25 Ways To Fuck With Your Characters (Or, "Building Conflict One Cruelty At A Time")
-
As storyteller, you are god. And to be frank, you’re not a particularly nice god — at least, not if you want your story to resonate with readers. A good storyteller is a crass and callous deity who treats the characters under his watchful eye like a series of troubled butt-puppets. From this essential conflict — storyteller versus character — a story is born. (After all, that’s what a plot truly is: a character who strives to get above all the shit the storyteller dumps on his fool head.)
Put differently, as a storyteller it’s your job to be a dick.
It’s your job to fuck endlessly with the characters twisting beneath your thumb.
And here’s 25 ways for you to do just that.
1. Your Proxy: The Antagonist
Gods have avatars, mortal or semi-mortal beings that exist on earth to embody the deity’s agenda. Avatars — be it Krishna, Jesus, or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man — are the quite literal hand of god within the material plane. And so it is that the antagonist is the avatar of the storyteller, at least in terms of fucking with the other characters. A well-written and fully-realized antagonist is your proxy in the storyworld who steps in and is the hand holding the garden trowel that continues to get shoved up the protagonist’s most indelicate orifice. The antagonist stands actively in the way of the protagonist’s deeds and desires.
2. The Mightiest Burden
The audience and the character must know the stakes on the table — “If you don’t win this poker game, your grandmother will lose her beloved pet orangutan, Orange Julius.” But as the storyteller, you can constantly adjust those stakes, turning up the heat, the fumes, the volume until the character’s carrying an Atlas-like burden on his shoulders. The world’s fate suddenly rests in his hands. Character fails at his task and he loses his wife, his family, and all the nuclear missiles in the world will suddenly launch. In unrelated news: Orange Julius is the best name for an orangutan ever. Go ahead. Prove me wrong. Show your work.
3. Never Tell Me The Odds
Impossible odds are a powerful way to fuck with a character. “It’s you versus that whole army of sentient spam-bots, dude. And they’ve got your girlfriend.” It certifies that the task at hand is an epic one, and is the dividing line between hero and zero. Confirming heroism means beating those odds. Confirming mortality means falling to them. Note that a character doesn’t always have to beat the odds. Failure is an option.
4. Torn Between Two Horses
Drop the character smack dab between two diametrically opposed choices. A character is torn between a love for her country and a love for her family. She’s torn between her obsessive devotion to science and her religious upbringing. She’s torn between saving the life of Orange Julius the genetically-modified super-orangutan or giving all the world’s children infinite ice cream. Okay, maybe not that last one. Point is, tie your character to two (or more!) difficult choices, and let those horses run like motherfuckers.
5. Life On The QT, The Down-Low, The No-No-Nuh-Uh
Give the character an untenable secret life: a forbidden romance, a taboo, a transgression. Confirm that the revelation of this secret life will destroy her. “As soon as they find out you’re really an android, Mary, I can no longer protect you.” The character must constantly protect her secret life, must constantly work against revelation. And you as storyteller will constantly threaten that, won’t you? Because you’re evil.
6. Deny Success With Speedbumps, Roadblocks, Snarling Tigers
This one? So easy. Whenever your character reaches for That Thing He Wants (a girl, a cookie, world peace, a leprechaun’s little hat), slap his face. Throw a tiger in his path. Chop off his hand. Thwart his every grope for the brass ring. That said, don’t let your story become torture porn. A character needs smaller iterative successes to match the longer, larger failures. “I didn’t get the leprechaun’s hat, but I got one of his little shoes. We can use it to track him.”
7. Go Down The “Do Not Want” Checklist
You frequently hear that a character is defined in part by what he wants, but you will find it useful to take the opposite tack, too. Take your character. Dangle that poor fucker by the ears. Give him a good look-over and pick, mmm, say, five things he does not want. Outcomes he fears. He doesn’t want his wife to leave him. He doesn’t want to die young. He doesn’t want to have his penis stolen by wizards. Now, your job, as
Evil MastermindStoryteller is to constantly put the character in danger of these outcomes coming true.8. A Victory That Tastes Of Wormwood
An old classic: “We finally got the leprechaun’s hat! Ha ha, now we’ve the little basta — OH MY GOD THE HAT IS FILLED WITH BEES.” Die Hard has exquisite false victories. John McClane succeeds in calling the authorities and ultimately ends up causing a bigger shitstorm as a result.
