and work toward the same goal, but the perspective of that storyline alternates between the two. The whole thing is told in third person limited. Idk if any of that made sense, but I've only outlined the story so far and I haven't started actually writing it, save for a few scenes or pieces of dialogue that I don't want to forget. I just wanna know if any of you have tips or advice for how to write this effectively without making it confusing or boring to the reader. | hzrbpl0 | hztdhpn | 1,646,690,090 | 1,646,728,348 | 1 | 2 | I've got a similar issue with mine. I've got at least 5 stories going simultaneously, and only one of them is the "real" one, will likely be shorter than the others when done, and I'm going to need to figure out another organizational system because I'm starting to go batty. Amidst my self-inflicted headache I regularly willingly indulge in, I've figured something out. Each character has their own story, right? There's a fair chance a lot of each character's own story will not be brought up in the "main" story, because not all of each one will be relevant, or some things might just need to happen "off camera" as it were. As far as handling my own issue, I've been coming to terms with the possibility that I'll either end up writing several different books to eventually be published, or most of the total accumulated material will never see an audience. | Look at how other writers with multiple POVs/storylines handle it. Super common in genre fiction. Generally with that many POVs you probably want to have each chapter be from a single character's perspective, or do clearly delineated breaks when you change characters. Since you already have your outline, go ahead and write the first draft. You can always shuffle the order of the chapters/POVs around later once you figure out how you want to do it. There's no law that says your chapter order has to be exactly how you've written it in the first draft, especially since copy + paste exists. | 0 | 38,258 | 2 | ||
t8zhr8 | writing_train | 0.9 | How do I effectively write multiple storylines in one novel without confusing the reader? The novel I'm working on has multiple perspectives, each working toward a different goal, but in the end each of their stories contribute something to the endgame of the novel as a whole. There's 5 main characters that eventually meet up and band together to defeat a common enemy, with teams or pairings forming within that pool for small intervals throughout the novel. One of the five is the central focus and has the most chapters devoted to their perspective, and the rest are given equal attention. Two of the five stick together for almost the whole novel and work toward the same goal, but the perspective of that storyline alternates between the two. The whole thing is told in third person limited. Idk if any of that made sense, but I've only outlined the story so far and I haven't started actually writing it, save for a few scenes or pieces of dialogue that I don't want to forget. I just wanna know if any of you have tips or advice for how to write this effectively without making it confusing or boring to the reader. | hzrc0x8 | hztdhpn | 1,646,690,210 | 1,646,728,348 | 1 | 2 | The most important is to know when to transition to another. Just always imagine yourself as the reader, imagining your story, while also you as the writer knowing what you want your readers to feel. Imagine watching it as a movie and you will kno when to go to another scene. | Look at how other writers with multiple POVs/storylines handle it. Super common in genre fiction. Generally with that many POVs you probably want to have each chapter be from a single character's perspective, or do clearly delineated breaks when you change characters. Since you already have your outline, go ahead and write the first draft. You can always shuffle the order of the chapters/POVs around later once you figure out how you want to do it. There's no law that says your chapter order has to be exactly how you've written it in the first draft, especially since copy + paste exists. | 0 | 38,138 | 2 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwqlkx | fqwsec7 | 1,589,714,256 | 1,589,716,053 | 199 | 540 | There shouldn't be "boring" parts. Either make them interesting or remove them. Why would you want your reader to be bored? | If it really is that boring but is vital to the plot, try explaining it in a paragraph or two and move on. You don’t need an entire scene complete with dialogue to get a boring point across. You can try to cover it with some quick exposition. | 0 | 1,797 | 2.713568 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwtuqc | fqx0x77 | 1,589,717,416 | 1,589,723,113 | 29 | 35 | The boredom may be driven by a fear of something, like "this sucks." In which case, it's part of the process. Try to re-frame as, I'm writing because it is fun. | For everybody jumping up on you here about not writing boring parts: You need to first figure out if you're bored because you're tired of writing the story (this happens at some point every story you write, at least it does for me) or if the scene is actually boring. If it's the former, you kind of need to just tough it out, and keep going (personally, I had to find my own method to trick myself into working). If it's the latter, yeah, then make it not boring. Quieter transition scenes are a great opportunity to pick up nuggets of gold about the characters or world you're trying to build. | 0 | 5,697 | 1.206897 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx0x77 | fqwsvjc | 1,589,723,113 | 1,589,716,512 | 35 | 11 | For everybody jumping up on you here about not writing boring parts: You need to first figure out if you're bored because you're tired of writing the story (this happens at some point every story you write, at least it does for me) or if the scene is actually boring. If it's the former, you kind of need to just tough it out, and keep going (personally, I had to find my own method to trick myself into working). If it's the latter, yeah, then make it not boring. Quieter transition scenes are a great opportunity to pick up nuggets of gold about the characters or world you're trying to build. | If i find myself getting bored or losing motivation with what im writing i like to think about the scene Im trying to build up to. But if ur bored of a scene chances are the reader will be too so maybe keep it short | 1 | 6,601 | 3.181818 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx0x77 | fqwu00s | 1,589,723,113 | 1,589,717,550 | 35 | 8 | For everybody jumping up on you here about not writing boring parts: You need to first figure out if you're bored because you're tired of writing the story (this happens at some point every story you write, at least it does for me) or if the scene is actually boring. If it's the former, you kind of need to just tough it out, and keep going (personally, I had to find my own method to trick myself into working). If it's the latter, yeah, then make it not boring. Quieter transition scenes are a great opportunity to pick up nuggets of gold about the characters or world you're trying to build. | https://youtu.be/shXh-eoNqDc Slow scenes are really important. If you don’t know the purpose of them they can come off as boring, but if you know the purpose you’ll know exactly what needs to happen. | 1 | 5,563 | 4.375 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx0x77 | fqwti6z | 1,589,723,113 | 1,589,717,094 | 35 | 2 | For everybody jumping up on you here about not writing boring parts: You need to first figure out if you're bored because you're tired of writing the story (this happens at some point every story you write, at least it does for me) or if the scene is actually boring. If it's the former, you kind of need to just tough it out, and keep going (personally, I had to find my own method to trick myself into working). If it's the latter, yeah, then make it not boring. Quieter transition scenes are a great opportunity to pick up nuggets of gold about the characters or world you're trying to build. | Why does your novel have a boring part? | 1 | 6,019 | 17.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwtuqc | fqwsvjc | 1,589,717,416 | 1,589,716,512 | 29 | 11 | The boredom may be driven by a fear of something, like "this sucks." In which case, it's part of the process. Try to re-frame as, I'm writing because it is fun. | If i find myself getting bored or losing motivation with what im writing i like to think about the scene Im trying to build up to. But if ur bored of a scene chances are the reader will be too so maybe keep it short | 1 | 904 | 2.636364 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwti6z | fqwtuqc | 1,589,717,094 | 1,589,717,416 | 2 | 29 | Why does your novel have a boring part? | The boredom may be driven by a fear of something, like "this sucks." In which case, it's part of the process. Try to re-frame as, I'm writing because it is fun. | 0 | 322 | 14.