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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: とんがり帽子のアトリエ | Tongari Boushi no Atelier | Witch Hat Atelier (Manga) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Brushbug (Tongari Boushi no Atelier) Additional Tags: Qifrey's atelier, Poetry, do not copy to another site

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So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.)  Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.

If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results: 

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory) 

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.) 

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.) 

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.) 

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7 Considerations for Characters

Of all the topics on how to write, I suspect more books have been written on how to create solid characters than on anything else. So there are a lot of great resources out there on how to create characters, and I can’t even touch on every topic that I would like in the space of an article this short.

Let me just say a few things, though. We are often told that our characters should be “round,” rather than stick-figure drawings. If you were an artist and you painted a picture with stick figures, people would say, “Well, that’s not very realistic. It is hardly recognizable as human.”

In stories, we usually don’t want that response either. We want our characters to have dimension. Such characters have (but are not limited to) the following attributes:

Character Consideration #1: Specific Physical Bodies

Real people have physical bodies with inherent limitations and strengths. These bodies get hungry, hurt, and have urges all their own. They also have a history of ailments and injuries, various scars, and of course plenty of traits that we may or may not want to include in our tale—including things like foot size, ear size and shape, and so on. Trying to describe some of these traits is danged near impossible.

Character Consideration #2: Relationships

Real people have families and friends. For a while in young adult literature, just about everyone was an orphan. That’s because editors didn’t want authors to have to deal with family issues. Yet far too often, authors don’t create extended families primarily out of laziness. Similarly, each of us has various levels of friends, business colleagues, people we are attracted to, and people who are attracted to us at some level. We might include in this list of associations things like pets and plants. Does your heroine keep African violets around the house, and tenderly nurse her geraniums? A likeable character is usually one who shows kindness to others, who seeks out deep and lasting commitments—even if it is just to her flowers.

Character Consideration #3: Vocation

Real people have jobs—usually a history of them. For example, I’ve been a meat cutter, a prison guard, a missionary, a movie producer, novelist, video game designer, technical writer and editor, grocer, gourmet ice-cream pie maker, and farmer. In the modern world, we tend to develop large skill sets as we age, but there was a time when a person started life as a farmer and ended up buried out by the grape vines.

Character Consideration #4: Social Status

Real people also have a place in society. These societies might include political groups, religious and civic organizations, and so on.

Character Consideration #5: An Internal Life

Real people have an internal life, invisible to the naked eye. This is a good category for a lot of things—emotional needs and phobias, ideals, and so on. These might include secret beliefs, hopes, desires. It also includes our own personal way of seeing the world, and includes how we cope with it. Sometimes our personal ideals are at odds with our public affiliations. For example, while most people profess some sort of religion, very often our personal beliefs might vary in some way from the official doctrine of the church that we espouse.

The internal life of a character is of course where we get the “meat” for our novels. A movie can easily capture the exterior of a character, but novels do a better job of capturing the internal feelings, moods, and beliefs. Yet that’s only part of the reason why novels are so popular and are often said to be better than the movies they inspire.

I’m convinced that we have an innate need to get to know one another from the inside out… . So we spend a great deal of time analyzing the motives, beliefs, and actions of others.

The internal lives of our characters are the most fertile ground that an author may plant his story in.

Character Consideration #6: Internal Conflicts

As we explore the internal lives of our characters, one of the most important areas to explore is that person’s internal conflicts. What happens when a person loves and fears the same thing? What happens when a man’s conscience won’t let him carry out his boss’s (or wife’s, or master’s) orders? Most people are filled with interesting contradictions, and usually that provides the best material for our novels.

Character Consideration #7: Voice

Each character has a unique way of speaking. Finding a character’s voice and accent is often a key for me when writing a book. The character never comes alive until I can hear him talking in my own imagination.

In Conclusion

Please note that people are not stick figures. In a good novel, the author creates a number of characters who are put in opposition, and each of them is satisfying and believable. Your imaginary characters never really quite come alive, but at times it can feel like they’re taking over your story, bent on achieving their own ends.

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it’s all “accidental hand touch” this and “brief longing gaze” that, where’s my support at for “reaching up and fixing someone’s collar for them” crew??

the intimacy disguised as helpfulness! the lingering contact! the optional subdued “you look nice” as they stand too close!!

expand your pining vocabulary people

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a second chance (463 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Gyaru is Curious About the Otaku by Enma Akiyama (Manga) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Yamasaki/Gyaru Characters: Yamasaki (The Gyaru is Curious About the Otaku), Gyaru (The Gyaru is Curious About the Otaku) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Roommates, Pre-Relationship, Twitter, AU-gust 2021, Don't copy to another site Series: Part 3 of AU-gust 2021 Summary:

The Gyaru gets a chance to explain herself to the Otaku. (Oh my god, they were roommates.)

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magnitude of fear (114 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Witch and Cat-Chan by Nagori Yu (Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ruri (Witch and Cat-Chan)/Linda (Witch and Cat-Chan) Characters: Ruri (Witch and Cat-Chan) Additional Tags: Feelings Realization, Community: femslashficlets, Don't copy to another site Summary:

Ruri contends with the aftermath of her kidnapping.