9. Storyteller As Robber Fly
Everybody has something they love. Identify those things. Then take one away. Or more than one! “Sorry, dear character, in the fire you lost your house, your husband, and your mystical manrikigusari given to you by your immortal sensei.” You have a choice, here, of paths, a divergence of “lost now” and “lost forever.” Lost now intimates the story can continue, and in fact, the reclamation of lost things is a story unto itself. Lost forever moves the conflict inward, where a character must learn to deal with that loss.
10. Tickle Them With A Ticking Clock
If you ever wish to squeeze my heart and cause my blood pressure to build so that my brain is smothered by swollen arteries, give me a ticking clock time limit in a video game. Freaks me out. Do that to your character. Throw him, his goals, his story, between the turning gears of a ticking clock. “You have one week to save Orange Julius from the leprechaun cult. After that? He becomes one of them.”
11. Beat The Donkey Piss Out Of Them
Again we call upon John McClane, who ends up basically sticking a gun to his back in his own blood at the end of Die Hard. A simple way of dicking with your character is to hurt them. Again. And again.
12. Shot Through The Heart, And You’re To Blame
That being said, a broken jaw, shattered foot, or stapled labia has nothing on the betrayal by a loved one. Maybe it comes down to a simple, “I’m leaving you in this, the moment you need me most,” or maybe it’s, “For your own good, I’ve alerted the police. They’re on their way. I’m so sorry. Now hand me the orangutan.” However it shakes out, the treachery of a loved one is a deeply twisting knife.
13. Shattering Lives With Your Story Hammer
Think about all the pieces of the puzzle that add up to a picture of “you.” Now, do the same for your character. Imagine all those identifiers: lover, father, friend, sheriff, amateur chef, jazz fiend, leprechaun hunter. Now, break the puzzle apart. Throw away most of the pieces. Calamity and cataclysm rob the character of his fundamental identifiers. Force him to question who he even is anymore. What impels him forward? How does he rebuild? What is rebuilt?
14. Shatter Their Preconceived Notions
A deeper, more internal version of the last: take what the character thinks she knows — maybe about her family, her government, her childhood — and throw that paradigm out on its buttbone. The character’s comprehension of events and elements has been all wrong. And not in a good way. The character must respond. Must act. Can’t just go on living like everything’s the same.
15. Motherfucking Love Triangle
The love triangle. Never a more hackneyed, overwrought device — but, just the same, a device that works like a charm if invoked with skill and nuance. Becky loves Rodrigo and has since they were young. But Orange Julius vies for her attention and Rodrigo is off fighting the Spam-Bots in the Twitter War of 2015. And Orange Julius is one sexy orangutan. Who does she choose? Swoon! You needn’t stop at three participants. What about a love rhombus, aka the “lovetangle?” Point is, this is a more specific version of forcing the character into a difficult choice. Do it right and the audience will be right there with you, wearing their shirts, TEAM RODRIGO or TEAM SEXY ORANGUTAN. Gang wars in the streets.
16. The Scorpion Sting Of Deception
Lies form slippery ground, and by forcing the character to lie — or hear and believe another’s lies — you put that character on treacherous ground. We know their lies run the risk of exposure, and we know that a lie is rarely alone — they’re like cockroaches, you hear one, you know a whole wall full of them waits behind the paint. Further, if forced to believe another’s lies, the character begins to make decisions based on bad info.
17. Just A Simple Misunderstanding
Speaking of bad info, the “misunderstanding” has been the backbone of the American sitcom for decades, and it’s a trick you can use. “You said Blorp but I thought you said Glurp and now Zorg is coming to dinner! Oh noes! Hilarious awkward calamity ensues!” Note here the power of dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows the score but the character fails to possess such critical information. We know that the character is going to accidentally give her grandmother a set of small-to-large butt-plugs (for proper teaching of sphincter-stretching) when really she thinks it’s a collection of Sandra Bullock DVDs. Ha ha ha! Oh, a funny thing happened on the way to the dildo shop! Comedy gold.
