forum Things You Want MORE Of In Books

Started January 21, 2019 by @evastardust groupRRAAAARRL

tune

Don't speak to me or my son ever again lmao
Consider: I am all of those as well. I was very emo when I read Frankenstein, I think we've discussed my teacher's concerns about it before

I don’t think I ever had an emo stage. I was depressed for a bit. But that was about it. I try not to be too obvious about such things as my sociopathic tendencies.

good news! I have anxiety which means I'm not a psychopath! storing in a file for when a classmate accuses me of being one. again. Although that means that my friend is probably a psychopath. Just adds to the evidence. But I digress

Because my characters are morally grey, most of them. Their reasons for surviving and saving the universe are petty as hell! Brie does it simply because she wants to get past college and into a stable job before the apocalypse, heck! And Grayle just wants to have divine powers again. Obviously their development changes as Brie becomes more paragon in her motivations, seeing the bigger picture and protecting the universe because, well, she doesn't want to see the small beautiful bits in this cosmic mess destroyed and help build a better world. And Grayle likes his mortality in the end (then my bby boi gets suicidal and things get rough but it's becomes okay again) and finds the loves of his life, Eris and Aeren. And Snail is actually a really selfish asshole for the first few books, Brie would have never dated him, much less gotten married to the idiot.

Also my most recent demon boi Onyx has no real motivations past get the fuck out of the kingdom and drag my human boyfriend outta there whether he wants it or not I love him too much to let him stay, then save his own kingdom. And Lucian honestly gives no fucks about the world outside Onyx and his relationship being stable. Then a smol bean Cecil enters and they sorta adopt him and get moral compasses.

I like developing these types of characters into decent humans while still preserving their ruthless, whatever it takes to get the job done mentality.

Also, I am writing a new story. Prince Lucian, Onyx, and Cecil may be showing up more, ya know what I mean?

I also think I am a little bit of a psychopath. But it’s very rare that I feel it these days.

I was too busy writing my previous post to notice emos. I am sorta an emo myself right now, but I'd rather think I'm "preppy Victorian goth" more accurately.

My characters are either disasters or sweethearts and there's very little in-between.

^^Love that phrasing.

My characters are either disasters or sweethearts and there's very little in-between.

Same, but I think more of mine err on the "disaster" side.

A lot of mine are like "wow I'm such a disaster lollll" and then the book happens and they're like "oops I guess I wasn't but I sure am now"

The leads in each book are usually a super closed off character and a literal ray of sunshine.

Okay, so one thing that I didn't realize I needed more of until I started thinking about Frankenstein:
Immoral leads who aren't badass.
Like, all the leads in fantasy are either: "I must do the right thing always," or "yeah I just kazually go around killing people." I want characters that don't go out of their way to do the right thing, but who also aren't criminals or assassins or thieves or all the common roles for antihero protags. I want characters that are: "Oh yeah I would totally kill a man, but I have no idea how and I've also never broken the law before in my life." Or even characters who don't do the right thing but don't take it as far as flat-out murdering people. ("Ugh, but killing him would take effort; I'd rather just use my newfound magical powers to steal things and mess with people instead of saving the world.")

Dude my immoral characters are Chaotic Neutral Dumbasses most of the time
This is specifically calling out Nich

Dude my immoral characters are Chaotic Neutral Dumbasses most of the time
This is specifically calling out Nich

Totally not Onyx, no sir no ma'am no neutrally gendered honorific, why would you assume that? Also Nich sounds awesome tbh.

Nich is awesome.

Dude my immoral characters are Chaotic Neutral Dumbasses most of the time

Did you mean: Ryo Álvarez, the Disaster Wizard
Yep, Nich is incredible. Based on what I know, he's my favorite out of your characters, Jyn.

^^^

Dude my immoral characters are Chaotic Neutral Dumbasses most of the time
This is specifically calling out Nich

Crispin as well

Mine's more of a Neutral Dumbass.

Ahhh thank you all! He's one of my favorites too!!
Also he's just a chaotic mess so like big mood.

Also characters who are skilled in different areas.
Victor might be book smart and know languages, but he cannot deal with his own emotions and is pretty much useless in a physical fight.
Henry's physically strong and is good at helping people aka Victor when they're not doing well, but isn't the best at school subjects.
Geneva is good in a straight fight and has some mental strength, but emotionally she's a mess and isn't good with people in general.
Jackson is physically strong and good at dealing with other people's emotions, but pretty much has no brain-to-mouth or brain-to-action filter and doesn't have the best sense of logic.
Martha is smart and emotionally stable, but is awkward around people, especially people she doesn't know.

Most of my characters are Apathetic Neutral SassMasters because at the end of the day they don't really care.

Characters with strong familial relationships, especially with their extended family! My aunt is just as important to me as my parents are, same with my other aunt and my grandparents. I feel like if we see family at all, it's always just siblings, cousins, and occasionally parents.

Families that aren't conventional. Not your average atomic family.

Yeah!

More stepkids/parents with good relationships!

YES!

I wouldn’t mind more big families.

AND MIXED RACE/CULTURE FAMILIES! Tbh Spiderverse was great with that.

YES!