Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [characters]

Questions that involve people in a work of fiction, including character development, motivations, design, points of view, and representation.

General questions about characters in one's story.

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How many characters are too many?

I am plotting out a longish story, which would have the following number of characters: Main/ reasonably significant characters: Nine Characters still vital for the story to work:Thirteen Side characters, named, with a little detail because they are…
Jilli
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How to make characters more than the words on the page?

At the time of writing this question there are 5337 Harry Potter questions on SciFi and a further 165 on Movies. Many of these questions drill right into the character's motivations and emotions such as Why would Snape set his office password to…
Liath
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How best to avoid the appearance of stereotype?

I am seriously considering adding a character based on a man I know. This man is very irksome, rather pretentious and refers to himself in the third person. He is flamboyant, opinionated and one thing that is very important to him is his sexual…
Rasdashan
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Killing off a character

What are the long term effects of killing off a main character (early into a series) that represents someone you'd like to move on from? Would that be cathartic, or detrimental to a writer?
Rusty Denise Hale
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How can you make an unrealistic setup as realistic as possible?

Seems like a broad question, but hear me out. A while ago, I asked how you could verify information, which was mostly reserved about things that actually exist and/or happen in the real world. This question is reserved for things that absolutely…
user23083
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How can I get readers to like a character they’ve never met?

Okay, so in my story, a character goes missing, however you never actually meet them. How can I get readers to like them even though they’re never even introduced to them?
John
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How to introduce a nameless, mysterious character in limited third person?

So the novel I'm writing is in (multiple) close third person perspective, or limited, as the whole action is seen through the eyes and thoughts of a given character. The issue I'm having is that it all starts with a prologue, in which the character…
Acss
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How should changing the point of view be handled?

I am writing a book with the particular twist that between chapters it switches the point of view. For example, in the first chapter it is from the main character's point of view, then in the second chapter it is the sidekick's point of view. How…
user10250
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What kind of writing would be considered offensive?

I am a young author writing a fantasy series. In my series, the main character has two different eye colors and looks down on herself because she thinks she is ugly. If people who also have two different eye colors were to read my work, would that…
The-Huntress
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Dropping subtle hints about a character's sexuality

I have a character who is assumed to be straight, but after a few months reveals herself to be bisexual. I don't want her to just come out of nowhere and say that without any kind of hints first because a) it would seem unnatural that there are no…
GordonM
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How many characters can I introduce in the first chapter before the reader gets overwhelmed?

Assuming that all of the characters are unique, interesting, and stand out from the rest of the cast, is there a limit to how many characters I can introduce in the first chapter before my reader starts struggling to remember who's who? If not a…
Summer
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Is it ok to reference names of real world people?

The protagonist in my autobiographical novel is a girl on spiritual adventures. I have the idea of her looks in my mind, but I don't want to dedicate words to explicitly express her looks, so is it OK if I just mention in one line that she looks…
user30875
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How does one write a misanthropic character likeable?

Let's say the character has over the years grown to dislike humans because he had many negative experiences with them, and is disappointed in humanity itself. How does one write such a character without making him too edgy or unlikeable?
DarkYagami
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Is it a bad idea to have three protagonists?

I'm writing a story that involves three main characters. They appear in linear form, each one's story leading to the other. So for example character A's story finishes leading to B's story which finishes leading to character C's story. But each…
Chimere
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How to positively portray high and mighty characters?

What I mean by "high and mighty" (though I realise this term does not exactly paint anyone in a nice light) are characters who know their worth and know themselves to be better than numerous other people, but are not condescending towards others and…
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