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“You meet in a tavern” is one of the more stereotypical ways that fantasy characters meet, but you can always do something interesting with it
Forced together by a third party
Going in the same direction and decide to team up
One is rich/charismatic and recruits the others
Safety in numbers
Old friends and/or acquaintances and/or friends of friends (A and B are friends and decide to go somewhere together; A brings along their friend C and B brings along their friend D)
A panic attack is a sudden surge of overwhelming anxiety and fear. Your heart pounds and you can’t breathe. You may even feel like you’re dying or going crazy. Left untreated, panic attacks can lead to panic disorder and other problems. They may even cause you to withdraw from normal activities. But panic attacks can be cured and the sooner you seek help, the better. With treatment, you can reduce or eliminate the symptoms of panic and regain control of your life. [x]
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–Panic attacks can happen out of the blue, without any warning or clear reason -they can even occur when relaxed or sleeping.
–They can be a one-time occurrence
–Repeat episodes are often triggered by a specific situation or “trigger” and can be anything from a specific fear, seeing a disturbing image or thinking about a time or situation when you felt endangered & unable to escape.
–Panic attacks can happen to perfectly “happy and healthy” people.
–Or panic attacks may occur as part of another disorder, such as panic disorder, social phobia or depression.
Although the exact causes of panic attacks and panic disorder are unclear, the tendency to have panic attacks runs in families. There also appears to be a connection with major life transitions such as graduating from college and entering the workplace, getting married, and having a baby. Severe stress, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or job loss can also trigger a panic attack.
Panic attacks can also be caused by medical conditions and other physical causes. If you’re suffering from symptoms of panic, it’s important to see a doctor to rule out the following possibilities:
Mitral valve prolapse, a minor cardiac problem that occurs when one of the heart’s valves doesn’t close correctly.
Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland)
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
Stimulant use (amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine)
Medication withdrawal
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Treatment for Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Generally viewed at the most effective form of treatment. This focuses on the thinking patterns and behaviors that are sustaining or triggering the panic attacks. It helps you look at your fears in a more realistic light.
Exposure Therapy In a safe and controlled environment, being exposed to the physical sensations of panic, giving the opportunity to learn healthier ays of coping. In these, people may be asked to hyperventilate, shake their heads from side to side or hold their breath. These different exercises cause similar sensations to that of panic. With each exposure, int theory, that person will become less and less afraid of these internal bodily sensations.
Medication Symptoms of panic disorder can be temporarily controlled or reduced with medications. However, medications do not treat or resolve the core problem. Medication can be useful in severe cases, but it should not be the only treatment pursued. It is most effective when combined with other treatments.
Antidepressants (takes several weeks for them to “kick in” so patients would have to take them continuously, not just during a panic attack)
Benzodiazepines (work very quickly, within 30mins to 1 hour - taking during panic attack provides rapid relief of symptoms. These are highly addictive & have serious withdrawal symptoms - should be used with caution)
Take a deep breathe – hold for about 2-3 seconds – make your lips like you’re about to whistle and breathe out slowly – repeat as necessary.
Call Someone
Talking on the phone is a very sensory experience. You need to focus on what the person is saying, you can tell them everything that you’re experiencing and everything that’s on your mind and you can make sure that your senses are distracted.
Spinning Rings
Remember that the most important thing to do is to try to get out of your head. Since that’s easier said than done, it’s not a bad idea to perform some sort of repetitive activity when you’re going through a panic attack so that you’re actively doing something that keeps you from being too focused on your mind.
With that in mind, consider purchasing a ring or spinner ring and slowly twisting that ring if you’re going through a panic attack alone and/or unable to call someone. Spin the ring slowly, and while you’re spinning use it as a reminder of how to breathe better. By focusing your mind on an activity (spinning the ring), and helping yourself remember how to reduce symptoms through better breathing, you create an environment that will cause you less serious attacks.
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This was made primarily with writers in mind who have never experienced or have never seen an active panic attack, but this I believe can also be used for people who may be trying to understand more about their own panic attacks (it helped me with understanding mine actually).
Don’t hesitate to share anything extra or correct anything wrong :)
People tend to act, speak, and - perhaps most importantly - make decisions differently when they are very tired.
Because so many of you write sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, etc., this is really important for you to keep in mind.
Showing their exhaustion after 3 days spent deciphering an ancient riddle in an equally ancient library/running away from a group of soldiers intent on killing them/taking part in a massive week long fighting tournament will make what’s happening feel more grounded in reality (which is especially important when writing fantastic fiction) and will help your reader to better empathize with your characters.
