This week: Non-Human Characters Edited by: NaNoNette  
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| "Creating characters is like throwing together ingredients for a recipe. I take characteristics I like and dislike in real people I know, or know of, and use them to embellish and define characters." ~ Cassandra Clare |
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Non-Human Characters
Coming up with a new human character for a story is not exactly easy, but there is one undeniable fact: We are human, so there is a basis to tap into our personal experience of being human. All of the traits needed to make a fictional human are categories of traits that we also have. Making a fictional human definitely falls under: write what you know.
But what about fantasy creatures that are the driver of a story you plan to tell? What is the common denominator that anyone can start with to make a fantasy creature that is somewhat believable?
It's hard, but not impossible. There is a pattern to give you a starting point.
1. Start by choosing what your character even is. Is it a talking animal? Is it a creature that has been established in fiction before like a troll, fairy, orc, or unicorn?
If you choose something that's been done before, you have to take into consideration that readers will have expectations of these creatures.
If you make up something entirely new, be prepared to give more descriptions of every single aspect of the being.
2. Now that you have decided what it is, make it unique. Make it so that there is only one that matters to the reader. Even if you're working from the idea of a living thing that is part of a large group like fish in a school of fish, make the reader care for your fish by creating an emotional connection.
In Antz, Z is our main protagonist. He is an ant in a large bustling hill. The writers made us relate to him with a couple of sentences, "You know, my, my mother never had time for me. You know, when you're - when you're the middle child in a family of five million, you don't get any attention."
3. Your character didn't just pop into existence the moment you started writing about them. Well, they did, but they didn't in universe. Give your creature a backstory. Z's backstory is that he was hatched from his egg to become a worker, but that life isn't for him.
4. Whether anthropomorphized talking animal or wild animal or entirely new creation, give them flaws, ticks, contradictions, and quirks.
Master Yoda in Star Wars speaks in butchered grammar. We understand him, but he is the only one who talks like him. Many people will instantly recognize Yoda's peculiar way of speaking when someone quotes him or uses his grammar to say something.
Careful not to overdo it. Same franchise, different character. Jar Jar Bings's dialect was embarrassing.
5. Even when your character is a creature that has no interaction with humans at all, it needs a character arc. Because while the story may not feature humans, it's written for humans to read, understand, and enjoy. A story has to take us from one point in a character's life to another.
There has to be a moment that sets the story in motion. There have to be obstacles that need overcoming. And there has to be some resolution for the conflict.
6. If you are artistically so inclined or you know how to use AI to make images for you, consider making yourself a visual of your character. This can help you to find the right words to describe it for the reader. A nice image can also become a starting point for a book cover or even just a thumbnail for your item here on Writing.Com.
7. After you've come up with the parts of your character that can fit into a catalogue, make yourself a character profile. Any format that works for you is the right one. Go for a layout that is easy to scan for quick reference while you write.
8. Make more!
Unless you have a character in mind who needs to be completely alone for the story to hold up, make more characters. They should complement your main character. Some should give a contrast to the main character.
9. Keep track of all of them by making a character relationship map. Like a family tree. But more confusing.
Have you ever invented a new species from scratch? |
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Replies to my last Fantasy newsletter "Low, High, Grimdark and more" that asked Which of the Fantasy subgenres are you familiar with? And which one is new to you and you want to write or read in?
s  wrote: Which of the Fantasy subgenres are you familiar with?
And which one is new to you and you want to write or read in?
I am familiar with all of them. Sorry. I have read all of them. I have written all except grimdark, as I struggle with that a little. But I have a preference of the high fantasy, although I like to write the short story-novella length tales. Long epic multi-volume tales just annoy me no end. But my preference is to write the urban fantasy - setting fantasy beings and events in our world. This is becoming as much a go-to genre for me as horror, which is my bread and butter. I even have some WdCers beta-reading an urban fantasy right now for me. Fantasy can mix with everything and has so many available sub-genres that surely there is something for everyone.
That is quite the accomplishment to have written in all of these genres. I think my Fantasy falls under Urban Fantasy and I haven't really been able to leave that.
Beholden  wrote: Thank you very much for including my short story, Pinky, in your Editor's Picks section.
You ask, "Which of the Fantasy subgenres are you familiar with? And which one is new to you and you want to write or read in?" I suppose I'm vaguely familiar with those subgenres you mention, at least in that so many fantasies contain at least brushes with other genres. It's just that I don't classify anything into detailed subgroups - to me, it seems that any world, imagined or real, contains everything that we separate into these little kingdoms we call subgenres, and none are purely concerned with matters under their announced flag alone. In fact, now that I think of it, the only subgenre that LoTR doesn't contain (without a lot of stretching) is Urban Fantasy.
So I could say that none of them is new to me and, to some extent, I've written elements of all into some of my short stories. The amusing thing is that the genre that is most important to me and has a world that I've been working on since I was a child, is not even mentioned. That might be because it's a subgenre that is probably my own invention. You see, what's common to all your definitions is magic. And there ain't no magic in my fantasy. It's a world that obeys the same laws that rule our world and it contains humans just like us. Which makes it possible for me to discuss grown up matters without having to be accurate in things like history and geography and so on. Of course, I have invented the fantasy world's geography and history but they also obey the natural laws of our reality.
Oh, and there are no mythical creatures in my world. Such things are really just humans in silly costumes in most fantasies and we don't need such devices now our eyes are open. I'll do the occasional short story or poem about them, but only because it allows me entrance to a lot more contests in WDC. It's really a bit of fun, so far as I'm concerned; the main fantasy is the serious stuff.
Of course, you can say that it's not fantasy without magic and monsters but I beg to differ. It's an imagined world, no matter how much it looks like ours, and everything in it is imaginary. What else can it be, other than some subgenre of fantasy?
I agree that Fantasy can exist without magic, although I would find it hard to write a story that doesn't at least have a version of nature magic.
dragonwoman wrote: Thank you for choosing "Who do you love?" for your editor's picks. I feel representatives of holidays are often the last to get the benefits of said holiday.
Yup.
BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  wrote: As I read this, I was reminded of a recent video I saw -
Differences between types of Fantasies -
High Fantasy - Knight with a shining sword, Low Fantasy - Mercenary with a well-worn hand axe, Grimdark Fantasy - something in that house are the peasant that owned the house. D&D Fantasy - Tiefling with a rose.
Actual D&D -
Knight with shining sword, Mercenary with well-worn axe, and a Tiefling with a rose enter a tavern. Tavern worker tells them about some creature in a house that ate a peasant. Knight goes, "It's my duty to investigate." Mercenary goes, "There might be money to be made." Tiefling hushes his boyfriend and says, "The cute one is talking."
RPGs are the best way to experience Fantasy.
StephBee  wrote: I enjoy writing paranormal fantasy, but I'm a picky reader when it comes to paranormals. haha. Now, I enjoy a good epic fantasy like Game of Throne. I liked the Lord of the Rings movies, but had no desire to read the books.
I like to write Urban Fantasy, but I'm a picky reader in that genre. I think it's a natural progression to start finding things that are enjoyable and those that don't end up working well. |
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Fantasy: July 17, 2024 Issue [#12609]
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