A Strict Order Of Precedence

This is why your characters don't feel real

Here are the top reasons why your character could be feeling flat or unreal. What every author aims for is to make palpable realistic characters who feel like someone we could actually know.

They have no internal conflict(!)

You haven’t got a clue about their backstory.

Or about what their struggle/internal conflict is rooted in.

You write them to fit the plot, instead of letting them react the way they should in the given moment (even if this leads to a huge change in the story!).

You fail to think about their dynamics & backstory with each important character in their narrative.

You don’t give them a motivation/goal going into each scene.

There are so many factors that go into making a character feel real - and you might hear advice that this is because they don’t have an interesting personality, or a unique character voice, but honestly? These are surface-level reasons. These are not going to make or break your character.

What IS going to make them interesting is internal conflict —> a struggle which we meet them in, a story of overcoming the struggle that we get invested in, and a root cause for the struggle in the character’s backstory.

Would you like to learn more about crafting realistic character who lead the plot FOR you? 🤯

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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.) 

Random, but a really handy way to make things seem creepy or wrong in horror is to make them incongruously neat or clean:

In the middle of a horrific battlefield, you find one corpse laid aside neatly, straightened and arranged, its arms crossed neatly across its chest

As you walk through the garden, you gradually realise that the oddness you’ve been noticing about the trees is that they are all perfectly symmetrical

As you move through the abandoned house, you realise that suddenly that there’s no dust in this room, no dirt or cobwebs

You hear hideous noises coming from behind a locked door, screams and pleas, and visceral sounds of violence. When you manage to break down the door, there is no one there, and the room is perfectly spotless

In the middle of a horrific battlefield, a hollow full of churned mud and blood, you find five corpses cleanly dismembered, each set of limbs or parts neatly laid out in their own little row

You witness a murder, a brutal, grisly killing that carpets the area in blood. When you return in a blind panic with the authorities, the scene is completely clean, and no amount of examination can find even a drop of blood

You run through the night and the woods with a comrade, pulling each other through leaves and twigs and mud as you scramble desperately towards freedom. When you finally emerge from the forest, in the grey light of dawn, you turn to your companion in relief, and notice that their clothes are somehow perfectly clean

You hand a glass of water to your suspect, talking casually the whole while, and watch with satisfaction as they take it in their bare hand and take a drink. There’ll be a decent set of prints to run from that later. Except there isn’t. There are no prints at all. As if nothing ever touched the glass

You browse idly through your host’s catalogue, and stop, and pay much more attention, when you realise that several items on a dry list of acquisitions are ones you’ve seen before, and it slowly dawns on you that each neat little object and number in this neat little book are things that belong (belonged?) to people you know

Neatness, particularly incongruous neatness, neatness where you expect violence or imperfection or abandonment, or neatness that you belatedly realise was hiding violence, or neatness that is imposed over violence, is incredibly scary. Because neatness is not a natural thing. Neatness requires some active force to have come through and made it so. Neatness implies that the world around you is being arranged, maybe to hide things, to disguise things, to make you doubt your senses, or else simply according to something else’s desires. Neatness is active and artificial. Neatness puts things, maybe even people, into neat little boxes according to something else’s ideals, and that’s terrifying as well. Being objectified. Being asked to fit categories that you’re not sure you can fit, and wondering what will happen to the bits of you that don’t.

Neatness, essentially, says that something else is here. Neatness where there should be chaos says that either something came and changed things, or that what you’re seeing now or what you saw then is not real. Neatness alongside violence says that something came through here for whom violence did not mean the same thing as it does to you.

Neatness, in the right context, in the right place, can be very, very scary

And fun

How to write a negative character arc

Here’s the simplest way to break down the building blocks of a negative character arc in your novel!

Here’s the A-Z on negative character arcs

It’s totally possible to pull off a negative character development, for ANY person in your story, whether that’s a side-character, villain, or the protagonist.

Here’s something no one tells you, but it’s actually fundamentally simple.

