Not a professional writer but, in my opinion, as a lifelong reader and artist, you don't have to go with the characters' looks all the time! It's definitely a good starting point (and you basically can't go wrong with it), though I always found that characters which didn't act the way you thought they would stuck with me more (-easily) than the rest; as an example, the most common tropes I know are definitely the two "extremes" - soft-looking characters that are brutal and ruthless on one hand, tough looking characters that are actually big softies on the other. For figuring out personalities, I often get inspired by people I know in real life. Obviously, I don't copy and paste all of their personality traits, but it can help figuring out how to make your characters more three-dimensional! And no matter what, one can definitely see hints of personal issues I went through implemented into my work/characters' flaws. You could also take a look at personality trait lists (like this one, for example!), see if there's anything that inspires you and build your character based around that. Try not to balance out their whole character on one trait - they can definitely have a defining one, though they can feel pretty bland if there's no reasoning behind their actions/no other aspects of their personality. This last one counts for both personality and backstory - think about movies, books or shows you like and figure out what it is that you like about them! There's no issue with getting inspired that way. I for myself have always been a huge fan of shows that tackle dark themes, revolve around criminals or break stereotypes. So, that's what I try to implement into my stories for the most part! (My main story's central theme is literally about the protagonists not being as "good-hearted" as one would naturally expect them to be from mainstream media.)
Overall, make sure you have fun writing whatever it is that you want to write. There's nothing wrong with implementing "mainstream themes" in your stories as long as you're having fun with it! I'm guessing you're not planning on making a living off of these, so you're good to go with whatever you want to write about, really (as long as it's not offensive, of course). I know this wasn't super long/detailed but I hope I was able to help you out a bit!
Tobin
Not a professional writer but, in my opinion, as a lifelong reader and artist, you don't have to go with the characters' looks all the time! It's definitely a good starting point (and you basically can't go wrong with it), though I always found that characters which didn't act the way you thought they would stuck with me more (-easily) than the rest; as an example, the most common tropes I know are definitely the two "extremes" - soft-looking characters that are brutal and ruthless on one hand, tough looking characters that are actually big softies on the other. For figuring out personalities, I often get inspired by people I know in real life. Obviously, I don't copy and paste all of their personality traits, but it can help figuring out how to make your characters more three-dimensional! And no matter what, one can definitely see hints of personal issues I went through implemented into my work/characters' flaws.
You could also take a look at personality trait lists (like this one, for example!), see if there's anything that inspires you and build your character based around that. Try not to balance out their whole character on one trait - they can definitely have a defining one, though they can feel pretty bland if there's no reasoning behind their actions/no other aspects of their personality.
This last one counts for both personality and backstory - think about movies, books or shows you like and figure out what it is that you like about them! There's no issue with getting inspired that way. I for myself have always been a huge fan of shows that tackle dark themes, revolve around criminals or break stereotypes. So, that's what I try to implement into my stories for the most part! (My main story's central theme is literally about the protagonists not being as "good-hearted" as one would naturally expect them to be from mainstream media.)
Overall, make sure you have fun writing whatever it is that you want to write. There's nothing wrong with implementing "mainstream themes" in your stories as long as you're having fun with it! I'm guessing you're not planning on making a living off of these, so you're good to go with whatever you want to write about, really (as long as it's not offensive, of course).
I know this wasn't super long/detailed but I hope I was able to help you out a bit!
3 years, 6 months ago Edited 2:21 am