Example time - One of the greatest episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender took place after the blind earthbender Toph had recently joined the group. Toph was already at odds with the others, tension was high, they had barely had any sleep, and to top it all off the evil firebending princess Azula and her two friends chose that exact moment to chase them all night long in an epic manhunt with a massive machine.
One of the greatest things about the episode is that you actually see the impact their exhaustion has on their personalities and they way that they behave. It’s actually really unsettling, but believable.
Characters who are usually optimists are much more likely to let their real feelings, doubts, and insecurities out when incredibly exhausted. Those who are generally prone to anger may descend into apathy.Those who are usually cautious about making decisions may become much more prone to snap judgment (which may or may not work out in their favor).
Use this to your advantage. Being exhausted absolutely sucks, even in a real world setting, so it can be a great tool for creating dramatic tension and further exploring your characters’ personalities.
Perfect characters kill tension with ruthless efficiency. It’€™s really hard to get interested in what they’€™re working through, because it’™s obvious they’ll succeed. Characters that overcome obstacles despite a serious handicap seem stronger than ones …
A is a dryad attached to the tree that stands in the yard of the house that B grew up in.
A and B are changelings (each replaced the other). In the process of tracing back where they came from as adults, they find each other.
A died a year ago. Determined to haunt the one that killed them, they fought their way back to the house where they used to live as a ghost- only to find that their murderer is gone. B is the new tenant.
A is a wildlife rehabilitator. They always talk to the animals they’re working with- the way animal people do. A isn’t prepared for when one day B talks back.
A just messed something up in B’s garden. Shit’s about to get real.
A finds a stray dog, and catches it, planning on trying to find its owner. The problem is that the dog is B, and B isn’t a dog all the time.
A needs to summon a powerful and dangerous demon (or equivalent being). However, just as they are saying the last of the incantation, they cough on the smoke in the room, and mispronounce the name. B appears before them instead.
Look, this will sound utterly ridiculous... but I sort off get frozen every time I try to do a character sheet. Or create a character. Mainly when I write flaws, because I can´t just force myself to give them any. I have a terrible self-esteem and that is probably the problem - since I am bad, I try to make them as good and nice and perfect as possible. And it makes me discouraged. Any idea on how to help? Or any advice on alternate ways to create characters? I would accept any help you can give
It doesn’t sound ridiculous at all. And you’re not bad. Never think of yourself that way; no person can truly be all bad, you know?
People are complicated. Mostly, we have core traits that sort of ‘code’ us into being who we are, but our circumstances, past experiences, and the people we are with can bend those traits one way or the other.
See… I think a good bit of advice when writing a character is… instead of seeing them as ‘good’ and ‘bad’… see them instead as beings that are capable of doing good or bad things. Naturally, the nature of the ‘bad things’ will determine the character’s morality; there are some things people do that makes it very hard to separate them as an individual away from the evilness of the act. But… no character and no person should never be 100% one way or another. A ‘bad’ character will do good things, and a ‘good’ character will do bad things, right?
Keep It Balanced
My advice to you would be… for every ‘good’ trait you write down, either:
Think of a way that trait could be a negative one or;
Come up with a negative trait to go alongside it.
Make a grid and in one side have ‘good traits’, in the other, ‘bad traits’. List all of the traits you have given to your characters before putting them in the grid. It might look something like this:
Caring
Intelligent
Loyal
Skilled
Fair/Just
Empathetic
Affectionate
Think about the traits you have and where you would put them in the grid. If you want to list them all as ‘good traits’, that’s fine. Just put them in the grid where you think they should go.
If all of your traits are in the ‘good traits’ side, write beside them some bad traits you could use to mix them up. If you have put some of the traits into the ‘bad traits’ section, think about why you have put it in there. Here is my grid as an example:
Then write out a little summary of the traits, explaining the good ones and the bad ones to create a whole picture of this person.
So, this character is caring, affectionate and empathetic. It might seem weird in that case that they can also be manipulative and insular… but… People can be kind to some and not others. People can be kind sometimes, and then not in other times. It’s the way of all human beings; we have good days and bad days, or we have perpetual good days with certain people, then perpetual bad days with others.
This character might be kind and affectionate towards people they are loyal to, but not to anybody else. They aren’t interested in anybody outside of their group - they don’t want to learn about them, they maybe don’t even want to see them as the same as they are: another person. Instead, they have adopted an ‘us and them’ mentality, and would not extend kindness or empathy to those they aren’t loyal to already.
