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@joy-caroline haha I forgot to add that my character does have a positive arc as time passes and she (slowly) learns to love and trust again
Also, I really like the one you did of Paul! it’s well done and thought out!
I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title
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Wowwwieee, that sure sounds like a doozy of a story! I’m really glad poor Brianna gets a positive character arc!
Ah, thank you! I thought that redemption lie made the most sense for him.
Poor Ilio. :'(
Which they do, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not as bad a person as he believes he is.
That has to be one of my favorite character lies. It’s always so beautiful to see a character realize he/she is capable of good and compassion.
Hey @joy-caroline
First of all, can I say that I love all of your discussion topics. Looking through this thread and reading other people’s responses has given me so much inspiration!
I think that Peter’s misbelief makes so much sense because he was once a persecutor of followers of Christ. And after being saved he feels so overwhelmed by Christ’s love but also has guilt and deep regret. The show A.D: The Bible Continues definitely shows that initial negative reaction after his conversion that would make him feel that way. It’s definitely great to have such a strong sense of your characters misbelief while writing. I’m still having trouble creating mine but here it goes
Lebechi needs to be accepted into the science lab group at her school. The friend to twso girls that shine for their intellectual and social prowess, she knows what it feels like to be outshone. Admission into the lab group would cement her worthiness within her friend group and give her a leading role in defending her tribe, the Ficamle, from the Cidfla. She enjoys the intellectual freedom and opportunity at the lab but winning means that she must become just as ruthless as her opponent and take part in actions she knows isn’t right. When she discovers an important secret that must be revealed she must decide on which to prioritize.
Still smarting from being abandoned by his mentor Omar doubts his ability to survive and make his way in the land of ______.Therefore he is forever grateful and loyal to the Cidfla tribe who take him in, effectively saving him from becoming a T-subject. He eagerly leaps on their request that he compete for a coveted lab position in the Academy. Soon though Omar becomes obsessed with success at the detriment of his newly found friends and his opponent. By the time he wakes up from his fever dream of competition he realizes that things are irrevocably broken? Can he fix it in time?
So yeah this is pretty much it. I know I gave more of a summary of the whole book and please ignore the terrible names that I have different stuff. It’s all very unpolished but please tell me what you think.
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Thanks so much! I’m glad this is inspiring you. We writers are really good liars to our characters. XD
Thank you! I honestly struggled with Paul’s lie for a long time, cause ya know, what lie would St. Paul believe? But as I thought about it, the lie about redemption makes a ton of emotional sense for him and it’s so interesting to explore.
Ooh, I think that is a GREAT lie! One I can relate to, and I’m sure many others can too, ’cause feeling like you’ve got to fit in is something everyone has probably faced. I think as you continue working on your novel, you’ll find that all the character lies – not just your main character’s – will become clear to you. I actually didn’t know any of my characters’ lies when I wrote the first draft.
One thing I recommend are character profiles. Those really help me get to know my characters better and become acquainted with their desires, fears, passions, etc.
@joy-caroline
Sorry for answering up so late. I’m recently been in a stint where I’ve been stressting…um studying for the SAT. Now I’ve decided to come out of my hole and hopefully my days will be more balanced.
I completely understand the fact that you’ve struggled with. I mean Paul is just a great messenger for God when it comes to spreading the Gospel so it’s hard to imagine him with flaws. However one of the comforts of the New Testament is that most of the apostles and missionaries who did great things for God started out as normal people and still made mistakes.
Thank you so much. I’m glad you looked past the terrible names. I still haven’t solidified a lot of these things yet. But I’m definitely sure about the lies and misbeliefs of my two main characters. I only hope that as I continue writing they become more nuanced!
You’re right. I’ve been doing extensive development for my characters. I just need to figure out how this fits into my plot outline. So expect to see the first few chapters of my book soon! Maybe by this weekend.
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Aw, girl, that’s totally okay! I’m super busy as well – just started school this past Monday, so I won’t have the time to hang out on the forum nearly as often as I did during summer. (Good example is my late reply to this post, sorry about that!)
True, true. It’s really inspiring to know that even God’s most honored messengers came with flaws and struggles of their own!
Tbh I haven’t solidified a lot of stuff about my novel either, lol. It kinda takes a bit of experimenting and getting to know your characters and story before you know stuff for sure. In fact, some authors don’t know for sure until they’re into the final drafts! That’s what drafts are for… figuring it all out.