18. When Two Goals Meet In The Rye With Swords Drawn
Put a character at cross-purposes. Two goals cannot easily be achieved together. The character is supposed to have a date night with his wife and save the world from the leprechaun terrorists? Egads! But how?
19. Dear Character, You Have Made A Terrible Decision
The audience feels sympathy and shame for character mistakes because our mind-wires are crossed. We see a character fuck up and some little part of our brain makes us feel like it’s us fucking up — we associate so closely with characters, we unknowingly get all up in their guts and self-identify. So, characters who make mistakes — or even better, willfully choose a bad path — can make your audience squirm in their seats.
20. Love At The End Of A Knife
Putting loved ones in danger is a powerful way to fuck with your characters. “Sorry, Bob — the Latvians have Betty, and if my intel is right, they’ve got a pit full of ravenous honey badgers to convince her to talk.” And of course, saving that loved one is never easy. Danger lurks. Hard choices await. And even after rescue, can Betty ever again trust that her life with Bob won’t be fraught with honey badger peril?
21. A Grim Game Of “I Never”
A character says, “I never want to become my mother,” but then lo and behold… begins exhibiting the traits of her mother. A cop says, “I’ll never let the job get to me,” and, drum roll please, the job starts getting to him. Everybody has negative identifiers — roles they never want to fill, but roles that have a terrible gravity, a grim inevitability to them. That’s a great way to torque a character’s emotions.
22. Poke The Character’s Weakness With A Pointy Stick
We’ve all got pits and pockmarks in our souls, and characters in fiction doubly so. Flaws and frailties ahoy, and it’s your job as storyteller to exploit those weaknesses. A character might have addictions, anger management problems, a physical debilitation, a soft spot for leprechauns — whatever it is, it’s your job to draw the poison to the surface and let it complicate the story. Because you’re a dick. A super-dick, even.
23. And At Night, The Ice Weasels Come
The environment can be a great antagonist. Sub-zero temperatures! Dangerous mountain pass! Wasp tornado! The setting can come alive to bring great misery to good characters.
24. Roosting Chickens With Razor Beaks
I don’t know why chickens “coming home to roost” is a metaphor for the past returning to haunt a character. I mean, chickens are about as non-threatening as they come. What about owls? Or falcons? Hell, forget birds. The saying should be, “Wait till those ninjas come home to roost.” But I digress. Point is, a character may be running from his past. Just as he thinks he’s escaped it, the past catches up with him — a crazy ex-girlfriend, an ex-partner looking for a last big score, a rogue Terminator. Though, I guess in the case of a Terminator, that’s more the future catching up with you. Whatever. Shut up. Don’t judge me.
25. Opportunistic Hate Crimes Against Beloved Characters
In the end what it comes down to is a willingness by you, the storyteller, to throw your characters under countless speeding buses. You may, like a parent with a child, want to be the character’s friend — you like the character, you want them to succeed, and that’s all well and good. But story is born of conflict and conflict is born of characters in trouble. That’s not to say you need to cause them ceaseless miseries — again, we’re not looking for torture porn. But you have to be willing to put the irons to their feet – a character’s success is only keenly felt and roundly celebrated when first he had to go through hell to get there.
Your Turn
How do you like to use and abuse your poor characters? When does such torment go too far?
* * *
Want another booze-soaked, profanity-laden shotgun blast of dubious writing advice?
Try: CONFESSIONS OF A FREELANCE PENMONKEY
$4.99 at Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), B&N, PDF
And: 250 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WRITING
$0.99 at Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), B&N, PDF
About The Author
ChuckWendig
Chuck Wendig is equal parts novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. He is the author of the novels DOUBLE DEAD, BLACKBIRDS, and MOCKINGBIRD. In addition, he's got a metric boatload of writing-related e-books available, including the popular 500 WAYS TO BE A BETTER WRITER. He currently lives in the wilds of Pennsyltucky with wife, dog, and newborn progeny.