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwti6z | fqwu00s | 1,589,717,094 | 1,589,717,550 | 2 | 8 | Why does your novel have a boring part? | https://youtu.be/shXh-eoNqDc Slow scenes are really important. If you don’t know the purpose of them they can come off as boring, but if you know the purpose you’ll know exactly what needs to happen. | 0 | 456 | 4 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwti6z | fqx3io7 | 1,589,717,094 | 1,589,724,961 | 2 | 5 | Why does your novel have a boring part? | I don't know if you mean by 'boring' that the scene is literally boring or not interesting. That seems to be what most posters get here. In this case, it would be okay to try to trim it down. I get the felling though that you mean more of scenes that are indeed important, should be interesting and are necessary. You write this in your outline and you know it should stay the way it is. But when you are actually writing it, it is no fun and it feels not right. My advice here is to just leave it out for the moment and write something else. I'm doing this more and more while in my earlier writer days I would slavishly follow the linear writing process. This is better now but I can't do it all the time and especially can't jump too far ahead. | 0 | 7,867 | 2.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx3s48 | fqx6l2f | 1,589,725,138 | 1,589,726,934 | 4 | 5 | Shorten it. Or if you feel this part really needs to be included but it’s causing you to stall, just write a note—“transition scene here”—and come back to it another day with fresh eyes. | A lot of comments already saying to concentrate on 'not being boring' but I wonder: is there any other possible purpose to the transition, than getting from A to B? Is there potential to offer insight into a character, or some other plot point, for instance? I think if there's insight to be given, it's worth keeping. Otherwise yeah, minimise the transition time- if they're preparing for battle (an example you give in another response), why do we really need to see the armoury? Are there clues about something that will go wrong later, or shift tension? I think it's worth interrogating this a little further. Good luck :) | 0 | 1,796 | 1.25 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx3s48 | fqwti6z | 1,589,725,138 | 1,589,717,094 | 4 | 2 | Shorten it. Or if you feel this part really needs to be included but it’s causing you to stall, just write a note—“transition scene here”—and come back to it another day with fresh eyes. | Why does your novel have a boring part? | 1 | 8,044 | 2 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx6l2f | fqwti6z | 1,589,726,934 | 1,589,717,094 | 5 | 2 | A lot of comments already saying to concentrate on 'not being boring' but I wonder: is there any other possible purpose to the transition, than getting from A to B? Is there potential to offer insight into a character, or some other plot point, for instance? I think if there's insight to be given, it's worth keeping. Otherwise yeah, minimise the transition time- if they're preparing for battle (an example you give in another response), why do we really need to see the armoury? Are there clues about something that will go wrong later, or shift tension? I think it's worth interrogating this a little further. Good luck :) | Why does your novel have a boring part? | 1 | 9,840 | 2.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx6l2f | fqx49xw | 1,589,726,934 | 1,589,725,464 | 5 | 3 | A lot of comments already saying to concentrate on 'not being boring' but I wonder: is there any other possible purpose to the transition, than getting from A to B? Is there potential to offer insight into a character, or some other plot point, for instance? I think if there's insight to be given, it's worth keeping. Otherwise yeah, minimise the transition time- if they're preparing for battle (an example you give in another response), why do we really need to see the armoury? Are there clues about something that will go wrong later, or shift tension? I think it's worth interrogating this a little further. Good luck :) | Try to figure out what you want your reader to know from this scene or chapter. From there, see if there's a conflict you can build internal or external to your character. Also, don't forget to have your main character have agency. They should be making choices and dealing with the consequences of those choices. And make them struggle, people identify with and root for struggles more than success. Try this; go to the previous thing that your character succeeded at. How does it change the story if they fail? | 1 | 1,470 | 1.666667 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx62nv | fqx6l2f | 1,589,726,620 | 1,589,726,934 | 3 | 5 | Every scene should have a purpose, so maybe just look at the scene you’re writing from a bird’s eye view perspective and ask yourself why you’re writing this particular scene and how it drives either the plot and/or the characters forward. If the scene doesn’t move the story forward in any way, then cut it and see if things work just as well without it. If you find you still need a bridge between two scenes, it’s okay to keep it brief or to use a line or two of exposition at the beginning of the next scene to explain how the characters have moved to a new location/place/whatever. I hope that helps! | A lot of comments already saying to concentrate on 'not being boring' but I wonder: is there any other possible purpose to the transition, than getting from A to B? Is there potential to offer insight into a character, or some other plot point, for instance? I think if there's insight to be given, it's worth keeping. Otherwise yeah, minimise the transition time- if they're preparing for battle (an example you give in another response), why do we really need to see the armoury? Are there clues about something that will go wrong later, or shift tension? I think it's worth interrogating this a little further. Good luck :) | 0 | 314 | 1.666667 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwti6z | fqx49xw | 1,589,717,094 | 1,589,725,464 | 2 | 3 | Why does your novel have a boring part? | Try to figure out what you want your reader to know from this scene or chapter. From there, see if there's a conflict you can build internal or external to your character. Also, don't forget to have your main character have agency. They should be making choices and dealing with the consequences of those choices. And make them struggle, people identify with and root for struggles more than success. Try this; go to the previous thing that your character succeeded at. How does it change the story if they fail? | 0 | 8,370 | 1.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqx62nv | fqwti6z | 1,589,726,620 | 1,589,717,094 | 3 | 2 | Every scene should have a purpose, so maybe just look at the scene you’re writing from a bird’s eye view perspective and ask yourself why you’re writing this particular scene and how it drives either the plot and/or the characters forward. If the scene doesn’t move the story forward in any way, then cut it and see if things work just as well without it. If you find you still need a bridge between two scenes, it’s okay to keep it brief or to use a line or two of exposition at the beginning of the next scene to explain how the characters have moved to a new location/place/whatever. I hope that helps! | Why does your novel have a boring part? | 1 | 9,526 | 1.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwti6z | fqx7lkw | 1,589,717,094 | 1,589,727,558 | 2 | 3 | Why does your novel have a boring part? | Hey, first, let me give a boost to this book: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690 I believe your solution is to use narrative exposition, which essentially means you spend a paragraph or two describing what goes on that DOESN'T deserve a scene. IIRC, a story will either have "live scenes" or brief moments of exposition, especially for sections that would be too boring to delve into. I hope this helps! What are you writing, anyway? | 0 | 10,464 | 1.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwti6z | fqxa3hd | 1,589,717,094 | 1,589,728,797 | 2 | 3 | Why does your novel have a boring part? | Holy shit this is my problem as well, to a T. Doesn't help that I have mild ADD probably. But to the commenters..."boring" is all relative.something that is fun or exciting to the reader may be boring to the writer while writing it. The most interesting parts to write are dialogue / drama for me because I can really picture it in my head and feel the emotion. This helps me stay interested usually. | 0 | 11,703 | 1.5 | ||
gldprc | writing_train | 0.97 | How do I withstand and continue to write at the 'boring' part in my novel? I have this struggle whenever I'm writing transition part of a scene to another scene, I get easily bored and end up procrastinate. How do I withstand through this and how do I juice it up? Is there any mental state you guys have whenever you reach the voting part of the novel? | fqwti6z | fqzfkzv | 1,589,717,094 | 1,589,766,333 | 2 | 3 | Why does your novel have a boring part? | My rule is that if I find a part boring, I need to rework it. If I can't stand writing it, I doubt any reader would enjoy reading it. | 0 | 49,239 | 1.5 | ||