Wow, nice! I’m working on the first few chapters of my book as well.
@joy-caroline
Good topic(totally saw it earlier, lol). Liking the growth I can already see happening in your characters through the lies.
First lie: my character believes this one; his parents are preoccupied and can’t show him the affection he wants and needs. My character is separated from his family and tells himself these lies to justify their actions.
Second lie: my character betrays a lie by making a friend of his tell a lie so he can do what he thinks he needs to to achieve the goals he believes is right. (that was very vague, I’m sorry.)
Third major lie: He tells everyone he’s okay and doesn’t need their help. This guy needs help.
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Thanks!
Wow, those are great lies! Especially the first one. I love when characters tell themselves lies not to justify their own actions, but to justify others’ actions. It’s so fascinating and tragic.
@joy-caroline Weeeeelllll…. actually… all of my characters have BFLs but I’ll just talk about one character here. 😉
Bren is the protagonist of The Azure Diamond, as I’m sure a lot of you know by now. XD Her Big Fat Lie™ is that she was the cause of her older sister’s death. Her older sister, Asla Saidaas, died about four years before the events of the story. She died because she didn’t gather all the shards of the Azure Diamond in time to reverse the White Sapphire’s effects (and ultimately destroy the White Sapphire), and before she died asked Bren to avenge her. What her sister meant was to gather all the shards so the Azure Diamond could heal everyone again, but Bren took this to mean “gather all the shards before I die so you can heal me”. And Bren was merely 12 at the time this took place, so she really couldn’t do much about it. So, after her sister died, she left home in order to try to avenge her sister anyways and destroy the White Sapphire.
Lol, sorry, I just ranted. XDD
staring at the fields
if nothing's really real
i'll make the winter now my home- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Aw, poor Bren! Characters who believe they’re at fault for a tragic event are always so touching to read about.
I only actually got to figuring this out a few days ago, but my MC Dune believes a myriad of lies which combine to make a delicious tragedy soup (AKA he needs to go to therapy).
1. His current life, stealing, is what he wants. It’s what he’s used to, so surely he’s content with it? (Spoiler: NO)
2. He’ll always be a thief and he can’t change that, even if he wanted to. He has kleptomania and watched his grandfather struggle with the same thing. And he’s tried multiple times to quit when he was a teenager. Needless to say they didn’t work.
3. The people he loves would hate him and never forgive him if they knew who he really was. This is what stops him from telling his parents and his friend/arch nemesis Windris the truth. Further exacerbated when Windris does find out, and unsurprisingly, hates him for lying to her.
4. There is no point in doing good things since most people are bad anyways. He grew up in a poor household and has seen a lot of apathy and cruelty, which caused him to grow up cynical.
I’m still working on Windris, but her lie is basically that morality is black and white, a bit like Javert.
Hmm, how shall I emotionally torture my ocs today I wonder...
@thelobsterlover Ack, poor Dune. He needs serious help. And Windris is a cool name. She’s your antagonist?
The one cynical character I had was from a fanfic, so he came that way if you know what I mean. He’s had some work on his attitude–spending time with the more optimistic character [an OC of mine] he’s supposed to guard has lightened him up a bit. She’s totally in love with him, by the way, but he pretends not to notice……
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
This totally got lost in my notifs oops-
And yes I agree he needs help. The 2nd part of my story is actually focused on his redemption.
Also I’m glad you like my names, since I always felt a little self conscious about them. Windris used to have wings, so I thought, “Something with ‘wind’ at the beginning.’ The name stuck, even though her concept has changed.
She’s ‘technically’ the antagonist in the literal sense, but she’s not the villain.
I like your fanfic ocs already! I’ve also got it planned that Windris has a crush on Dune, and Dune later finds out he feels the same way and hates it! In the 2nd part, Windris learns more about Dune (while struggling to forgive him) and in the end learns to love him as he is, kleptomania and all.
Hmm, how shall I emotionally torture my ocs today I wonder...
@thelobsterlover I’m glad Dune gets the help he needs. And I get the antagonist-but-not-villain thing. I don’t think I’ve used that yet, but I think I’ve heard of it.
And thanks! Actually, the character I mentioned as being kinda cynical was an already existing character from a fandom. But the other one, she was entirely my creation, as were her “powers.” I, for some reason, like linking already established characters to ocs in some way…..
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
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