The 100 Writing Tips

1 ☢ Original Characters

1 ☢ Original Characters

These days' original characters [OC's] are very popular. Whether they are some fearless grounder who falls in love with Bellamy Blake, or a fugitive from the drop ship who falls in love with Jasper, they are everywhere.

Original characters are characters who were originally not in the story line but have been added by authors as the main character.

So, due to the huge popularity, we have decided to give you some tips on writing original characters.

i. Make your characters realistic

Ok, so we may have read some books with some awesome characters who can handle knife with ease and throw a sword with complete precision. But these characters are not realistic unless they have a flaw.

Your character may be the strongest warrior, but would a really strong warrior fall for a Sky Person? Rarely. So what you need to do is make your characters have flaws.

Everyone is afraid of something. Remember that. Even something as little as spiders, or as genuine as water. If they were on the drop ship, they could well be afraid of water because they've never seen so much of it in one place before.

ii. Don't make your characters look like Victoria's Secret models!

I know that this isn't every fanfic, but somehow all original characters magically seem to be as stunning as a super model. I get that people want pretty main characters, but the chance of being a model is something like 1 in a million.

So again, give them a flaw. Are their eyes too big? Are they pale (and hate it)? Also, the original 100 are dumped on the ground with little resources, so please remember that they all look quite wild.

My main character, Falcon, is referred to as pretty, but I have made her different by having red hair and amber eyes instead of blonde hair and blue eyes.

iii. Do not make them cliché

This is for the storyline as well. Please do not make you original character fall in love with the love interest (e.g. Bellamy Blake) as soon as they meet. This just makes the readers bored at times. Yes we all love a cute relationship, but a relationship where they're constantly fighting and then get together is more realistic and much more entertaining for readers.

iv. Give them a unique background and back story

A classic is where the OC is best friends with Clarke, which is fine, but it's more interesting if they're best friends with someone like Monty to begin with, or even Raven.

For the back story, make them unique (like it states above). Not everyone can be a thief. Try and make the way they got caught special. Were they stealing for a friend? Were they caught space walking?

For the OC's background, you can be as creative as you want. For example, Falcon is the daughter of an arms dealer. Yours could be a nurse who trained along side Clarke, or even a farmers girl who has to look after the livestock - until they all died out (there were livestock in the book). So in other words, make them interesting. Make them someone you'd want to read about.

v. Let your character develop as you write

Not everyone is immediately brave. So at the beginning, make them slightly afraid or weak, and slowly build up their confidence as they begin to understand the world around them.

If you're writing about a grounder warrior, this doesn't apply to you as much, but make sure that she develops somewhat in the storyline. Perhaps at the beginning of the novel she was scared of Lexa, but at the end she has the guts to face her because she has built her confidence throughout the book.

vi. Your character should have their own opinions

Just because they're surrounded by Clarke and Bellamy, it doesn't mean that they should be swayed by Clarke saying that Jaha is a good man, and then immediately agreeing. If they hate Jaha for whatever reason, then they hate Jaha. Just imagine your character as yourself and write how you would react. Would you really say you love someone when you actually hate them, just to appear to be agreeing with them? I wouldn't.

vii. Make them develop relationships with others

You don't like everyone that you meet, so why should your OC? If you're writing a Bellamy Blake fanfic, they could hate each other at first, but a series of dramatic events brings them together. This is much more interesting for the reader. It's boring if your OC gets along with everyone. Let's admit it, we all hate/dislike someone out there, so use those feelings to write how your OC thinks and feels about a certain person.

viii. Make them different!

Like the backstory and everything else before, your main character must differ from the rest in some way. Nobody is the same, so don't write as if your OC is the same as everyone other delinquent or grounder. This makes your story boring.

For example, Falcon in Sacrifice is different because she was a twin (mother got floated, sister died), but this sets her apart. [NOTE: do not make them siblings to anyone else. Bellamy and Octavia are the only siblings, and they failed to keep Octavia hidden and she was beneath the floor. Making your character have a sibling that is still alive is not realistic].

Maybe your character is the daughter/son of a guard who knows basic combat skills? Maybe they could be part of the black market and sell illegals goods for a living. Or maybe even the child of a stall at The Exchange, who was framed for stealing?

Grounder wise, they could be stuck in Mount Weather but they are determined to get out to look after their sibling/family [and bumps into love interest]. Maybe they could be an outcast who killed a murderer to avenge her father.

And finally, to be completely unique, your OC could be someone who lives in Mount Weather and decides to help the remaining of the 100 [they would get a marrow transplant, or genetically be immune to the radiation].

The possibilities are endless! So let your imagination run wild.

That's all for now, but I hope that those tips helped. Feel free to ask for tips.

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~The Admins