(uses The “make Your Character Say Something While Not Actually Saying It” Writing Advice I Saw On

It appears I am afraid of my success, the supposed inevitability of it. A piece of me finds comfort in the version of myself that settles into practicality. Why must I grow to achieve?

- @annetries-towrite

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“When I first met her, I knew in a moment I would have to spend the next few days re-arranging my mind so there’d be room for her to stay.”

— Brian Andreas

I'm afraid if I go too far, I'll circle back to your name. It will be then that I must confront the intensity underneath my anger. Until then, I shall sit still and watch the world move on without me.

- @annetries-towrite

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“Also, I’m angry. I know life is hard, I think everyone knows that in their hearts, but why does it have to be cruel, as well? Why does it have to bite?”

— Stephen King, 11/22/63

Characters Types

Protagonist: 

The Protagonist is the main character of your story. They are the most mentioned, the one who drives the plot, the one the readers will be paying most of their attention to. Generally, there is only one, but there can be more than one protagonist in a story. 

Antagonist:  

The Antagonist is the character that goes against the Protagonist. An Antagonist doesn’t have to be a person, necessarily. It can be a group of people, society, nature, et cetera. They don’t even have to be evil, they just need to go against the Protagonist’s motives.  

Villain:

Both the Villain and the Antagonist are opponents of the Protagonist. Though, the main difference is the Villain has bad intentions. They are evil.

Dynamic Character:

A Dynamic Character is the person who undergoes a change throughout the story, whether it be good or bad. The character’s motives or morals are different than they were in the beginning. The change is normally permanent.

Flat or Static Character:

A Flat or Static Character is the opposite of a Dynamic Character, hardly experiencing any changes throughout the story, if at all. Generally, the reader doesn’t know much about this character. 

If you have any questions regarding character types, or feel as though I’ve missed something, feel free to let me know!

Character Development

When developing a character, I choose the role I want my character to play, then decide how I could make it realistic.

Take my character Remi Wolf, for example. Remi is always in the center of chaos, and she is aware of it. To save herself an emotional breakdown, she plans ahead. Some would call it being prepared, but when her doing it affects her everyday life, it slowly starts to be an anxiety disorder.

There are ways to portray Remi’s anxiety without saying she has anxiety, such as giving her noise cancelling headphones. Since she has been around chaos most of her life, she may be sensitive to noise. Remi could wear these in a classroom, in the cafeteria, et cetera.

As tedious as this task may be, putting a reason behind the tiniest detail not only helps the development of the character make sense, but it humanizes the character in a way where the reader can relate to them.

(Tip: Everybody gets anxious, but if it’s to the point where your anxiousness is affecting how you perform everyday tasks, talk to someone about it. Preferably, a doctor of some sort, but it helps to talk to your peers.)

If you have any questions regarding character development, or feel as though I’ve missed something, feel free to let me know!

what does your writing process look like?

sometimes, sentences sit in my google docs for months before I decide to revise and post. other times, I just log on and write how I feel and post it immediately. basically, it's incredibly chaotic, but it works😂

I don't like when able-bodied people refer to disabled people in positions of power and they say something along the lines of "this person has a disability, but they still can do this" or "this person may be disabled, but they never let that stop them". Like, I understand that people have good intentions when they say that, but phrasing it like that enforces the narrative that people with disabilities need to live in spite of what makes them "different" and they don't have to. Of course, everyone's experience is different, but I live alongside my disability and I'm not ashamed of that.

"Your disability doesn't define you" Okay but what if it does? What if my disability is inherently entangled in who I am and how I experience my life? Would that dehumanize me in your eyes? Because then that's a you problem you shouldn't project onto me

Whenever I feel envious of other people's work, I try to remind myself that where I see beauty, they may be overwhelmed with insecurity. This just goes to show that the part of my writing I'm insecure about, how monotonous I can be, can blind me from seeing myself the way others see me.

My advice, if you're open to receiving it, is you cannot control your emotions, so they are not an indicator of how good of a person you are. Allow yourself to feel, but don't let envy or guilt dictate your life.

For what it's worth, I find your writing so interesting! The way that I've seen you talk about love and friendship is incredible, and I envy how expressive and cohesive your writing is. Keep feeling and keep going, my guy :)

Today, I felt envious.

I don't know how to explain the guilt that comes with feeling envy, it's maybe one of the worst emotions.

You see all these poets whose work is better than yours, whether it be better worded, better written, more meaningful, etc etc... and you think: "Why can't I write like that? What am I doing wrong?"

I've often felt the topics I write about are frivolous. Most of my poetry speaks of love, or friendship, or what small things mean to me. I am not writing of my pain.

I think this is something very common amongst poets. We kinda feel as though we must write of anguish, that you have to feel drained every time you finish writing a poem to actually have something be meaningful.

I've struggled with this a lot recently. Feelings of jealousy or envy, insecurity about my work, second thoughts on if writing is really worth it, all that stuff.

I don't really have advice to give about what to do when you feel this way, as I haven't figured it out myself.

As writers, tell me what you do when you feel this way, or just tell me about a time you've felt like this, or tell me of your insecurities about your work.

And i know it is a silly reason and many people like me do end up surviving but those "people like me" are barely thriving, barely breathing because there is no other way, because they havent caught a deadly disease yet, because killing yourself is a disgrace, because they had a responsibility to bear they didnt ask for but was born for.

And yes my very self cant end my own life too because the hope strangles my throat, loosening its grip just to let me breathe oxygen enough to survive, so ironic how the very "hope" which is keeping me alive will eventually be the murderer of what I visualised myself to be, living but not living enough, yet I have no choice but to keep breathing, because that is what my body knows to do, but this conscience demands meaning, humanity, and this heart can beat if it is supplied with love, affection and appreciation.