You can do this with a very easy formula. Typically, a positive arc means that you set out with one main character flaw/issue, which that character overcomes by the end of the story.

So all you need is:

a flaw your character NEEDS to overcome

a goal they WANT to achieve

For a positive arc, they’d succeed at their NEED. Then maybe their WANT as well. For a negative, they simply never fulfil their NEED.

This means they never overcome the flaw they are supposed to face. In fact, they ignore it so confidently, it becomes a PROBLEM. They will never truthfully own up to their mistakes.

This is where you can let it get worse, let it develop into fatal flaw, and let more issues arise from it. As for their WANT? They’ll usually put their external goal above everything else, and dig themselves even deeper into personal disarray, where they won’t recognize themselves any longer.

If you need a hand getting started on your novel, we have 3 coaches at The Plottery who can work with you intensively for 4 month to skill up your writing and help you finish your first draft.

Apply through the [link here] or below!

the-plottery.com

1:1 Writer Book Coaching

Power Plotter is a writer's coaching program dedicated to helping you finish writing your book and become an expert in novel plotting! You'l

How to finish your novel in 1 year

Writing a full book is a really huge task! Most writers don’t understand how overwhelming it can get until they try it. Here’s my ideal guide of what it would look like to finish your full novel in one year.

Here’s a time-scheduled formula to succeed in finishing your book in just one year.

Spend some time on pre-writing (Month 1)

Take time to plan out all the most important parts of your novel before you jump in! This will keep you grounded and organised, so you don’t lose track of what you’re trying to achieve.

But don’t get stuck in it.

You should know your:

Character goals and story arcs

The thematic question of your story

Your biggest plot points

Don’t wait until you’re confident about everything to start writing!

The first draft (Months 2-7)

Think of your first draft as a chance to tell the story to yourself, and to find out what works and what doesn’t.

Do not think of it as something that needs to be complete on the first go!

The important part here is to just keep writing, even if you make a mess along the way.

A chapter overview (Month 8)

If possible, take a few weeks away from looking at the project before you do this!

Once your first draft is finished is when you should take a step back and make sense of the story again. It’s likely that a lot will have changed by the time you finished it, so creating a bird’s eye overview of your chapters will help you tackle the second draft.

The rewrite (Months 9-12)

Time to jump into that second draft!

This is where your project will come together, so enjoy this part of the process! Dedicate more time to your prose and the details.

And after the second draft is done?

Time to get some other eyes on your manuscript and jump into line and copy edits!

Want to try out for my coaching program? I’m fully booked until October this year, so if you want to get to work with me in 2023, now’s the time to apply!

Otherwise, I have two other amazing coaches you can try.

You can apply through the [link here] or below!

the-plottery.com

1:1 Writer Book Coaching

Power Plotter is a writer's coaching program dedicated to helping you finish writing your book and become an expert in novel plotting! You'l

Soft Prompts for Couples Not Yet Together

1. "Fleeting Encounters": Picture this - two strangers who consistently find themselves in the same crowded places. There's an unexplainable connection, a sense of familiarity that leaves them wondering if the universe is trying to tell them something.

2. "Whispers of the Heart": Every conversation they have feels like a sweet symphony. The world around them fades into the background, and it's just the two of them, sharing intimate moments that make them wonder if friendship could turn into something more.

3. "Shy Smiles and Silent Longing": Across a room filled with people, their eyes meet, and it's like time stands still. Shy smiles are exchanged, hearts beating in synchrony. They both yearn for the courage to take that first step towards something extraordinary.

4. "The Bond of Late Nights": Late-night conversations become their sanctuary, a space where they open up and share pieces of their souls. Little do they know, their hearts are already entwined, silently falling for each other.

5. "The Serendipitous Crossings": In a whirlwind of missed opportunities, they keep crossing paths. Is it mere coincidence, or is there a higher force conspiring to bring them together? They can't help but wonder what destiny has in store for them.

6. "Confidants in the Dark": A shared secret or an unexpected vulnerability brings them closer. They become each other's confidants, weaving a bond that goes beyond surface-level connections.

