i have just stumbled upon the most beautiful public document i have ever laid eyes on. this also goes for anyone whose pastimes include any sort of character creation. may i present, the HOLY GRAIL:
https://www.fbiic.gov/public/2008/nov/Naming_practice_guide_UK_2006.pdf
this wonderful 88-page piece has step by step breakdowns of how names work in different cultures! i needed to know how to name a Muslim character it has already helped me SO MUCH and i’ve known about it for all of 15 minutes!! i am thoroughly amazed and i just needed to share with you guys
Embarrass your protagonist. Make them seem weak and vulnerable in some way.
Shoot someone. That always takes the reader by surprise.
In relation, kidnap someone. Or, rather, make it seem to your protagonist like someone has been kidnapped.
Have one of your side characters disappear or become unavailable for some reason. This will frustrate your protagonist.
Have someone kiss the wrong girl, boy, or person, especially if you’ve been setting up a romance angle. It’s annoying.
If this story involves parents, have them argue. Push the threat of divorce, even if you know it won’t ever happen. It’ll make your readers nervous.
Have someone frame your protagonist for a crime they didn’t commit. This could range from a dispute to a minor crime to a full-blown felony.
If this is a fantasy story involving magic or witchcraft, create a terrible accident that’s a direct result of their spell-casting.
Injure your protagonist in some way, or push them into a treacherous scenario where they might not make it out alive.
Have two side characters who are both close to the protagonist get into a literal fist-fight. This creates tension for the reader, especially if these characters are well-developed, because they won’t know who to root for.
Make your protagonist get lost somewhere (at night in the middle of town, in the woods, in someone else’s house, etc.)
Involve a murder. It can be as in-depth and as important as you want it to be.
Introduce a new character that seems to prey on your protagonist’s flaws and bring them out to light.
If it’s in-character, have one of your characters get drunk or take drugs. Show the fallout of that decision through your protagonist.
Spread a rumor about your protagonist.
If your protagonist is in high-school, create drama in the school atmosphere. A death of a student, even if your protagonist didn’t know them personally, changes the vibe.
If your story involves children, have one of them do something dangerous (touch a hot stove, run out into the road, etc.) and show how the protagonist responds to this, even if the child isn’t related to them.
In a fantasy story, toss out the idea of a rebellion or war between clans or villages (or whatever units you are working with).
Add a scenario where your protagonist has to make a choice. We all have watched movies where we have screamed don’t go in there! at the top of our lungs at the main character. Make them go in there.
Have your protagonist find something, even if they don’t understand the importance of it yet. A key, a document, an old stuffed animal, etc.
Foreshadow later events in some way. (Need help? Ask me!)
Have your protagonist get involved in some sort of verbal altercation with someone else, even if they weren’t the one who started it.
Let your protagonist get sick. No, but really, this happens in real life all the time and it’s rarely ever talked about in literature, unless it’s at its extremes. It could range from a common cold to pneumonia. Maybe they end up in the hospital because of it. Maybe they are unable to do that one thing (whatever that may be) because of it.
Have someone unexpected knock on your protagonist’s door.
Introduce a character that takes immediate interest in your protagonist’s past, which might trigger a flashback.
Have your protagonist try to hide something from someone else and fail.
Formulate some sort of argument or dispute between your protagonist and their love interest to push them apart.
Have your protagonist lose something of great value in their house and show their struggle to find it. This will frustrate the reader just as much as the protagonist.
Create a situation where your protagonist needs to sneak out in the middle of the night for some reason.
Prevent your character from getting home or to an important destination in some way (a car accident, a bad storm, flat tire, running out of gas, etc.)
Y’know that one scene in A Servant of Two Masters where Merlin tells Leon he’s off to kill the king and Leon just laughs
What if Merlin realises how much power that actually has and just starts telling Leon the truth instead of coming up with excuses
Like
Leon: Hey Merlin, where are you off to?
Merlin: Just going to fight a gryphon!
Leon: ha! Have fun!
Or
Leon: Merlin, why do you have highly illegal poison?
Merlin: it’s only poison mixed with alcohol, otherwise it’s just great sidhe repellent!
Leon, chuckling fondly: Alright, as you were then.
Or
Leon: Merlin! Where were you?
Merlin: nowhere interesting, just practicing sorcery.
And Leon believes he’s just keeping the gag going every time.
Which also makes the poetry scene so much better because Leon is used to Merlin being funny, never giving proper excuses and joking about high treason crimes.
So when Merlin is so flustered that he blurts out poetry, the only possible explanation can be that something Merthur is happening and Leon wants no part in it.
It also got me thinking about post Camlan when Merlin and Arthur get back to Camelot (I’m in denial, shut up) when Leon finds out Merlin has magic.
He waits at the gates for Merlin with his arms folded looking like a disappointed mother, then Merlin stops and realises every one of his “excuses” came back to bite him in the arse.
Until Leon has to explain to Arthur that he’s known Merlin is a sorcerer for a while now, but always thought it was a joke because “it’s Merlin”
Merlin: in my defence, I never lied.
Leon: you confessed to multiple crimes!
Merlin: you let me get away with them!
Arthur: huh?
Leon: Sire, I can explain.
Merlin: can you?
Leon: can you?!
I’m tempted to turn this into a fanfic if anyone would want to read it
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you're welcome
Sir Gwaine (2) | BBC Merlin + Textposts/Tweets (19/?)
this is so mean but sometimes i see published writing and suddenly no longer feel insecure about my own writing ability. like well okay that got published so im guessing i dont have much to worry about
Jude in TCP was something else. Imagine poisoning yourself on the daily, still doing physically challenging missions while balancing the mental load of being bullied and harboring a secret life, sleep depriving yourself and STILL attending daily family dinners and classes.
I made these as a way to compile all the geographical vocabulary that I thought was useful and interesting for writers. Some descriptors share categories, and some are simplified, but for the most part everything is in its proper place. Not all the words are as useable as others, and some might take tricky wording to pull off, but I hope these prove useful to all you writers out there!
(save the images to zoom in on the pics)
📚read this year: 56 | currently reading: The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim
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