y26v7y | writing_train | 0.84 | How to write some sort of event that the main character isn't aware of while writing in first person? I always felt most comfortable writing in first person, but now that I've really progressed in the story it gets more and more difficult to describe certain events happening while the main characters aren't aware of it. I'm almost leaning to completely rewrite my story in third person so it's easier to do this kind of thing. So all tips are welcome. Thanks in advance! | is27znu | is4hn82 | 1,665,603,619 | 1,665,642,124 | 4 | 5 | There are two ways you can do this: 1) Stay in first person and drop tiny clues about what may be going on in the outside world. For example: Your protagonist sees an increase in people entering the city. Upon wondering why, someone responds that they are refugees. Up to you if your character asks “refugees from where?” or “what is happening to make them refugees?” 2) You write a chapter in third person that describes the events happening outside the protagonist’s view. This is best done using third person limited from another character’s perspective. If you use third person omniscient for this, it will sound like you the author took a chapter to write solely from the perspective of the disembodied narrator, and not a character. Example: Your protagonist is in the city receiving the refugees. In another chapter, you follow the general who is leading the troops against the invaders in another city. This POV question has come up a lot recently, and the answer is basically that you can do whatever you want, but you should think *carefully* about whether or not it makes sense for your story. The rule of thumb that I’ve seen in stories that do this is that your first person POV is your protagonist. Any other POVs are third person limited, since they are not your protagonist, but they are still an important enough character to have a POV written (I say third person *limited* here because it maintains the similar limitations that a first person POV has, so it continues the POV restrictions of the rest of your story; I highly discourage using third person omniscient in a story that uses first person at any point). The only exception to this is if you have an ensemble cast and you explicitly label which character is being followed at the start of each chapter. But it would probably be best to write an ensemble in third person limited anyway, from the start. | All I have is this question: you spend your life in first person, but you discover different events that are happening, how? Use those answers in the novel. | 0 | 38,505 | 1.25 | ||
y26v7y | writing_train | 0.84 | How to write some sort of event that the main character isn't aware of while writing in first person? I always felt most comfortable writing in first person, but now that I've really progressed in the story it gets more and more difficult to describe certain events happening while the main characters aren't aware of it. I'm almost leaning to completely rewrite my story in third person so it's easier to do this kind of thing. So all tips are welcome. Thanks in advance! | is4hn82 | is2e1ae | 1,665,642,124 | 1,665,605,914 | 5 | 2 | All I have is this question: you spend your life in first person, but you discover different events that are happening, how? Use those answers in the novel. | If you’re writing in past tense, you could go along the route of “little did I know at the time…” but also might be better to rewrite from 3rd if it happens often. | 1 | 36,210 | 2.5 | ||
y26v7y | writing_train | 0.84 | How to write some sort of event that the main character isn't aware of while writing in first person? I always felt most comfortable writing in first person, but now that I've really progressed in the story it gets more and more difficult to describe certain events happening while the main characters aren't aware of it. I'm almost leaning to completely rewrite my story in third person so it's easier to do this kind of thing. So all tips are welcome. Thanks in advance! | is2vshe | is4hn82 | 1,665,612,880 | 1,665,642,124 | 2 | 5 | My first novel was in first-person POV, but it became a series, and that couldn't be maintained to expand the storyline, so I used first POV and third-person limited POV in alternating chapters. I use the same technique in many of my other novels. Honestly, I prefer first-person, primarily because I write mostly women characters, and it gets too clunky to figure out who the shes and hers are all the time-especially when there might be four of them having a conversation. But if you have two genders, mixing first and third can work fine stylistically. | All I have is this question: you spend your life in first person, but you discover different events that are happening, how? Use those answers in the novel. | 0 | 29,244 | 2.5 | ||
y26v7y | writing_train | 0.84 | How to write some sort of event that the main character isn't aware of while writing in first person? I always felt most comfortable writing in first person, but now that I've really progressed in the story it gets more and more difficult to describe certain events happening while the main characters aren't aware of it. I'm almost leaning to completely rewrite my story in third person so it's easier to do this kind of thing. So all tips are welcome. Thanks in advance! | is4hn82 | is3eccc | 1,665,642,124 | 1,665,621,103 | 5 | 2 | All I have is this question: you spend your life in first person, but you discover different events that are happening, how? Use those answers in the novel. | The question is, why does the reader need to know something happens if it doesn't affect the main character? I get that it will, but why not have reader & MC share the discovery? That said, you can in fact have more than one first-person character, or even add a third-person character who experiences this other thing. But I'd only bother if it is great for the reader to know something the MC doesn't (yet). | 1 | 21,021 | 2.5 | ||
y26v7y | writing_train | 0.84 | How to write some sort of event that the main character isn't aware of while writing in first person? I always felt most comfortable writing in first person, but now that I've really progressed in the story it gets more and more difficult to describe certain events happening while the main characters aren't aware of it. I'm almost leaning to completely rewrite my story in third person so it's easier to do this kind of thing. So all tips are welcome. Thanks in advance! | is3g5to | is4hn82 | 1,665,621,901 | 1,665,642,124 | 1 | 5 | Normally I try to incorporate it in, but for certain first person narrators, unreliable ones especially, I use an impersonal third person chapter here and there, mostly written in omniscient or detached third person. The problem with shifting view and tense, though, is that it can be jarring for the reader. To combat this (I have no idea if effective it is, this method, or if it even is) I don't write the third person view point of any character. Because, well, those I, can just write in 1st person, which is something you can also do: shift to the 1st person of some other charcter, who “knows,” to make the reader aware. | All I have is this question: you spend your life in first person, but you discover different events that are happening, how? Use those answers in the novel. | 0 | 20,223 | 5 | ||
y26v7y | writing_train | 0.84 | How to write some sort of event that the main character isn't aware of while writing in first person? I always felt most comfortable writing in first person, but now that I've really progressed in the story it gets more and more difficult to describe certain events happening while the main characters aren't aware of it. I'm almost leaning to completely rewrite my story in third person so it's easier to do this kind of thing. So all tips are welcome. Thanks in advance! | is3hzty | is4hn82 | 1,665,622,693 | 1,665,642,124 | 1 | 5 | You can’t. If you want it to be in the story, maybe switch the point of view? Just for a couple of paragraphs maybe. | All I have is this question: you spend your life in first person, but you discover different events that are happening, how? Use those answers in the novel. | 0 | 19,431 | 5 | ||
y26v7y | writing_train | 0.84 | How to write some sort of event that the main character isn't aware of while writing in first person? I always felt most comfortable writing in first person, but now that I've really progressed in the story it gets more and more difficult to describe certain events happening while the main characters aren't aware of it. I'm almost leaning to completely rewrite my story in third person so it's easier to do this kind of thing. So all tips are welcome. Thanks in advance! | is4hn82 | is48rh5 | 1,665,642,124 | 1,665,635,909 | 5 | 1 | All I have is this question: you spend your life in first person, but you discover different events that are happening, how? Use those answers in the novel. | Read Jim Butchers, the Dresden File Series. Its a mystery story (with magic) all from one guys point of view. | 1 | 6,215 | 5 | ||
