Aravande

First of all, I freely admit that what I say isn't gospel. I am a total amateur at art and writing. I've learned everything that I know via the internet and a few books. It's just that I appreciate all of the tutorials here on dA that have helped me out, and I want to put a little bit of my own methods back in. I've run across an odd myth about fictional characters here on good ol' deviantART:  If my character isn't a Mary Sue then I've definitely written a good character.  Sadly, this is not so.  A Mary Sue (see here for more) is just a specific kind of bad character.  Not all bad characters are Mary Sues.  It would be like saying that sinc

The Random Encounter – The Guide to Moving Your Story Forward The classical random (there's always a classic.): This is the sort you see in just about any old RPG, or RPG comic, and probably most current ones as well – that person or thing you randomly meet so you can be sent off in a random direction and never have to meet them again. Yeah, it works well enough for games I suppose – but I don't recommend it in a story… get around it wherever possible. One thing I saw in the Wheel of Time books (by Robert Jordan) was having the rumors and such be heard OFFSCREEN, and delivered to the characters by someone they know. You

Everyone's heard that characters should have goals, something they want and must strive for, overcoming obstacles and antagonists in order to obtain. Because, well, a story is the record of your character's journey toward achieving a goal. While all of this is true, I think a lot of writers lose sight of an even more important aspect of character. That is, motivation. Sure, you know what your character wants. Why? That's the gist of motivation. What is the psychology and reasoning behind your character's goal? If your character is driven to make money, is his motivation greed? To pay off a debt? To support his family? Motivation is your c