₦airaland Forum

Guidelines for Making Characters A few guidelines that will help you even though you may not like them. Your character is the most important thing about your story. In fact, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that the quality of your character determines the quality of your story. With that in mind, I have several recommendations for you. You may not like some of these “rules” but I urge you to follow them because they will help you learn this strategy faster and more effectively which in turn will make you a better fiction writer and make writing fiction more fun. We often think of fiction as the kind of writing where we can make up anything we want. In some ways that’s accurate but in other ways it’s not. Your story isn’t true, of course, and everybody knows that, but it does have to have the “ring” of truth about it, it has to seem plausible, as though it could be true even though we know it’s not. These guidelines will help you accomplish that goal. I strongly recommend that you follow them. Make your character a human being. In my experience, it’s a lot easier to write well about human beings than it is to write about dogs, cats, unicorns, space aliens, and tap-dancing frogs. After all, you’re a human being so you’re bound to know a lot about being one, and you can bring that knowledge to your story. Not only is it a little easier to write about human beings, I think you learn more, too. So, I strongly recommend that you make your character a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl. Make your character original. We all have our favorite characters from the books we’ve read, the movies and TV shows we’ve seen, and from stories we’ve been told. An easy thing to do would be to take one of these characters for your story. But these are the creations of other writers. You’ll learn more — and have more fun, I think, — if you do the work of creating a character yourself. So, I strongly recommend that you make up your own character and that you not use a character created by someone else. Make your character someone you are interested in. Writing a good story takes time. And most of that time is spent writing about your main character. Wouldn’t you rather spend that time with someone interesting? Someone you are curious about? Someone whose life intrigues you in some way? If you create a character who seems boring to you, how do you think that character will seem to your audience? For these reasons, I strongly recommend that you make your character someone you are interested in

https://stayedeyes./2015/04/14/character-3/

repogirl:
Hi Divepen1, what can I really say nao? The super writers I know are kinda discouraged by two main factors..... plagiarism and the need to take their writing to a higher level.

The mods here have tried to do something bout the plagiarism thing, I'm not too sure about it effectiveness yet though.

Now on the second factor, writers are tired of hearing 'You're good', 'you're talented', if they were, they should be making some profit off it. Also how can one shelve out time to write and isn't rewarded in some other way aside 'when is the next update?'. Time is money, remember?

That's why after the euphoria of being a sportswriters wears off, realisation sets in and they realise being a nairaland superwriter isn't going to add much value to their lives and so they focus on what will.

This is.My own view anyway, and the view from a few others I have spoken with.

BTW, readers hardly comment these days, the ratio of the comments to the number of views is quite depressing.

You are right... Na short story fit do am ...

thronekid:
Present.

Good baba
Group 2

mama... repogirl..discussion on the matter on top of the floored ground

stuff46:
I am here

Good. Group 1

We are regrouping. When acknowledge this post, I add you to a group..
And this time there are three groups.
Slap1
Cybershow
Kusibe77
Stuff46
Tattesco
Susrite
Evangelio
Theorbiters
Kizzykeziah
Chinweblinkz
Thronekid
Losprince
princesssussan
Akposb
Champion001
Pres01
Toluene1
Bluestarry
Girltee1

stuff46:
Your handiwork good, what about checkmate? They too need this.

They've worked on this before...

stuff46:
fambeez01 here would be a good place for you to camp

Baba mi sir

Sardongarigan:
[b][/b] i only want to learn how to write in english

5000years ban for you. Check your account.

prettydiva89:
I must learn also,no knowledge is wasted

Oga madam oo

Mhizblizz:
Mesef must learn

Welcome ma

D9ty7:
Observing like an election observer. Walahi, I must learn something before I comot this place today.
Good job baba Divepen...
Lemme put up the links on my thread, maybe learners like me will come over to learn.

Oga mi ooo
Name whyning be this or waiting

Ali4king:
following closely

Welcome Baba..

Example Fiction is all about character. To come up with my character I thought about things from my childhood, but I also threw in some things from my brother’s life and the lives of other kids I knew. (This is called making a “composite” character. It’s one of the most common techniques fiction writers use.) A lot of it, however, is just made up. JEREMY Jeremy is 11 and in the 6th grade. He has black hair that’s always messy because he doesn’t like to take the time to brush it. He’s short for his age. He seems really short compared to his friends at the middle school because he skipped second grade and he’s actually a year younger than they are. He’s very smart but he doesn’t do that well in school. He thinks school is boring and pointless. He doesn’t like most of his teachers. Actually, Jeremy doesn’t like most adults. He doesn’t think most of them are very smart and because of that he doesn’t trust them. In general, Jeremy is not a very happy kid. He’s not unhappy exactly. It’s just that he never seems very content with anything. He’s very energetic and intense, always trying to make things better. But he can also be a bit grumpy. Jeremy spends a lot of his time alone. He has friends but he doesn’t see them that often because he likes to do different things than they do. Even at school he seems more or less on his own. He has a dog named Bishop that he really likes. He has trained Bishop to do all kinds of cool things and he’s very proud of that. Jeremy’s favorite place to hang out is in his room. He has a huge room in the basement of his house which he has put a lot of effort into over the years to make it really cool. He has his own TV, a stereo system, and his prize possession: a really fast computer. His favorite thing to do on his computer is play chess