Leave a Reply
82 Responses and Counting...
Dude, thanks so much for this one. For me, ’twas one of the most useful 25 Things yet. Now I can identify existing conflicts, crank them up, and throw in five more. Time to get our sadism on.
Great post. I love it. There should be more torture of poor innocent characters.
And also, this happened to a character in a RPG I was playing a few years ago: “He doesn’t want to have his penis stolen by wizards.”
Fantastic! A storyteller’s godly instincts of how to mess with his protagonist put into words. Best 25-Things list to date!
My poor ickle main character now officially loathes me. And you for putting me up to even more atrocities towards her. Teeheehee…
Oh – and I think it goes too far when your character has to do something that makes him/her irredeemable to the reader, in order to solve his/her problems.
Oi, Chuck, have you been reading my novel? (And if not, why not?)
I’m particularly fond of 5, 8, 12 and 14 myself. Also, I like to keep the protagonist on hislher toes (as in, hanging from their wrists by a rope that’s only just short enough for their toes to touch the ground) by having good guys turn out to be up to no good and vice versa.
Oops, hope that wasn’t a spoiler
Important stuff! You need to mess with your characters, but there is a fine line between too much and not enough. Not enough equals boring; too much can roll into self-parody (unless that’s what you want, of course).
I agree with the others, this is definitely the Best List so far. I love how they really resonate with my WIP already! Especially #19 “Dear Character, You Have Made a Terrible Decision” which I wasn’t sure I should do in case the readers would rebel. But now seeing it here, it makes me more confident that that’s the ending I need to go with.
When I was younger, I love “torture porn”. I went way over the top! Ceaseless angst and misery for my characters! Luckily I got sick of it and toned it down…though I am still merciless.
I love to push it. Torment in ways you wouldn’t ever thought could happen to you or in this world. Something you’ve never experience in real life or don’t think you ever will. I think that sort of darkness is what makes fiction powerful.
But I think torment goes too far when you know they can’t bounce back. You broke them to the point where if they keep going as if nothing is wrong or even the least bit functional, the reader won’t believe it and they’ll stop reading.
I had a friend who wrote like that. When the torture gets too much, it’s no longer fun to read, especially when you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. At very least, hint that things will get better…and let things get better….eventually.
All great ideas Chuck. They should work well in my first children’s book. In particular, I think a gun tacked to a baby’s back, in his own blood, will look awesome in pop up form.
I don’t think I’ve ever pulled it off successfully but I always dug movies or books that gets the protag to start to see things the way the antagonist sees it. Moves his moral compass just a little before it all comes crashing down
A great list to turn to when one’s plot-juice is running low. Also, you get a million internet points for the ice weasels reference.
I think treacherous loved ones disturb me the most, because then you’re left with “Whom can you trust?” No one? That’s sad.
I think the protagonist does need to understand the antagonist, the better to defeat them (The Art of War). Or if not defeat, at least avoid, forever.
Spoiler Alert: In the old Agatha Christie book, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the story is told through the murderer himself, and you don’t realize it until Poirot calls him out at the very end. Well, you might suspect it, but then brush it off. The protagonist is the antagonist. That’s a creepy book. I wouldn’t have wanted Christie for an enemy!
Ticking Clock … Chuck, you just inadvertently gave me my inciting incident and put my main character at serious risk of losing a limb. And, for that, the world thanks you.
there were only bees in the Leprochaun’s hat – they got off lucky.
This might be my favorite list to date, as well. Like Amber above, I’m a big fan of #19, though I prefer to call it the Now Look What You’ve Done. And in the aftermath of Now Look What You’ve Done, I like to inflict a boatload of guilt. After all, things just went from “bad” to “leprechaun hat FULL OF BEES”, and it’s all your fault. And can you fix it? Probably not.
What about Orange Julius CAESAR? You could dress him in a toga and olive branches.
In my current novel, I threw the main character, a dude, into a locked bedroom with a transvestite hooker who is skilled at kickboxing. Why? Because I am God and that’s what I wanted to do.