7. "Passion's Connection": A shared hobby ignites their souls, their passions intertwining as they explore a world of common interests. But what they don't realize is that their connection extends far beyond the shared activity they love.

8. "The Glance that Changed Everything": Their eyes meet, and something shifts in the air. It's as if the universe pauses to witness their undeniable chemistry. In that moment, they both know that their lives are about to change forever.

9. "Teasing Fate": Friends playfully tease them about the palpable chemistry between them. But little do they know that deep down, they can't ignore the growing spark between their hearts. The question lingers: will they finally take that leap of faith?

10. "Melodies of Love": Music becomes their language, notes carrying the unspoken words they're too afraid to say. The rhythm of their connection dances to the beat of their hearts, a secret language of affection.

Easiest ways to add conflict to your novel

If you’re unsure whether your story is utilising all its sources of potential conflict, have a read through this post! It’s so easy to lose ourselves in our stories, and miss opportunities to create more interesting and tense situations that help our characters grow.

When we get too deep into our story, it’s difficult to see whether it’s falling flat in conflict. Here are 4 ways you can make sure you’re keeping it interesting!

Start from the character

Internal struggle is always the best place to start introducing conflict into your story! What is that misbelief that holds your character back achieving what they’re meant to? Can they have a flaw or struggle that directly interferes with them achieving their goal?

The side-characters

They shouldn’t always be helpful. Or if they’re meant to be, maybe they shouldn’t start out that way. Scenes where there is no conflict of interest or at least some source of tension often fall flat and feel boring.

So if there’s ever a chance to add a layer of tension into a scene with a side-character, take it.

Make them work for it

Your protagonist should rarely ever succeed at what it is they want, at least until the end of the story. Whatever big break-through of success they do have should feel like a reward that they’ve actually failed at achieving before, or have had to take lots of steps to grasp onto it.

And sometimes, when they do get it, it’s immediately taken away or undermined.

Raise the stakes

Whatever your character is chasing, give them a strong reason as to why they HAVE to get it. What happens if they don’t? Whatever it is, to them it should feel like the end of the world. And then your readers will also feel that there is no other way for this character, and are likely to be more invested in their goal.

Find it through the [link here] or below!

the-plottery.mykajabi.com

Writer's ToolBoox

The Writer's ToolBoox is a pack of 3 extensive E-books that cover the areas of: character craft, world building, and plotting. It comes with

12 Writing Tips From Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor was an American author. Here are 12 writing tips from her writings.

On the anniversary of her birthday…

Different Ways to Describe Green Eyes

-> feel free to edit and adjust pronouns as you see fit.

He had eyes like the fields after a sweet summer rain.

Their eyes reminded her of the forests at night.

Her green eyes were like leaves with golden sunlight shining filtering through them.

Green eyes— usually a symbol of grace— had never held such a look of hatred.

She had eyes the same color as the bottle of poison tucked away safely in the inside pocket of her jacket.

He stared deep into her green eyes and saw forever reflected in them.

Their eyes were the same color as the moldy piece of bread he found under the couch a couple days ago.

She bit into the apple— the same color as her sour green eyes— and flashed him a wicked grin.

He stared at the green walls of his childhood bedroom, but it only made him think of [Name’s] eyes that always teased him.

Their eyes reeked of danger, the color of acid and a threat.

Her eyes were the color of the woods at twilight.

His green eyes kept a lifetime of secrets locked away behind them.

Their eyes reminded him of a cat’s: mischievous and quick to chase.

She had eyes like spring and the memory of a childhood summer.

His eyes matched the emerald ring he wore on his finger.

They had heard the saying “the grass is greener on the other side” their entire life, but after seeing her eyes? They finally thought it might have some truth to it.

Her eyes made him think of germs. It wasn’t the most colorful of metaphors, but he thought it went well with the way it made him feel. Sick.

His eyes were as green as the potions that lined the shelves in their glass bottles.