Hiii
Disclaimer: I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON WRITING, IVE ONLY BEEN DOING THIS FOR 3 MONTHS
Disclaimer 2: You don't have to abide by everything in here, this is just advice and tips
Here's some advice, I hope this helps y'all out ;)
1. Character Development
Your characters need to be flawed. I write characters with problems such as;
- Molten has trouble managing his anger, which makes people avoid him
- Frost Spirit has crippling anxiety which makes her too scared to pursue relationships
- Umbra gets jealous and territorial which prevents her friends from having friendships with anyone besides her
- Penumbras is afraid of being abandoned by his friends
Get what I'm saying?
Obviously your characters must develop throughout the story, improving themselves with progression of the story.
- Molten learns to control his temper and no longer makes people avoid him.
- Frost Spirit learns to talk to people about her anxieties and manages to be more confident.
- Umbra learns to recognize how destructive her jealousy is.
- Penumbras overcomes his fear by facing it head on.
Characters can also change their mindset.
- Gunslinger believes that money is everything thing in life
- Later in the story, he realizes that there is more to life than just money
- Learns to appreciate the small things in life such as relationships
Characters change NEED TO BE BELIEVABLE. A shy person shouldn't be extremely social after changing.
Example:
(Jaxe is mean person)
Jaxe wants to destroy Swamp Monsters house because he wants to build a swimming pool.
He realizes that Swamp Monster is a good guy and that what he is doing is wrong
"I decided your house is lame, I'm building my swimming pool somewhere else."
^^^ that's more believable for a mean person to do rather than "I'm sorry I was so mean!!!2"
2. Creating Characters
Creating characters is hard, so I made a format for you guys to help you out. Feel free to copy and paste this to help you organize them.
(Delete the definitions)
Weakness:
Need:
Desire:
Enemy:
Bonus traits (optional)
Secrets:
Passion:
Fear:
Thought Process:
If they are a Villain
Speciality:
Redeeming quality:
3. Character Abilites
Don't make your characters crazy op. They need to have a weakness or they won't be believable or liked.
If they are very physically powerful, make them very mentally, emotionally or spiritually weak.
4. Inspiration
It's very hard to come up with ideas for a Ship, Story or anything! I got some useful tips.
Watch Animated Movies/shows or listen to music! (Not restricted to animation)
Hear me out. Animated movies and shows have a lot to take from. They might seem dumb on the outside, but they have deep meaning.
My story - "Gold Titan's grand return" takes heavy inspiration from
- Spinel from the Steven universe movie
- Rasputin from Anastasia (in the dark of the night song)
- Darth Maul from Star Wars the clone wars
- The Collector from Owl House
If you ever feel uninspired, watch some movies, shows or listen to some music.
OH AND ALSO don't plagiarize.
5. Villains & Antagonists
Who doesn't love a villain? Now remember, Villains and Antagonists are completely different things. A villain is someone whose evil actions keep the plot moving.
An Antagonist is someone who is opposed to the protagonist.
Villains can have sad backstories. They could be orphaned, bullied, scarred, afraid or manipulated.
Villains don't have to be tragic. They can be evil bastards for no reason. Good examples are;
- Jack Horner (Puss in Boots 2)
- Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2)
{Side Note: I NEED A HERO FUCKING SLAPS SO HARD}
- Lord Farquad (Shrek 1)
If you are going for sad backstory villain, try using these notes:
How they act outside of Villainy
How they treat different people/groups
Give 'em fears or doubts. One moment of vulnerability can change everything.
Changes path throughout the story (unless your villain isn't going to be redeemed)
Monologues are corny
Actions speak louder than words
Make Hero's just as compelling as the Villain
6. Oneshots
Who doesn't love shipping Lego game characters? Now anyway, here's a section dedicated to writing oneshots.
Characters need to form attachments. They can't just love eachother for no reason. They need to bond with eachother. It will make your story feel more relatable to the reader.
Obviously, they can be complete opposites. Example:
- Lunar is a cautious Moon Titan who looks before she leaps
- Solar is a hot-headed Sun Titan who fights first and forgets to ask questions later
Lunar and Solar are rivals. After a bad fight they had, Lunar ran away from the Castle. Solar pursued her and they talked. They talked about why they were mean to each other. They discover that they're mean to each other because have a crush on one another but don't know how to express it.
7. NSFW
Having trouble writing smut? Same here. It takes me nearly a week to write proper smut. Even then, I'm not proud of how it turns out. If you don't feel comfortable writing smut, do something else.
If you do want to write smut, write when you feel horny. Helps a lot for me (idk if that's a bad thing)
8. Comedy & Tragedy
Every story could use some happy and sad parts!
Remember to insert comedy at appropriate times. A character shouldn't be cracking a joke at a funeral.
If your story is sad then use this tip. Don't tell us if it's sad or not.