qqrl10 | writing_train | 0.93 | How to write a flawed character without… writing a flawed character. And why it's important. **The character has the flaws, the flaws don't have them.** Sometimes a character's flaws can be an advantage when your character rises above them, however the flaws should not define them as a person. If your character's flaws are so bad that they stop them from loving themselves or doing anything, it's a good opportunity to develop what puts them in that spot. If your character's flaws are so bad that you can't respect the good things about them, cut them some slack. Even villains have good traits, remember. Vice versa. **Another thing to keep in mind is that side characters can have flaws as well.** Side characters are not cardboard, especially the supporting characters. Characters can get jealous of each other, characters can get in the way of each other unintentionally, characters can cause problems for each other, and just like real life, it's definitely not okay. Characters can help each other and often people's entire lifestyles or personalities can change because of someone else. **Find your balance.** The purposes of flaws are to develop sympathy/empathy, help drive the plot, and build characters and worlds.** If your character’s flaws conjure pity instead of emotional connection, cut them some slack (unless the pity plays a role for a well-rounded character.). It’s okay and perfectly relatable for an OC to have flaws that aren’t relevant to the story, because these help humanize the characters, however the main focus should ideally be on flaws that affect the story, or the character's ability to get through the story. There is an exception for this: If you're doing a series or a memoir or another work that includes passage of time, it's nice to show some lore. Have a character cry to a TV show. Let a character have a bad night out. Even better if you can find ways to tie it into the story. **Flaws are important for character growth.** *A slip and fall can escalate to surgery. A food allergy can escalate to missing an important work day. An affair can lead to a pregnancy or a divorce that costs everything. A late night out can cause a car accident. But all these things could also give someone the love of their life or a spiritual awakening or a great idea for a new life.* And… *remember people do get tired of their flaws and are working everyday to get past them or help others.* **Flaw can contribute to a motive, but this comes with development.** *For example, a villain isn’t going to go out of their way to kill a princess for being pretty. Okay, maybe they will, but let's do some world building and character building. Is there a cultural standard, a threat brought on by the villain not being pretty? What makes a person ugly, what can be done? Is there a reward for being so pretty, a person to win over, a problem to avoid? And what's going to happen, does the villain have a flaw that will create another conflict to keep them from enjoying their reward, or maybe someone else has the flaw? **If they get something good from their flaw, and it's not out of manipulation, it's probably not a flaw.** *For instance, if your character's romantic interest finds them cute because of a trait they don't personally like or a trait that sets them apart from the other characters, find a way to make it less typical. Maybe the character has a meta flaw, maybe their flaw is the intention to be someone they're not in order to get love or it's to take advantage of something or their love interest. Maybe the character has gone through so much that they appreciate the partner's unconditional love, and there are some blanks to fill. Maybe the character has a flaw love interest doesn't like or a flaw that completely ruins everything. Maybe the love interest takes advantage of their flaw, went through a similar conflict that helps them understand, etc.* Some traits that are associated with being strengths can also be flaws, short or clumsy or dumb being synonymous with cute or submissive for example, and there are scenarios where people get appreciated for them, but in order to be flaws, they must somehow hinder the character or even go as far affect the characters motives in a bad way . For another instance, if you feel the need to portray these flaws as cute or defining, consider them strengths. Of course the exception to this is through a first person narrator, who's made it clear they love themselves a little too much or they really love that flawed person. **Avoid romanticizing, especially when it comes to health problems. Definitely do your research especially when it comes to health problems. I also recommend doing research to avoid tropes, or to avoid overdoing intentional ones.** **Flaws and world building goes hand in hand** In the real world, our flaws affect every aspect of our lives. We have devices, education, laws put into place that help us with large flaws that we cannot control so easily. If your story revolves around the real world, Please do your research. As for minor flaws, A lot of people are insecure because of how people are expected to look and act, and sometimes these flaws even affect our ability to function in our world. There are people who take advantage of other people because their flaws help them advance in their life. Your character has to go through something and if it's not one thing then it's another. Flaws can also consist of things a person has learned or gained or even lost because of experience. Society and family has a big impact. Another point I want to bring up. **No surprises.** Of course your OC is fleshed out along the course of the story and there's a lot of discovery, however flaws do not come and go unless there is an affecting force. Sometimes bad things do happen, but plot twists aren’t sudden. *Instead of making the sudden revelation that -oops, our character is so clumsy that the day is not saved because they fell for no reason-, you can establish their clumsiness early on. Create suspicion or suspense, maybe we know something's going to happen but we don't know how or when. Maybe they can have a relationship with a mentor that is affected by their clumsiness. Maybe even make them earn their survival throughout the journey just to get tragically cut off.* | hk24bbm | hk1yt2h | 1,636,546,006 | 1,636,542,060 | 32 | 20 | There's a book I really hate that I read years ago where the author ignored the whole idea of balance and made their characters very flawed, but also super annoying and whiny. It was a grimdark book, but it was so horribly written. The characters were just so annoying it was bothersome to read and I had to force myself to finish reading it. Because it is grimdark I think the writer wanted to make these deeply flawed and morally bad characters, but they forgot about making the characters well rounded or balanced, so the characters just end up feeling whiny and annoying. It was painful to read. Like visiting the dentist. | A good read and good points all around Personally I'm really enjoying having different characters handle their flaws in different ways, for example; in the book I'm writing there's a grand total of 4/5 characters (good ol' claustrophobic environments ey) and the sliding scale goes Character 1 - Flaw - Insecure about being in charge of the mission Flaw progression - Is eventually overruled by his subordinates for a series of rash decisions, this leads his facade to crack and eventually lays the groundwork for a heart to heart with the POV character, forming a lasting relationship Character 2 - Flaw - Optimistic to a delusional degree Flaw progression - Despite being the heart of the team and pretty universally loved, her obsession with the mission going smoothly results in her subconsciously ignoring early red flags and de-escalating a conflict they needed to happen Character 3 - Flaw - Depressed and lonely Flaw progression - Feels his life has little meaning, he's worked so hard his whole life he's not given himself time to form meaningful bonds, when he gets a chance to make a discovery that'd go down in history he becomes obsessed, crossing numerous ethical borders in order to validate all those isolating years of endless work Character 4 - Flaw - Good old jealousy Flaw progression - This one doesn't go too far as it actually gets him kinda "killed" in the first act, but it does have a brief spiral that intensifies a situation beyond what it should reasonably be, leading to the previously mentioned "death" Character 5 - Flaw - Anger Flaw progression - This final one only kinda counts as he's very background, think the Huston in "Houston we have a problem", still as the story goes he gets madder and madder at the situation which leads to some very poor decision making and a low-key implied destruction of earth (great job Richard) Flaws are some of my favourite parts of planning characters as they act as mini arcs that can bounce off one another, cause situations and lead to cascading spirals of shit just plain going wrong | 1 | 3,946 | 1.6 | ||
