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@jenwriter17 @dekreel @emily @perfectfifths @dragon-snapper @ingridrd @mariposa @rolena-hatfield @liv-giordano @claire-c @gabrielle @seekjustice @anyone-else
Hi girls!!! So sorry to you all, I haven’t been ignoring, I just haven’t been on here lately…
I have a favour to ask of you all. My good friend has a problem: she has some characters she loves, but she’s not happy with the story she had them in, so she scrapped it….she wants to use these characters somehow. Any ideas? She could try to start brainstorming a new novel idea I guess, but are there any other ways to use them? I know that this is a very unique question…any thoughts/comments/answers would be really appreciated!!! 😄
Thanks!!! 😀
I tell my story. Not so that I get glory, but so that others may know Hope.
@emily-d Interesting. Is her story idea absolutely unsalvageable? No redeeming qualities? Because I can imagine it would be hard to create characters for a story, and then scrap the story, and try and find a new setting for the characters. :\
Currently reading Les Miserables
@emily-d That’s interesting. I’m a very character-oriented person, so usually characters are the first thing I come up with, and then I make up a story based on who they are and what they need to learn. She could use them in a short story or another small project to get a feel for what kind of story fits with them.
Read to explore worlds, write to create them.
@emily-d Maybe she could feature them as a minor character(s) in one of her other story ideas? Then she could make someone else apart from the MC be genuinely thought-out and help bring the story to life.
It's g-h, 2-4-6-8 twice, three 9's
literatureforthelight.wordpress.comHmm… Personally when I find myself writing stories which I do not like even though it starred characters which I loved, the problem was that I was taking a plot-driven approach when a character-driven one would have been more appropriate. I was too fixated on the idea of certain plot events happening (a fight, a confrontation, a meeting with the love interest etc.) even though it did not flow organically from the characters’ decision and/or did not make sense in-universe. Eventually I grew frustrated and bored so I abandoned those stories.
Perhaps your friend should craft her plot and story idea around her character before beginning to write. She could write a few scenes as an exercise to explore her characters, placing them into different time periods, places and settings to find out what kind of decisions and mistakes her characters tend to make. She could then decide on a plot and story that best suits (i.e. challenges) her characters. Writing the story would then become more interesting because it is fun to discover how your characters would act and react to the situations you place them in.
Hope your friend finds this useful 🙂
@emily-d Maybe instead of using all the characters, she could just take her two favorites and incorporate them in a new story. Or she could create a new story with different characters but have the characters be similar to the ones in her abandoned story. 🙂
@emily-d Tell me about the characters! I love hearing about them. What kind of world do they live in? What are their personalities like? How old are they? That way I can give you a story idea based on the characters and the world they live in 🙂
You can pronounce it however you want.
@emily-d I’ve actually had the same problem before. I get really attached to my babies….
Anyway, is she not able to save any parts of the story at all? Maybe brainstorm some more to make it where she’ll like it? If not, then I think putting them in another story should be okay, though I think it should probably be in the same genre as they were originally. Sadly, I’m really bad at brainstorming an idea; it would take me forever. But if I know the genre, maybe I can look up some story prompts for her?
I agree with Dekreel, I’d love to hear more about the characters! 😊
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@emily-d If she still has the characters, thats great!! I would advise paying special attention in creating or developing your antagonist, assuming the protagonist is good atm. I personally am a more character centered writer. So once you have your characters, you have your story. The actual plot to me is just about the internal conflict of the characters. The rest can be molded by breaking cliches etc or brainstorm for a setting
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