7 Character Mistakes That Scream Amateur Writer
Writing believable characters is kind of like herding cats through a chaotic storyline. They should be strong but not too strong, have flaws without being overwhelmingly flawed, and make intelligent choices without morphing into either an idealized hero or a reckless lemming wielding chaos magic.
If you’ve ever written passive protagonists who just vibe through the plot or one-note archetypes who feel like they were assembled by a confused necromancer with a Pinterest addiction, this video is for you.
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You’ll learn:
- Why your love interest might be a disguised plot device
- How to avoid creating characters that exist only for the plot
- What distinguishes a trope from a person
- How embracing contradictions can make your characters feel relatable and refreshingly unexpected
- The key difference between protagonists who take action and those who remain passive
- Ways to maintain consistent motivation for your hero without abrupt emotional shifts
Video chapters
- 00:00 Mistake 1 – Your Character Only Exists to Serve the Plot
- 03:57 Mistake 2 – They’re a Walking Collection of Tropes
- 07:23 Mistake 3 – Your Character Has No Internal Contradictions
- 10:26 Mistake 4 – They React Instead of Act
- 13:42 Mistake 5 – Your Character’s Motivation Makes No Sense
- 17:39 Mistake 6 – They’re Perfect or Perfectly Awful
- 21:44 Mistake 7 – Your Character Sounds Like You in a Costume
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