qqrl10 | writing_train | 0.93 | How to write a flawed character without… writing a flawed character. And why it's important. **The character has the flaws, the flaws don't have them.** Sometimes a character's flaws can be an advantage when your character rises above them, however the flaws should not define them as a person. If your character's flaws are so bad that they stop them from loving themselves or doing anything, it's a good opportunity to develop what puts them in that spot. If your character's flaws are so bad that you can't respect the good things about them, cut them some slack. Even villains have good traits, remember. Vice versa. **Another thing to keep in mind is that side characters can have flaws as well.** Side characters are not cardboard, especially the supporting characters. Characters can get jealous of each other, characters can get in the way of each other unintentionally, characters can cause problems for each other, and just like real life, it's definitely not okay. Characters can help each other and often people's entire lifestyles or personalities can change because of someone else. **Find your balance.** The purposes of flaws are to develop sympathy/empathy, help drive the plot, and build characters and worlds.** If your character’s flaws conjure pity instead of emotional connection, cut them some slack (unless the pity plays a role for a well-rounded character.). It’s okay and perfectly relatable for an OC to have flaws that aren’t relevant to the story, because these help humanize the characters, however the main focus should ideally be on flaws that affect the story, or the character's ability to get through the story. There is an exception for this: If you're doing a series or a memoir or another work that includes passage of time, it's nice to show some lore. Have a character cry to a TV show. Let a character have a bad night out. Even better if you can find ways to tie it into the story. **Flaws are important for character growth.** *A slip and fall can escalate to surgery. A food allergy can escalate to missing an important work day. An affair can lead to a pregnancy or a divorce that costs everything. A late night out can cause a car accident. But all these things could also give someone the love of their life or a spiritual awakening or a great idea for a new life.* And… *remember people do get tired of their flaws and are working everyday to get past them or help others.* **Flaw can contribute to a motive, but this comes with development.** *For example, a villain isn’t going to go out of their way to kill a princess for being pretty. Okay, maybe they will, but let's do some world building and character building. Is there a cultural standard, a threat brought on by the villain not being pretty? What makes a person ugly, what can be done? Is there a reward for being so pretty, a person to win over, a problem to avoid? And what's going to happen, does the villain have a flaw that will create another conflict to keep them from enjoying their reward, or maybe someone else has the flaw? **If they get something good from their flaw, and it's not out of manipulation, it's probably not a flaw.** *For instance, if your character's romantic interest finds them cute because of a trait they don't personally like or a trait that sets them apart from the other characters, find a way to make it less typical. Maybe the character has a meta flaw, maybe their flaw is the intention to be someone they're not in order to get love or it's to take advantage of something or their love interest. Maybe the character has gone through so much that they appreciate the partner's unconditional love, and there are some blanks to fill. Maybe the character has a flaw love interest doesn't like or a flaw that completely ruins everything. Maybe the love interest takes advantage of their flaw, went through a similar conflict that helps them understand, etc.* Some traits that are associated with being strengths can also be flaws, short or clumsy or dumb being synonymous with cute or submissive for example, and there are scenarios where people get appreciated for them, but in order to be flaws, they must somehow hinder the character or even go as far affect the characters motives in a bad way . For another instance, if you feel the need to portray these flaws as cute or defining, consider them strengths. Of course the exception to this is through a first person narrator, who's made it clear they love themselves a little too much or they really love that flawed person. **Avoid romanticizing, especially when it comes to health problems. Definitely do your research especially when it comes to health problems. I also recommend doing research to avoid tropes, or to avoid overdoing intentional ones.** **Flaws and world building goes hand in hand** In the real world, our flaws affect every aspect of our lives. We have devices, education, laws put into place that help us with large flaws that we cannot control so easily. If your story revolves around the real world, Please do your research. As for minor flaws, A lot of people are insecure because of how people are expected to look and act, and sometimes these flaws even affect our ability to function in our world. There are people who take advantage of other people because their flaws help them advance in their life. Your character has to go through something and if it's not one thing then it's another. Flaws can also consist of things a person has learned or gained or even lost because of experience. Society and family has a big impact. Another point I want to bring up. **No surprises.** Of course your OC is fleshed out along the course of the story and there's a lot of discovery, however flaws do not come and go unless there is an affecting force. Sometimes bad things do happen, but plot twists aren’t sudden. *Instead of making the sudden revelation that -oops, our character is so clumsy that the day is not saved because they fell for no reason-, you can establish their clumsiness early on. Create suspicion or suspense, maybe we know something's going to happen but we don't know how or when. Maybe they can have a relationship with a mentor that is affected by their clumsiness. Maybe even make them earn their survival throughout the journey just to get tragically cut off.* | hk371my | hk3je5m | 1,636,563,604 | 1,636,568,389 | 3 | 4 | Also remember cultural expectations and think about how much you want to conform or reject them. The ideal of a character growing out of a flaw, particularly through some crisis and threat, to find absolution/enlightenment and greatness is the basic structure of character arc of Christendom/The West, drawn from Christological ideas of ascendance. I think anime is popular enough that we've all seen compelling characters who don't follow that arc, but an even greater contrast is the stock protagonist of Yiddish literature is the schlemiel, who starts weak and ends weak. To quote an analysis of the stories non-Jews tell about the Shoah (in particular the focus on the first half of Anne Frank's diary, notably the victim diary that ended before the writer reached the camps and was edited to downplay the writer's Jewishness): >writes Horn in an essay which goes on to ponder why Frank’s diary became a best seller, because, she concludes, Anne’s experiences at Westerbork,Auschwitz and Belsen where she died, were not part of it, because her words of hope — her belief that “people are truly good at heart” —are considered inspirational, and offer absolution. “That gift of grace and absolution from a murdered Jew (exactly the gift that lies at the heart of Christianity) is what millions of people are so eager to find in Frank’s hiding place, in her writings, in her ‘legacy’. It is far more gratifying to believe that an innocent dead girl has offered us grace than to recognise the obvious: Frank wrote about people being ‘truly good at heart’ before meeting people who weren’t.” > >This Christian framework is so often imposed on Jewish stories, says Horn,the ‘sense of an ending’ identified by the literary critic Frank Kermode as reflecting religion’s way of giving meaning to life. By religion, of course he meant Christianity, the framework to so many of our expectations. This, says Horn, is not how Yiddish literature works. Often the power of a book lies in the lack of change and redemption, “the hero doesn’t learn anything, there is no moment of grace.” > >The same, she says, is true of modern Hebrew literature where often the narrator “goes nowhere and then hits a wall. There is no need of a resolution.” > >In contrast, she tells me about her favourite Israeli novel, Mr Mani writtenby A B Yehoshua, about five generations of a family with a suicidegene, a story which goes back in time to untie the origins of theself-destructive