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Character Creation - Blog Posts
Then the bot comes by LoL
As an alternative to 'sugar, spice, and everything nice'
I present: 'salt, vinegar, and everything sinister'
Types of Character Arcs
Just like there are various flavours of ice cream to satisfy our taste buds, there are different types of character arcs to captivate readers’ imaginations.
Transformational Arc: A character undergoes a profound transformation throughout the story. This transformational arc takes them on a journey of personal growth, where they evolve, learn from their experiences, and undergo significant change. Think Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings, who starts as an ordinary hobbit and becomes a heroic figure, or Cinderella, who goes from being a mistreated servant to a princess.
Flat or Static Arc: Not all character arcs involve drastic change or growth. In a flat or static arc, the character remains relatively unchanged throughout the story. Instead of personal transformation, these characters serve as a stabilizing force or a moral compass within the narrative. They maintain their core values, beliefs, or traits, providing stability and guidance for others. Sherlock Holmes is a prime example of a character with a flat arc. His brilliant deductive reasoning and logical nature remain consistent, while the world around him evolves.
Positive Change Arc: In a positive change arc, a character starts with flaws, struggles, or a particular mindset, but over the course of the story, they experience personal growth and positive transformation. They learn valuable lessons, overcome obstacles, and develop into a better version of themselves. This arc is often associated with themes of redemption, self-discovery, and the triumph of the human spirit. Characters like Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games exemplify positive change arcs.
Negative Change Arc: Contrasting the positive change arc, the negative change arc delves into the descent or downfall of a character. It explores the moral decline, corruption, or internal conflicts that lead the character astray. This arc can be dark and intense, showcasing the destructive power of choices or external influences. Characters like Macbeth from Shakespeare’s play or Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars demonstrate the negative change arc. 💻✨ Discover how the transformative journeys of character arcs breathe life into your stories, and captivate the hearts and minds of your readers. You can read the full post in the Reading Room at the link above.
Types of intelligence for your OCs
What kind of intelligence does your character posses? Based on theory of multiple intelligences, these are some ideas what kind of smarts your characters might posses that aren’t the typical academic or street smarts.
1. Visual-spatial (space smart)
These people are good at visualizing things, seeing in 3D, being able to imagine how things look even out of sight from the information they have about it. They are good with directions, maps, charts and pictures. Eye for drawing, patterns and puzzles.
Especially useful for: architects, engineers, artists, pilots
2. Linguistic-verbal (word smart)
The ability to use words well, when writing and speaking. Typical strenghts are telling stories, memorizing information, love for reading, skill with words, debating and persuasive skills, adept at explaining complicated subjects. Also tend to be great at languages.
Especially useful for: writers, journalists, lawyers, teachers, public speakers
3. Logical (reasoning smart)
Not necessarily but possibly mathematical, these people are great at reasoning, pattern recognition and logical analysis. Enjoyment for abstract thinking and ideas, excellent problem-solving skills and logical argumentation are other common traits. Pattersn, categories, relationships.
Especially useful for: mathematicians, accountants, scientists, and detectives.
4. Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)
Great hand-eye cordination, physical movement, often skilled at sports, dancing and creating things with their hands. Learn and remember rather by doing than listening or reading. Sense of timing and mind-body union excellent.
Especially useful for: dancers, sculptors, actors, athletes, surgeons, crafts people, soldiers, police officers
5. Musical (sound smart)
Sensitive listeners. Thinking in patterns, recognizing rhythms, notes and melodies, good at remembering tunes, these people often enjoy singing or playing instruments. Often show great understanding of musical structure and know quickly when they hear someone going off-key.
Especially useful for: musical teachers, composers, musicians,
6. Interpersonal (people smart)
These people are very good at understanding and interacting with others. From verbal to non-verbal communication, they are proficient at assessing motivations, moods and desires of others and seeing things from multiple perspectives. Great communicators, create positive relationships with others easily and solve group dynamics and group conflicts well. Also enjoy discussions, debates and teamwork.
Especially useful for: psychologists, counselors, salespeople, politicians, philosophers, teachers, managers, team leaders
7. Intrapersonal (self smart)
The opposite of interpersonal smarts is the intrapersonal intelligence, where people are very in tune with themselves and their feelings. They are honest with themselves, enjoy self-reflection, analysing theories and ideals, love daydreaming, and show great self-awareness and assessment of their own strenghts and weaknesses.
Especially useful for: writers, philosophers, theorits, scientists
Bonus types:
8. Creative (ideas smart)
People that show exceptional curiousity, get inspired by little things around them and connect ideas and concepts in an unsual way. It’s a more feeling-based, spontaneous type of intelligence that gets less recognition, but brings immense benefits in all fields.
Especially useful for: artists, marketers, scientists, concept artists,
10. Abstract (concept smart)
Drawn to abstract ideas, these people enjoy deep discussions, don’t like to settle on one truth and ask questions that have no easy or no answer at all. Connecting, conceptualizing, analysing, listening and putting things together, they are great at seeing things from a distance, seeing the whole and not just the pieces.
Especially useful for: scientists, philosophers, researchers, theorists, designers, analysts
Writing advice masterlist
Character Spotlight
Agent Vivien. Twenty-eight. For her, home is a place you cannot escape like the smoke in your lungs from a housefire your father started. You still cough up dollhouse plastic and holy basil from time to time and it smells like your mother's grave. She picks up after her baby brother's messes who is twenty-five. Her mother dies, but it's the aftermath that sets the implosion. A shark at her job, she keeps moving, she's got to, or she'll drown. She craves the distance and the compartmentalization her job gives, the quick escape from knowing the aftermath of her jobs. Never stick around for the aftermath.
Primary Personality Traits 📜✨
hi there! I’m in the process of making character profiles and in my search for some descriptions I stumbled upon this little gem. It’s a list of 638 character traits including positive, neutral, and negative traits you can use to describe your characters. I found it super helpful so I figured I’d link it here for my own record and other writers. you can also find the full list under the cut.
hope this helps, enjoy writeblr!
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