forum hey can you judge my character? thank you

Started March 19, 2018 by @sharkfinn_ey

tune

heyy I just created just character, her name is Tansy. Her pinterestboard can be found in the notes section.
Every tip and bit of advice is welcome, thank you:)

Ooh, I love her! I was trying to figure out something to critique, but I can't find anything really out of place. She's a solid, well developed character.

Thanks! does anyone else have advice for me?

Oh, wow, I've been off Notebook for like 4 months, but I think I still remember how to do this!

Okay, top down…

I like how her name has a meaning! Very good work on the description. I can see her!

Under personality, I only see a couple inconsistencies. First, you mention that she cares about others so that she doesn't have to deal with her own feelings, then you say that she things that self care should come first. I may have misunderstood your meaning, but this is definitely an inconsistency. You'll need to choose one or the other, or specify which situations she feels which mood in. Next, you say that she is the 'mom friend' (which is awesome!) then go on to say how she has no chill. This can work, but again, you have to specify situations where she's nurturing or violent. One final note: her flaws are limited. It works until you throw in 'as a joke,' because then it doesn't seem like a flaw anymore. Add more flaws!!

Social looks good. One note: when it comes to politics, I find it helpful to rate my characters on a scale of liberal-ness. How liberal vs. conservative is Tansy on social issues? This can help explain later mannerisms and reactions.

Oh. Okay. Here's the most common issue I see when critiquing characters: there's no backstory! Backstory should be where you explain her mannerisms, flaws, and life events, but I'm getting none of that. Tell me why she's such a mom friend, why she cooks, why she has her jasper necklace! All of your traits are so good, just root them in a strong backstory!

Overall, you have a great character here!

I hope that this helps you!! :DDD

I really like the character, one thing I will say is that, from what I can tell, she only has one flaw, you might want to add on that to give the character more depth, but thats all I can think of.

Oh, wow, I've been off Notebook for like 4 months, but I think I still remember how to do this!

Okay, top down…

I like how her name has a meaning! Very good work on the description. I can see her!

Under personality, I only see a couple inconsistencies. First, you mention that she cares about others so that she doesn't have to deal with her own feelings, then you say that she things that self care should come first. I may have misunderstood your meaning, but this is definitely an inconsistency. You'll need to choose one or the other, or specify which situations she feels which mood in. Next, you say that she is the 'mom friend' (which is awesome!) then go on to say how she has no chill. This can work, but again, you have to specify situations where she's nurturing or violent. One final note: her flaws are limited. It works until you throw in 'as a joke,' because then it doesn't seem like a flaw anymore. Add more flaws!!

Social looks good. One note: when it comes to politics, I find it helpful to rate my characters on a scale of liberal-ness. How liberal vs. conservative is Tansy on social issues? This can help explain later mannerisms and reactions.

Oh. Okay. Here's the most common issue I see when critiquing characters: there's no backstory! Backstory should be where you explain her mannerisms, flaws, and life events, but I'm getting none of that. Tell me why she's such a mom friend, why she cooks, why she has her jasper necklace! All of your traits are so good, just root them in a strong backstory!

Overall, you have a great character here!

I hope that this helps you!! :DDD

Thanks for all the advice! I really just started on her and don't have a plot. I always wait till I have a plot before I figure out the whole background thingy.
She cares about her crew/friends a lot but can be very violent to others. The cooking comes with the 'mom friend' thing, nurturing and caring, and having something to do late afternoon.
She's like this wild girl/young woman who discovered that nobody can stop her and she won't let them, that means she doesn't care about the authoroties that are left in my story and easily kills/hurts/threathens people she doesn't like.

Second, politics aren't really important and as I'm Dutch, the terms liberal an conservative are very vague to me (never really got the chance to dive deep in that). Let's just say she doesn't care about the rest of the humanity, except for her crew.

Can you think of any flaws you find fitting? I have a hard time on that whoops.

Ok, interesting! This helps clear things up. Before I address your ~things~ I'd like to offer a piece of advice: plots as well as characters are always better when they're made together. I speak from experience! Just a suggestion though. :)

One flaw I think would fit nicely is overprotectiveness. If she thinks she's unstoppable and violent but also cares a lot about her friends, it's easy to see how she might start to be overprotective. This can lead to a lot of the classic "I lied to protect you!" flaws, which are awesome when you look to human nature.

I'm glad you liked my help!! Happy to assist :) if you need anything else, well, I have no social life, so… :DDD

ohhhh that's a great flaw for her! thank you so much omg
I suck at plots tbh, so yeah hahah
I don't have a social life as well so feel free to contact me anytime haha