urge. “It’s a fantastic book,” she says, “which endswith a question.” Well there's a paragraph missing here because pasting text into Reddit is unreliable, but it wasn't particularly important. | This is a good post. My TLDR version is mostly having a character who isn't good at something, but trying to be better. And not have them get good at it as late as possible. And even when they get good at it, they still have a long way to go to be the best. And I throw in ways for them to get better at the expense of others, but refuses to. | 0 | 4,785 | 1.333333 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1ngayw | f1nfak1 | 1,569,616,589 | 1,569,615,911 | 47 | 5 | Men are just as emotional as women--it's more or less how they express themselves that differentiates them from women. (And this also tends to be a societal trait, too.) | Unless your story is set in a world similar to real life, there's nothing wrong with writing "soft" male characters. Nobody is going to challenge the culture of a fictional land. Anyway, aside from being a bit more strong, men tend to be more goal-oriented and less emotional than women. Like choosing to put down the family dog rather than spend two months worth or rent for the surgery to save them. Other than that though, everyone is capable of being anything. What matters is that the characters and the setting is consistent with each other. A masculine woman and a feminine man can exist, but is it weird or normal in the context of their society? Deciding the gender of a character is like deciding on their hair color: Does it matter? Because if it doesn't, it's just aesthetics if their gender doesn't affect their character or story. Do whatever. | 1 | 678 | 9.4 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nfak1 | f1nvau3 | 1,569,615,911 | 1,569,627,329 | 5 | 6 | Unless your story is set in a world similar to real life, there's nothing wrong with writing "soft" male characters. Nobody is going to challenge the culture of a fictional land. Anyway, aside from being a bit more strong, men tend to be more goal-oriented and less emotional than women. Like choosing to put down the family dog rather than spend two months worth or rent for the surgery to save them. Other than that though, everyone is capable of being anything. What matters is that the characters and the setting is consistent with each other. A masculine woman and a feminine man can exist, but is it weird or normal in the context of their society? Deciding the gender of a character is like deciding on their hair color: Does it matter? Because if it doesn't, it's just aesthetics if their gender doesn't affect their character or story. Do whatever. | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | 0 | 11,418 | 1.2 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nvau3 | f1nhtka | 1,569,627,329 | 1,569,617,609 | 6 | 4 | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | I would say that you should take extra time to fill out a character bio for the men in your stories - temperment, philosophies on life, the universe, and everything, etc. Man or woman, they're still a character of your creation - pick out attributes you want them to have and stick with them when considering how they would act to a particular situation, and then pepper in some idiosyncrasies to make them more human. I similarly have a difficult time writing from a female perspective, though I realized I side-stepped the issue by making most of my female characters non-human. Still feminine, but not human, so if they come off as unrealistic portrayals of a woman, I just shrug and say it's because "they're not from around here". As long as I stick to the rules of their respective planet and/or cultures, as well as their individual personality, all is well. EDIT: Oh, and I meant to say, avoid generalizing or comparing them to what you feel is the standard for men. Show, don't tell as well, but if you flat out state "Joe was more sensitive and in touch with his emotions than other guys" it pretty much gives away that you don't know how to write men, and opens you up to criticism. | 1 | 9,720 | 1.5 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nlnrz | f1nvau3 | 1,569,620,053 | 1,569,627,329 | 5 | 6 | Best take I ever heard on this is that imagine there is a problem like a car breaking down. A woman says to a man “why has the car broken down?” Man snaps and says “how should i know. Why do you always ask me impossible questions?” Now, the woman wasn’t actually expecting the man to tell her why the car had broken down, she wanted to talk about it - she wanted to connect with him, maybe share their worries and thoughts etc etc The man, however, thinks in terms of goals. “I am a man so I must fix this”. And when he can’t he gets angry as he looks unmanly. So my wife and I have a rule where when she asks me a question like that she has to start with “I wonder” - “I wonder why the car has broken down”. Then I don’t feel my entire masculinity is on the line and can say “I wonder too. Let’s go on a journey together to find out by looking at the repair manual.” Honestly, we are all just these simple creatures! | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | 0 | 7,276 | 1.2 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1ni30d | f1nvau3 | 1,569,617,786 | 1,569,627,329 | 3 | 6 | Men express anger and revulsion more openly, with fewer implications or passive aggression when slighted by another character. We make faster and bolder decisions, for better or worse. Exposition about our love related emotions are typically not shared with other people. | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | 0 | 9,543 | 2 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nj2ct | f1nvau3 | 1,569,618,418 | 1,569,627,329 | 3 | 6 | I think tuning down the metaphors isn't a bad idea if you're trying to write an "average" man (but the question is, will people want to read about an average man) but you don't need to completely "unsoften" him just because he's a man. Men feel emotions just like anybody else. If your character is a soft and gentle guy, that's perfectly alright. If he's butch and macho that's a perfectly alright character as well. If he experiences emotions very strongly but doesn't communicate them that's a perfectly alright character. Go with the character, not the genitalia. And apropos: Don't mention the penis unless he is about to have sex or about to have it chopped off. | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | 0 | 8,911 | 2 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nvau3 | f1nsho9 | 1,569,627,329 | 1,569,625,103 | 6 | 3 | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | It's worth looking into male socialization. Everyone knows men typically act more tough and macho, but statistically feel pain more than women and are more emotional too. Basically, take a girl, remove all the subservient and communication-building female socialization, give her a ton of power, and then add a fuck ton of responsibility, bullying, and piss poor guidance and you get a more typically masculine character, | 1 | 2,226 | 2 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nttn6 | f1nvau3 | 1,569,626,157 | 1,569,627,329 | 3 | 6 | I think you may have spoken to the emotions of your character too directly. Anger or disgust can be shown and written directly, but I think a lot of other emotions need to be written more indirectly and certainly not spoken of for the stereotypical masculine character. If you distance yourself in your narration and include more description of action being taken that might help. | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | 0 | 1,172 | 2 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nvau3 | f1ntwa9 | 1,569,627,329 | 1,569,626,216 | 6 | 2 | >Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? Why would you do that? Is that a thing? I've never heard of that varying by gender. I think the particular things a character chooses to focus on, and which thus receive more vivid description, and the types of metaphors they use are definitely informed by character and thus gender too. So to be super stereotypical, maybe your "average male character" won't get into a ton of detail about someone's outfit, but he might about a cool car he likes. And he might not readily use a cooking metaphor, but a sports metaphor might jump into his head. Again, that's just super stereotypical. Ideally you should determine what your individual character is interested in and the way he thinks. >I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. > >How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? As others have said, it depends on the guy, the culture, and the particular circumstances, but on a related note, one thing I've noticed that strikes me as unrealistic or immersion breaking as a reader, is when all/most/many of the male characters are portrayed as overly soft and emotional. I'll absolutely buy that the protagonist or one particular central male character happens to be a very