Although they’re intelligent and quick-thinking, this aids them in their manipulation of those around them. If they want something specific, they know exactly how to get it. They can talk circles around more naive, submissive characters to get them to either do their bidding, or accept an opinion previously rejected.
However, they are not without morals. They have a strong moral compass and understand wider issues amongst their group enough to come up with fair and diplomatic solutions.
But for all they are physically skilled, this is used as an offence rather than a defence. They are likely to attack the unknown first, and ask questions later.
When you read this character summary, you might think, ‘they sound really bad…’ or you might think, ‘they sound like they’re doing what they have to’. That will depend on the setting of the story and the circumstances and how well you express this character through that. If you wanted them to be good, despite the bad traits, you would make sure you put them in situations where their behaviour becomes understandable to the reader. Otherwise, you would put them on the other side of the fence and demonstrate how awful they can be.
This is just an exercise to get you thinking about what kind of traits you can add to your ‘perfect’ characters to make them a little more human. However…
Take Time to Change Things
Just because you have your characters worked out, all with good traits, it doesn’t mean you can’t switch things around.
I have a story that I have been writing since I was about fourteen… That was ten years ago. The characters I created then are nothing like they are now because I have spent time developing them and getting to know them. I took all of their ‘perfect’ traits and created a more complex, realistic character instead.
Some of the traits have stayed with the characters over that time, but others have been removed altogether or warped completely.
The best advice I have for you is: creating characters takes time. It is very rarely done overnight. Sometimes it can be a good thing to leave your characters alone for a while and focus your attention elsewhere, before going back to see them again. That way, you will see for yourself - as you develop and mature your writing skills - what can be changed about them to make them better.
Don’t Force It!
I have never been much of a fan of character profiles because I find they take a lot of unnecessary time up (when you could be plotting or worldbuilding) and it can be tempting to write a character without allowing them the time needed to grow.
It might seem weird that I’ve said they take up time, and also don’t allow time. Well, that is because… writing out a profile can take over an hour sometimes of nonstop thinking and creating. So you write everything down onto the sheet and then months down the line you suddenly decide to change something about the character. It can have a knock-on effect, and suddenly the profile you wrote out is outdated. Also, because you spent that time forcing a character into being, you didn’t give them any opportunity to really develop.
First ideas are a good starting point, but I would be surprised if anyone came up with a character in just over an hour and never felt they could be improved upon after that point.
I also wouldn’t use character profiles if you feel like they’re not helping you to create a good character. Every writer has a different method. My own personal method is just to write. I might start out with this faint, ghost of a thing in my mind and so I sit down and I write them into the story I imagined for them and see what they show me through that. I find out who they are by writing out their story or, rather, starting to.
It’s only afterwards I go back and use character profiles to prompt new ideas or change things that weren’t quite right at the start. Maybe this is a method that will work for you too; it’s all about finding what makes you comfortable, not what everyone else says you should be doing.
Ask Questions
A very simple exercise in character creation - as is the same for plotting - is to ask questions. When you think up something like, ‘This character is loyal to these people’ ask, ‘Why?’
‘Because they were raised by them.’ Okay, why?
‘Because their parents were forced to give them up to this group of people.’ Why? And how does this impact the character? Do they know about this? Or is the group the only family they know? Yadda, yadda.
The more questions you ask, the more of a complete picture you start to create, and you can really imagine being in this character’s head and see what traits they may have been born with - or develop - on account of their past, present, and future.
I hope this helps, Anon. I’ve tried to be thorough and include as many resources as I can to get you to find a new way to create characters. It might be a good idea though to keep checking back on this post, in case followers have expanded on this answer or given their own suggestions.
I just did a quick perusal of the Coptic resources on this site, and it has all the resources I’ve personally found worthwhile and then some. These are resources that took me months, if not years, to discover and compile. I am thoroughly impressed. The other languages featured on the site are:
Akkadian
Arabic
Aramaic
Church Slavonic
Egyptian (hieroglyphics and Demotic)
Elamite
Ethiopic (Ge’ez)
Etruscan
Gaulish
Georgian
Gothic
Greek
Hebrew
Hittite
Latin
Mayan (various related languages/dialects)
Old Chinese
Old English
Old French
Old Frisian
Old High German
Old Irish
Old Norse
Old Persian
Old Turkic
Sanskrit
Sumerian
Syriac
Ugaritic
For the love of all the gods, if you ever wanted to learn any of these languages, use this site.
nimblesnotebook-blog
anomalously-written
legit-writing-tips
thewrittenmagic
writeworld-blog
fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment
tuiliel
yourfavouritedoll