Characters should express how discontent they are. A character could show us how he's sad by having a breakdown.
Don't use too much dialogue as well. Actions speak louder than words.
9. Dialogue
Don't make your dialogue bland. Make it fun! Here let me give you an example.
Dialogue #1: "Oh, Hello Fallen King."
Dialogue #2: "What's up Fallen!"
#2 sounds more lifelike and alive.
10. Vocab
Spice up your Vocab. Use different words instead of the same old stuff.
Generic word: "U-Uh, Mistress, please put your dick away." Penumbras said
"U-Uh, Mistress, please put your dick away." Penumbras spluttered out
This doesn't mean you can't use words like "Said". Just don't use them all the time!
11. Theme
Stories should have a theme that the reader can learn from. This applies to oneshots too! You can take a lot from a story.
12. Create what you like
Don't let people change your story. This is your work of art. If you like something in your story, you keep it, Even if people don't like it.
13. Keep Moving Forward
Biggest problem I see writers suffer is that they give up when they don't have/get a lot of views on their story.
If your wattpad story isn't getting a lot of reads, favorites or comments, keep writing.
I remember when this book had 6 total reads after I posted 4 stories. I didn't beat myself up over it, I kept posting. I loved what I was creating and I kept going!
You'll improve overtime. My stories used to be SO BAD AND CRINGE. Don't believe me? This is from December 11th:
Sitting atop a lonely hill overlooking the center was scout. Commander had put him on a Scouting mission trying to see why the titans stopped fighting. He was bored out of his mind.
- "Commander is such an asshole, the Titans seem to be enjoying the day unlike Commander! In fact, commander never learns to enjoy himself. " He thought to himself.
Scout turned to look at the sky, a black cloud had emerged from thin air. One turned to two, three, four, five and it kept going on. Scout knew something was up, it didn't look like the Titans were responsible though.
Sinister turned their head towards the Sky and saw that hundreds of black clouds had covered the sun, the sky was pitch black.
- "uh frost, I might not be the brightest, but I don't think the Sky is supposed to be black."
Frost turned to the sky and looked confused.
- "What the hell?"
Still don't believe me? This was a Umbra x Penumbras story that I made nearly 2 months ago.
(WARNING: SUICIDE)
"What was the point? I have no purpose here..."
said Penumbras in a saddened Tone
"Im a joke, a laughing stock...!" As he finished tying the rope.
"I serve no purpose than to do her bidding. My life is trapped, there's only one escape...!"
I serve someone who seems to have no connection to me, no affection! Maybe this fate will be better than dying on a wrecked battlefield, void of life and beauty."
As he finished tying the rope to the ceiling, he dragged a stool out of his closet.
Umbra's Perspective:
Something is wrong when Penumbras doesn't respond to her calling him. Either something is wrong or Penumbras forgot his place. "He thinks he can start ignoring her?!?!" She angerily thought to herself.
She dreaded going to his room. Not because it was messy or anything bad but it was small. Despite the numerous offers She gave Him he refuses to move rooms to a larger one. It slightly saddened her, if anyone deserves anything, he deserved the most in her eyes. Not those other 2 buffoons.
As she approached his room she knew what she was going to see. A small desk, a mattress on the floor with barely anything on it, a shelf, a lonely armor stand and a closet. Surprisingly the closet was larger than his whole room. And somewhere in that room she would find him.
What she didn't expect to see in there was a rope hanging from the ceiling with her head knight standing on a stool. He stared at her in panic while she quickly tackled him incase he tried anything quick. the 2 rolled into the closet.
"Uhhhh...I can explain Mi-" Penumbras was cut off
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!! The larger woman shouted at him
"ITS NOT WHAT YOU THI-" Penumbras was cut off again
"I know EXACTLY what you were going to do. DO YOU THINK I AM IDIOT, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!"
Penumbras just stared at her bright yellow eyes, the only thing he could see in the dark room. He couldn't respond, he was just overtaken with emotion. He didn't want to look weak and cry, he was strong! But he inevitably capitulated. He felt like huddling into a ball and cover his face.
She was absolutely shocked. She had known this person almost her whole life and never did she see him shed a tear once. He was always stiff and stern. It felt weird to see him crack.
She hated seeing her Head Knight like this. She tried to make him feel better.
"H-hey don't cry. I'm sorry I yelled at you." she whispered softly.
He continued to sob. She was never comfortable with dealing with others emotions.
^^^ this was never finished but they were supposed to kiss and fall asleep together but that didn't end up happening
That story was really bad and don't tell me it's good
I PROMISE YOU'LL IMPROVE IF YOU KEEP TRYING!
14. Take care of yourself
Don't be like me who spends so much time writing. Do writing as a side-hobby. Take good care of yourself, focus on school, friends, work and staying healthy!
I don't feel like adding anything else so I you have a question just comment it.
Hope this was helpful to y'all, I'm so excited to see what you guys create!
V