affectionate, emotionally open person. That isn't unrealistic. I'll even sort of buy that maybe his best friend/brother/boyfriend or whoever is also like that because people often form relationships with people like them or it might be part of the "culture" of their family or friend group. What gets super unrealistic though is when all the guys are acting like that, including random dudes who've just entered the story or people who definitely *wouldn't* have a connection to that open, expressive "culture" that the MC and the guys close to him might. Like his co-workers, or the guy scanning his groceries -- why would *they* be like that too? I think the other big thing is determining what your character feels and thinks versus what he says and does. He might feel really bad for his sick friend and want to comfort him but not feel comfortable rubbing his back or taking care of him. He might want to break down and cry when something awful happens but feel like he has to hold it together and not show how upset he is. And of course as mentioned the context he's in and the people he's with will make a difference in how free he feels to express himself. Research indicates that on average divorce/major breakups take a heavier emotional toll on men than women and a major reason for that is that for a lot of guys their wives/girlfriends are the *only*, or one of the very few, people they feel able to be vulnerable and emotional around. So maybe your protagonist is like that too and he can express himself with his partner and maybe a select few others, but with the average person in his life he's much more closed off. Don't forget age either. If your character is a child/pre-teen, he'll probably express himself much more freely. By contrast male teenagers can be some of the most closed off people on the planet and might feel a constant need to assert their "masculinity" by not showing any emotion. On the other hand, a lot of guys get more emotionally open again as they get older and feel they have less to prove. | Men can be very emotional. It's just that we're conditioned to suppress expressing it as much as women do. It's why the "tough guy" stereotype exists. Men are also expected to be logical, straightforward, dependable providers. Imagine having the same emotions you do now, but having society ostracise you if you ever express them openly. Right or wrong, it leads to men in general internalizing pretty much most emotions they feel. It isn't that men don't have insecurities (we most certainly do), it's just that we are socialized to maintain a facade of strength and stability at all times. Testosterone is also a big influence as well. Men tend to be more aggressive and competitive. They also tend to be more stubborn and unwilling to cooperate with others. And any red-blooded male will lose his mind at the sight of a beautiful woman. It's just the way we're wired. But, like anyone, men can display both masculine and feminine traits. We are all individuals, after all. Unless you're writing something that specifically deals with "male-ness", I wouldn't worry too much about it. | 1 | 1,113 | 3 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nhtka | f1nvyvs | 1,569,617,609 | 1,569,627,851 | 4 | 5 | I would say that you should take extra time to fill out a character bio for the men in your stories - temperment, philosophies on life, the universe, and everything, etc. Man or woman, they're still a character of your creation - pick out attributes you want them to have and stick with them when considering how they would act to a particular situation, and then pepper in some idiosyncrasies to make them more human. I similarly have a difficult time writing from a female perspective, though I realized I side-stepped the issue by making most of my female characters non-human. Still feminine, but not human, so if they come off as unrealistic portrayals of a woman, I just shrug and say it's because "they're not from around here". As long as I stick to the rules of their respective planet and/or cultures, as well as their individual personality, all is well. EDIT: Oh, and I meant to say, avoid generalizing or comparing them to what you feel is the standard for men. Show, don't tell as well, but if you flat out state "Joe was more sensitive and in touch with his emotions than other guys" it pretty much gives away that you don't know how to write men, and opens you up to criticism. | I will take a somewhat dissenting opinion here, based on a quick read of what others have said. Here are some things I have observed not only in myself, but in my siblings, own children, nieces, nephews, and other extended family. Lest someone feel compelled to try to rebut, these are my own observations. I am making no claim that this applies to all men everywhere. If the bullet items below help /u/Carolineskj gain some insight, that's all I'm going for. (I'll refer to adolescent males and men as just "men" for brevity, and pre-adolescent males as "boys", likewise for "women" and "girls", just as a convenient shorthand and acknowledging that teenagers really aren't women and men.) Thus, in no particular order: - The boys in my life have been different from the girls in my life from an early age, even before they learned to talk, but they really diverge during adolescence. - The men generally take longer to process emotions in general and negative emotions in particular than do the women. We are talking several minutes to hours versus seconds. - Related to this, the men in particular seem to experience more clearly defined emotions that last longer (and hence take longer to pass). There are clear exceptions to this. - The men and boys generally care less about the actions of others unless they perceive them to be unfair or threatening. It might be more accurate to say they don't seem to perceive the actions of others much at all. - The men in my life generally talk less and tend to talk more about concepts, while the women in my life talk a great deal more and generally about the people in their lives. - I have noticed that if a man and a woman are talking and the subject turns to people, more often than not, the man is just being a polite listener. There are exceptions, of course. - Emotional expression in boys is tolerated far less than it is among girls, *especially* by girls and women. - The men in my life tend to think about a narrow range of subjects deeply, where the women tend to think about a broader range of subjects. - Most of the men in my life do much better with being alone than the women, but I can think of several exceptions. - Most of the men in my life spend far less time thinking about their feelings toward the women in their lives than fiction written by women would suggest. - The men tend to partition aspects of their lives off more than the women do. For example, the men in my life are far less likely to discuss friends and family around coworkers. To reiterate, these are my own observations about a small set of people in a particular culture. Whether or not this can be generalized, I can't say. | 0 | 10,242 | 1.25 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nhtka | f1nlnrz | 1,569,617,609 | 1,569,620,053 | 4 | 5 | I would say that you should take extra time to fill out a character bio for the men in your stories - temperment, philosophies on life, the universe, and everything, etc. Man or woman, they're still a character of your creation - pick out attributes you want them to have and stick with them when considering how they would act to a particular situation, and then pepper in some idiosyncrasies to make them more human. I similarly have a difficult time writing from a female perspective, though I realized I side-stepped the issue by making most of my female characters non-human. Still feminine, but not human, so if they come off as unrealistic portrayals of a woman, I just shrug and say it's because "they're not from around here". As long as I stick to the rules of their respective planet and/or cultures, as well as their individual personality, all is well. EDIT: Oh, and I meant to say, avoid generalizing or comparing them to what you feel is the standard for men. Show, don't tell as well, but if you flat out state "Joe was more sensitive and in touch with his emotions than other guys" it pretty much gives away that you don't know how to write men, and opens you up to criticism. | Best take I ever heard on this is that imagine there is a problem like a car breaking down. A woman says to a man “why has the car broken down?” Man snaps and says “how should i know. Why do you always ask me impossible questions?” Now, the woman wasn’t actually expecting the man to tell her why the car had broken down, she wanted to talk about it - she wanted to connect with him, maybe share their worries and thoughts etc etc The man, however, thinks in terms of goals. “I am a man so I must fix this”. And when he can’t he gets angry as he looks unmanly. So my wife and I have a rule where when she asks me a question like that she has to