On an unrelated note: Is that a photo of when you were in Hawaii? I don’t think you were supposed to stand on those rocks.
Definition of a writer: someone who is mean to his imaginary friends.
Heh, Chad, that is not me in Hawaii. It is a photo I took in Hawaii of some douchebag who was making a very bad decision.
– c.
I like how you call the antagonist, the writer’s proxy. I think it’s brilliant. Too many writers (including myself, sometimes) fall in love with their protagonists so bad that they make shit easy. Hence Jack Reacher. I like your way of seeing things from the opposite perspective.
Every single one of your lists has been insightful, not to mention hilarious. I look forward to the possibility of a “25 Ways” compilation e-book in the future. Thanks, Chuck!
Just got feedback that I need to turn up the intensity on my ms. I’m 95 percent there. You just gave me a treasure map to hit 110 percent.
Thanks, as always.
BTFO!
~Casz
Okay, I hope you’re happy. After being introduced to your blog and some of the finest pieces of writing I’ve seen lately, I’m quite simply forced to buy a bloody Kindle. Why? So I can buy your books.
You are hereby to blame for me finally caving in to the monstrously sterile and disgustingly clean world of ‘E-readers’ and digital distribution of something that’s not a very violent and well-written computer game. I know this, because I get addicted to this kind of thing. My Steam account has well over 200 games, and I just know that bloody Kindle will be filled to the brim with paperless writing within a month.
These are destructive addictions, each and every one of them burning away all physical evidence of my hoards, needs and desires and my dream of a room turned into a library, a comfortable chair, a bar cabinet, ash tray and coffee maker has now turned to ash. The only remaining evidence of my cravings will be the giant piles of coffeecans and tobacco pouches in my trash.
… mostly because the porn has already gone digital for me.
Curse your name to the twelfth generation, you magnificent bastard.
Man, this came at a great time for me. I’m trying to plot, but my “scenes,” you can call the limp, conflict-less pieces of drivel I’ve been coming up with as “scenes,” have been lacking some oomph. Thanks very much oh purveyor of vulgar and brilliant advice!
[...] keep linking to or reposting this guy’s blog. Mostly because it is ten different types of awesome and I’m a huge sucker for lists. It [...]
Much appreciated! It’s funny; in real life I detest conflict, I cringe at confrontation, I hide under the bed at angsty drama. But *writing* hoo-ha! Yeah, it’s amazingly theraputic to run your hero through the grinder, and your list of ways to do just that is one I’m going to keep in mind. Thank you!
“Kill them” wasn’t on this list. If there is anything George RR Martin has taught us….
Would you believe that I don’t think “kill them” is a good way to fuck with characters or the audience?
I actually consider it:
a) a little cheap
b) a little unimaginative
and
c) the thief of conflict rather than the giver of conflict.
Er, not to say some characters can’t and shouldn’t die — only that, it can be used as an exploit, as a ploy.
– c.
in the book im writing almost done with first draft, the hero is basically wondering what the hell is going on. from two loves, being attacked, having someone betray him not once but twice and only the second time does he find out.
oh and finding out that maybe at lest one other family member survived a fiery crash
oh i forgot to add that the main bad person has a sick really obsessive feeling for the hero, as in the girlfriend who thinks that killing you is how much she loves you sick
Great tips. I like to fuck with my “bad guys” by giving them pure moments of conscience, self awareness, regret, and beauty, just before they commit the most heinous acts of destruction and violence.
My readers sympathize with my bad guys, not as romantic “anti-heroes,” but in a way that makes them feel dirty. And I like that.
Ultimately, isn’t it all about fucking with the reader?.
[...] of my brilliant writing (I wish), go enjoy the profane genius of Chuck Wendig’s new post: “25 Ways to Fuck With Your Characters.” ‘Cause, you know, Chuck Wendig is just awesome. And yes, I’m aware that my [...]
I also agree that killing them is going too far. It’s the reason why I couldn’t continue A Game of Thrones. Though I suppose it’s better if it’s done at the end of the book or end of a series/trilogy.
Some of my most favorite authors have done that and made me bawl eyes out…the bastards.