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monster (100 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 나 혼자만 레벨업 - 추공 | Solo Leveling | Only I Level Up - Chu-Gong, 나 혼자만 레벨업 | Solo Leveling (Webcomic) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Beru (Solo Leveling), Sung Jin-Ah, Sung Jin-Woo Additional Tags: Drabble, Don't copy to another site Summary:

Jinah helps Beru get settled into his new life.

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take a chance with me (326 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: イケメン女と箱入り娘 | Ikemen Girl to Hakoiri Musume | Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl (Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kanda Mizuki/Ookuma Satomi Characters: Kanda Mizuki, Ookuma Satomi Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Dancing, Ballroom Dancing, Don't copy to another site, AU-gust 2021, Community: femslashficlets Series: Part 2 of AU-gust 2021 Summary:

Kanda fills in for Kai at his ballroom dancing class, and in doing so opens an unexpected door.

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between this world and the next (611 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 本好きの下剋上 - 香月美夜 | Honzuki no Gekokujou | Ascendance of a Bookworm Series - Kazuki Miya Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Characters: Urano Motosu (Ascendance of a Bookworm), Mestionora (Ascendance of a Bookworm), Evermein (Ascendance of a Bookworm) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe (literally), ancient gods, Reincarnation, Don't copy to another site, AU-gust 2021 Series: Part 1 of AU-gust 2021 Summary:

Urano has a talk with Mestionora. What bookworm hasn’t dreamed of being the chosen one?

Spoiler warning for Part 5.

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Through Time and Space Bingo

Through Time and Space Bingo is open for business!

Joining the ranks of the many other bingos in the world of fandom, TTaS Bingo is a multifandom prompt bingo based on the theme of time travel and dimension travel AUs. This is one of my favourite themes so I thought it would be fun to host a bingo for it.

For the purpose of this challenge, basically anything that involves a character or characters travelling back in time, forward in time, and/or across dimensions into parallel universes all count. So long as that takes place somewhere in your fic, how they get there, for what purpose, and what they do once they arrive is entirely up to you.

For more information, you can look through the links below:

Rules/FAQ

Prompts Masterlist

Request a Card

AO3 Collection

This challenge is just getting off the ground but I’m hoping people will be interested! The list of prompts can always use some fattening up too, so feel free to send in any suggestions you might have. So long as they can be spun into a time travel or dimension travel AU, and they’re general enough for all creators and audiences, I’ll probably add them to the pool.

I think that’s it for now. If you have any questions that I forgot to answer in the Rules, feel free to send in an ask!

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Here you go! Have fun!

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one summer night (100 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 海辺のエトランゼ | Umibe no Étranger | Stranger by the Sea (Manga) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Chibana Mio/Hashimoto Shun Characters: Cat (Stranger by the Sea), Chibana Mio, Hashimoto Shun Additional Tags: Drabble, Don't copy to another site, Community: drabble_zone Summary:

The kitty watches the two humans one evening.

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diamond heart (100 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 本好きの下剋上 - 香月美夜 | Honzuki no Gekokujou | Ascendance of a Bookworm Series - Kazuki Miya Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Ferdinand/Rozemyne (Ascendance of a Bookworm) Characters: Rozemyne (Ascendance of a Bookworm), Ferdinand (Ascendance of a Bookworm) Additional Tags: Grief/Mourning, Community: fandomweekly, Don't copy to another site, Drabble, Web Novel Spoilers Summary:

Ferdinand sparkles like the finest of diamonds.

(Heed the tags!)

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give it voice (200 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 女将军和长公主 - 请君莫笑 | Female General and Eldest Princess - Qǐng Jūn Mò Xiào Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Li Xian/Lin Wanyue Characters: Lin Wanyue, Longren (Female General and Eldest Princess), Li Xian (Female General and Eldest Princess) Additional Tags: Fluff, Horses, Community: femslashficlets, Don't copy to another site Summary:

Lin Wanyue grumbles to Longren; Li Xian overhears.

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temptation (410 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 本好きの下剋上 - 香月美夜 | Honzuki no Gekokujou | Ascendance of a Bookworm Series - Kazuki Miya Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adolphine/Eglantine (Ascendance of a Bookworm) Characters: Adolphine (Ascendance of a Bookworm), Eglantine (Ascendance of a Bookworm) Additional Tags: implied infidelity, Community: femslash52, Don't copy to another site, Web Novel Spoilers Series: Part 1 of Adolphine/Eglantine Summary:

Adolphine finds Eglantine alone, reading by lamplight, and summons up the courage she hadn’t had in her Royal Academy days.

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Rozemyne xD

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trails of gold (100 words) by oisanite Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 片付けられない神様 | Katazukerarenai Kamisama (Manga), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Odomitsuhanokami & Ishimaki Yoriko Characters: Odomitsuhanokami Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Community: femslashficlets, Don't copy to another site, can be read as shippy Summary:

Being able to perceive Dust is one of Odomitsuhanokami’s favourite things about being a god.