start with “I wonder” - “I wonder why the car has broken down”. Then I don’t feel my entire masculinity is on the line and can say “I wonder too. Let’s go on a journey together to find out by looking at the repair manual.” Honestly, we are all just these simple creatures! | 0 | 2,444 | 1.25 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nvto3 | f1nhtka | 1,569,627,740 | 1,569,617,609 | 5 | 4 | > I always end up writing them too emotional, How do you know that if you have no close male acquaintances? | I would say that you should take extra time to fill out a character bio for the men in your stories - temperment, philosophies on life, the universe, and everything, etc. Man or woman, they're still a character of your creation - pick out attributes you want them to have and stick with them when considering how they would act to a particular situation, and then pepper in some idiosyncrasies to make them more human. I similarly have a difficult time writing from a female perspective, though I realized I side-stepped the issue by making most of my female characters non-human. Still feminine, but not human, so if they come off as unrealistic portrayals of a woman, I just shrug and say it's because "they're not from around here". As long as I stick to the rules of their respective planet and/or cultures, as well as their individual personality, all is well. EDIT: Oh, and I meant to say, avoid generalizing or comparing them to what you feel is the standard for men. Show, don't tell as well, but if you flat out state "Joe was more sensitive and in touch with his emotions than other guys" it pretty much gives away that you don't know how to write men, and opens you up to criticism. | 1 | 10,131 | 1.25 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1ni30d | f1nvyvs | 1,569,617,786 | 1,569,627,851 | 3 | 5 | Men express anger and revulsion more openly, with fewer implications or passive aggression when slighted by another character. We make faster and bolder decisions, for better or worse. Exposition about our love related emotions are typically not shared with other people. | I will take a somewhat dissenting opinion here, based on a quick read of what others have said. Here are some things I have observed not only in myself, but in my siblings, own children, nieces, nephews, and other extended family. Lest someone feel compelled to try to rebut, these are my own observations. I am making no claim that this applies to all men everywhere. If the bullet items below help /u/Carolineskj gain some insight, that's all I'm going for. (I'll refer to adolescent males and men as just "men" for brevity, and pre-adolescent males as "boys", likewise for "women" and "girls", just as a convenient shorthand and acknowledging that teenagers really aren't women and men.) Thus, in no particular order: - The boys in my life have been different from the girls in my life from an early age, even before they learned to talk, but they really diverge during adolescence. - The men generally take longer to process emotions in general and negative emotions in particular than do the women. We are talking several minutes to hours versus seconds. - Related to this, the men in particular seem to experience more clearly defined emotions that last longer (and hence take longer to pass). There are clear exceptions to this. - The men and boys generally care less about the actions of others unless they perceive them to be unfair or threatening. It might be more accurate to say they don't seem to perceive the actions of others much at all. - The men in my life generally talk less and tend to talk more about concepts, while the women in my life talk a great deal more and generally about the people in their lives. - I have noticed that if a man and a woman are talking and the subject turns to people, more often than not, the man is just being a polite listener. There are exceptions, of course. - Emotional expression in boys is tolerated far less than it is among girls, *especially* by girls and women. - The men in my life tend to think about a narrow range of subjects deeply, where the women tend to think about a broader range of subjects. - Most of the men in my life do much better with being alone than the women, but I can think of several exceptions. - Most of the men in my life spend far less time thinking about their feelings toward the women in their lives than fiction written by women would suggest. - The men tend to partition aspects of their lives off more than the women do. For example, the men in my life are far less likely to discuss friends and family around coworkers. To reiterate, these are my own observations about a small set of people in a particular culture. Whether or not this can be generalized, I can't say. | 0 | 10,065 | 1.666667 | ||
da5tcu | writing_train | 0.69 | How do you write in a male character's pov? I'm a female, got only female siblings, come from an all girls school, and got no male close friends, so you can guess how hard it is for me to write in a male’s pov. I haven't read much in their povs either (other than the Maze Runner series, and The Prisoner of Zenda), but while reading more of that will help me in the long run, I'm currently short on time with an update schedule. Any tips on how to write in their povs? I always end up writing them too emotional, especially when I try to describe their loving or sad emotions. How do I write their emotions in a way that's not too "soft", so that it's a bit more accurate? Also, should I write less metaphors and descriptive paragraphs when in my male character's pov? | f1nvyvs | f1nj2ct | 1,569,627,851 | 1,569,618,418 | 5 | 3 | I will take a somewhat dissenting opinion here, based on a quick read of what others have said. Here are some things I have observed not only in myself, but in my siblings, own children, nieces, nephews, and other extended family. Lest someone feel compelled to try to rebut, these are my own observations. I am making no claim that this applies to all men everywhere. If the bullet items below help /u/Carolineskj gain some insight, that's all I'm going for. (I'll refer to adolescent males and men as just "men" for brevity, and pre-adolescent males as "boys", likewise for "women" and "girls", just as a convenient shorthand and acknowledging that teenagers really aren't women and men.) Thus, in no particular order: - The boys in my life have been different from the girls in my life from an early age, even before they learned to talk, but they really diverge during adolescence. - The men generally take longer to process emotions in general and negative emotions in particular than do the women. We are talking several minutes to hours versus seconds. - Related to this, the men in particular seem to experience more clearly defined emotions that last longer (and hence take longer to pass). There are clear exceptions to this. - The men and boys generally care less about the actions of others unless they perceive them to be unfair or threatening. It might be more accurate to say they don't seem to perceive the actions of others much at all. - The men in my life generally talk less and tend to talk more about concepts, while the women in my life talk a great deal more and generally about the people in their lives. - I have noticed that if a man and a woman are talking and the subject turns to people, more often than not, the man is just being a polite listener. There are exceptions, of course. - Emotional expression in boys is tolerated far less than it is among girls, *especially* by girls and women. - The men in my life tend to think about a narrow range of subjects deeply, where the women tend to think about a broader range of subjects. - Most of the men in my life do much better with being alone than the women, but I can think of several exceptions. - Most of the men in my life spend far less time thinking about their feelings toward the women in their lives than fiction written by women would suggest. - The men tend to partition aspects of their lives off more than the women do. For example, the men in my life are far less likely to discuss friends and family around coworkers. To reiterate, these are my own observations about a small set of people in a particular culture. Whether or not this can be generalized, I can't say. | I think tuning down the metaphors isn't a bad idea if you're trying to write an "average" man (but the question is, will people want to read about an average man) but you don't need to completely "unsoften" him just because he's a man. Men feel emotions just like anybody else. If your character is a soft and gentle guy, that's perfectly alright. If he's butch and macho that's a perfectly alright character as well. If he experiences emotions very strongly but doesn't communicate them that's a perfectly alright character. Go with the character, not the genitalia. And apropos: Don't mention the penis unless he is about to have sex or about to have it chopped off. | 1 | 9,433 | 1.666667 |
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