[...] Wendig gives us 25 ways to fuck with your characters. “Fuck” in the sense of shovel grief onto the characters, not in the more literal [...]
[...] Building conflict, one cruelty at a time. [...]
[...] Chuck Wendig on 25 Ways To Fuck With Your Characters. [...]
I was with you all the way up until you quoted Bon Jovi.
In the case of The Song Of Ice And Fire series, the Character In Question (CIQ? Pronounced “Sick?” – I AM ACRONYM MAN!!!) may be physically dead in the heads of the readers, but his influence (in the form of his progeny and references to his past behaviors by others) means he still lives on in a manner of speaking. I don’t know about you, but that’s some seriously brilliant (not to mention subtle) storytelling!
Laughed the whole way through and was also inspired – thank you!
How do you like to use and abuse your poor characters?
A: With all of the above of course! Some characters are completely killed off, no one is really safe from the abuse and torture
Q: When does such torment go too far?
A: Considering that as filling this out my story grew darker and darker, I toss all my characters under the bus hardcore. I’ve always tortured my characters emotionally with their downfalls, flaws and their pasts. The setting is additionally horrific at times and everyone is literally struggling for their lives. I think I got it covered
[...] http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/08/02/25-ways-to-fuck-with-your-characters/ [...]
“If invoked with .”?
Glad to see that ‘Just kill them!’ wasn’t on the list, and that Chuck already posted why he didn’t include them. My biggest problem with the gratuitous slaying of characters is that it starts to render death itself meaningless. By that I mean I start to feel less engaged with the characters as a whole, because I know that at any moment, after spending hundreds of pages investing myself in a character, the author just snuffs him out.
If this happens more than a few times in a book, or more than a handful in a series, I just shrug and plow on through, but my enjoyment is greatly diminished.
Some people do seem to like reading about absolute misery and delighting in the downfall of others, but I don’t need fiction for that, since I’ve got the news to give me my daily fill of abject, pointless tragedy, and if I run out of that, I’ve got my history books.
Bill:
Fixed. Not sure where those words went.
Thx.
– c.
Best writer’s workshop exercise ever! XD
I’d never take writing advice from someone who thinks rape jokes and violent gendered language is an effective way to get their point across.
Yes, I know it’s a joke and that’s this person’s schtick. No, I don’t find it funny. Completely alienating to some people.
I’ve got to say, I love reading these posts; both hilarious and informative!
As far as character torture, my current method of torturing my characters involves trace amounts of time travel, where they know what decision they are going to make and hate it–but don’t know why they made the decision. Basically, a combination of ‘Hard Choice’ and ‘Inevitable.’
As for too far, I’m not really sure there is one as long as you handle it properly. Obviously poorly-handled character abuse can get old very quickly, but I think the only limit that is imposed on it is how far you are personally capable of keeping the audience within the story.
[...] 25 Ways to Screw with your Characters, Building Conflict One Cruelty At A Time [...]
“He doesn’t want to have his penis stolen by wizards.”
But it turns out okay in the end, when it is returned with “enhancements.”
Great post!
‘stapled labia’? Dear Lord…
[...] The latest one on can be found here:http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/08/02/25-ways-to-fuck-with-your-characters/ [...]
[...] As you may have seen this week, I offered up 25 Ways To Fuck With Your Characters. [...]
Chuck, dude, your writing is hilarious. Great tips but even greater are the laughs I got out of this.
Peace
Best blog post ever! Great advice . . . and hysterical.
Chuck, can you add an email subscription? Love to follow you.
Ooh, great list. I don’t think your terrible mind missed any. I on the other hand, missed many of them.
My favorite way to make things harder is to make things emotional. For example, my main character for a story I am writing has no idea who her father truly is until the second part – at which point, she learns it’s somebody who’s been with her group the whole time. Cue the drama, angst, and father issues…
That’s my opinion, though. I found this to be immensely helpful and incredibly funny. Awesome work, dude!
[...] [...]
A Victory That Tastes of Wormwood = BEST. PHRASE. EVER. Seriously, it inspired my last three hours of writing. Thanks, lol!
[...] (NSFW) Wendig shares 25 Ways to F*** With your Characters. (That is the saddest part of our jobs. If we love the characters, we must hurt them. It’s a [...]
Excellent list. As a writer, I’ve never understood why any writer wants to protect their characters. For me, the best kind of story is the one where the shut hits the fan and you watch the characters come through it as better people with a lot of laundry to do.
[...] 25 Ways to Defeat the Dreaded Writer’s Block, 25 Ways to Become a Better Writer, and 25 Ways to F&*K with Your Characters. Many of these lists are also wrapped up in his ebook, 250 Things You Should Know About [...]
loved this, excellent advice, (and I laughed a lot). I’d add a codicil – if no matter what you do to the main character, you don’t’ begin to care about them, consider telling the story from a different angle. I did this, moved the story to being told by his best friend. Suddenly whole thing came alive.
Excellent advice and a great read too.
Thanks, Chuck.
[...] 25 Ways To **** With Your Characters Replace the asterisks with something along the lines of “screw.” Or, from what I got out of it: make your characters more interesting. [...]
[...] offers irreverently good ways to make your characters interesting — pain is the primary method — and Patrick O’Duffy (who shares my love of Batman, [...]
I always notice–especially on TV and in movies–that the lovers who have been eyeing each other from a distance for the whole movie/episode/season will finally have their first kiss only at the point where shit is just about to hit the fan. whenever i see a first kiss, i know something bad is about to happen. it seems like a cliche, but it works really well…
[...] the rest of the article here: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/08/02/25-ways-to-fuck-with-your-characters/ Share this:ShareFacebookTwitterStumbleUponEmailDiggRedditPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like [...]
[...] So, perhaps I made a mistake when I thought they must slowly build their relationship (or have love at first sight). Perhaps, it’s all about setting up a potential relationship, some attraction or situation to bring them together initially, and then attempt with all my god-like authorial power to split them up. Which, funnily enough, count for a few of Chuck Wendig’s 25 Ways to Fuck With Your Characters. [...]
Two words: spontaneous tarrasque.
You have no idea how much this is going to help me =3 I always have trouble building conflict in the stories I write, this will be amazingly useful!
This is a great list! Especially for brainstorming structure–something I find myself spending the most time on. I love the simple twist of fate one–so innocent and insignificant yet it has so much potential to mess a character up!
[...] Haha XD Anyway here’s some tings I have bookmarked that might stir your creative sides: 1. 25 ways to f*** with your characters (or, building conflict one cruelty at a time) – Nachan will know why I like this ^^;; But it’s got some good info on how to keep the [...]
Number 5, all the way, all the time. Dude’s got issues, you know.
[...] – if the ‘f-word’ offends you, don’t read his stuff!), and his’25 suggestions for torturing your characters’ post was both enlightening and entertaining. I laughed. I [...]
Oh man, you rock! I think I’ll print this out and keep it next to my laptop
[...] worth a read is Chuck Wendig’s recent post on 25 Ways to F*** With Your Characters. Despite (or perhaps because of) his penchant for swearing and often shocking imagery, his [...]
I was stuck Friday night for the ending to a chapter, I love to leave my reader hanging, so I shot my character twice in the chest. Never realized how good it would feel to shoot someone.
Great list, thanks and it will help.
Awesome. I am bookmarking this. Thanks very much for tossing it out here!
[...] 25 Ways To Fuck With Your Characters [...]
Bonus points if you’ve been hurt by people in real life and then find ways of writing about them and how stupid/evil they are in your stories, but obfuscating characters enough that even they can’t tell that they are the ones in your book. You’ll be the only one who truly knows the secret of who is who (also, fantastic way to not actually kill people, but feel like you have at the same time.) Priceless.
[...] Haha XD Anyway here’s some tings I have bookmarked that might stir your creative sides: 1. 25 ways to f*** with your characters (or, building conflict one cruelty at a time) – Nachan will know why I like this ^^;; But it’s got some good info on how to keep the [...]
[...] Check out these 25 tips on writing for your characters here. [...]