By Steve Preha


Now To Show you are following
1. Write A Description of a character in nothing less 100 words
2. Describe the character in the stories of one of the authors written up there.

https://stayedeyes./2015/04/13/character-2/

,Fiction is all about Character.
The Character is always called the Protagonist, and in many cases people enjoys characters that plays the victim. A character they see fighting a certain problem, a character who is being forced to do something he or she does not like.
If we look at
Tiffanyj's Reluctant bride, we would see that her character, Tara is a 24 year old girl who is 5.2 feet, fair in complexion with a perfect oval face, big intelligent eyes, full lips, high cheek bones, and a set of perfect white teeth
She was forced to marry her half-brother's friend by her newly-found-wicked father, who threatened to make Tara's mother suffer is Tara does not do his wish.

All in all, to start a story you need to build a character, preferably.
I am working a character chart, but I will paste a very small part of it here for your gain.
You need to describe, their eyes, nose, teeth (has one of it been removed, hair, neck e.t.c Come up with as many information you can about this character. It makes people become connected to him/her; in fact, when you start with that ideas of story will begin to pour into your brain.
,
https://stayedeyes./2015/04/13/character-1/

write2obi:
Nice one

Thanks

Optimall:
I wanna write as great as Audrey and Safari girl.

Hopefully, you would soon start ma.

Girltee1:
Lol...you're in CLA, right?

No, Linguistics.

Do you really want to write?



That's good.

Then we can work together. And I hope at the end of this lessons you would:

1. Identified your strengths and weaknesses as a writer of fiction;

2. Have developed a general awareness of fiction writing.

Alright, let's go.

There are five major facts you should first know about any story; in fact, if you don't have a storyline before, these facts would help you get one.

And they are;

1. Fiction is all about character.

2. Fiction is all about what your character wants: His/her drive.

3. Fiction is all about how your character gets or does not get what he or she wants

4. Fiction is all about how your character changes.

5. Fiction is all about a world that you create.



Now we will start work together on each of the facts.



As we work, I will be using some stories to explain my points.

They are

1. Purple Hibiscus by Chimanmada Ngozi Adichie

2. Unfulfilled Promise by Audreytimms (You can get a copy at Okadabooks.com)

3. The Thomas....(a family) by D9ty7 (Nairaland)

4.The Reluctant Bride by Tiffanyj (Nairaland)

5. Iyawo Nylon Bag by Ishilove (Nairaland).

6.Eother- Our Losses by Kizzykeziah( Nairaland)

7.The Lecture, The Pastor, A Girl and A dose of Viagra..By Standd (Nairaland)

8. The Coffin of Errors by Larrysun (Nairaland)

9.The Wet Rat by Standd (Nairaland)

10. Ole Lamba by Thronekid ( Nairaland)

11. Harrypotter by J.K. Rowling

12.Jewels of Africe by HumbledbYGrace (Nairaland)

13. Doctor by Royver (Nairaland).

14. The Web- by Candy (Nairaland).

E.t.c


https://stayedeyes./2015/04/13/write-it-out-1/


You can also join this group on Nl : Checkmate
https://www.nairaland.com/2134150/writers-checkmate/13#2134150.421


We will continue from here

Optimall:
So what to do?

I will have to post it on a new thread.
How about that?

Optimall:
Yay

I've been trying to paste what I wrote here but it's going off

pres01:

You remind me of the day I was snubbing a guy without knowing he wanted to show me my money that fell..It was I got home I discovered I have lost 3000 naira
I lamented and lamented but the money did not return.

Ehya...

kitnah:
This definitely deserves fp

Ishilove,Obinnau,Humbledbygrace


What do you say??

Thanks 4 d recommendations.

Champion001:
Serious bank wahala...
Mod FP nah...
Tag: Ishilove, Humbledbygrace, Obinnau

Thanks baba.. Let's hope it's worth fp

boss of life
I wish you a happy new year.
As you continue- rather, as you start this new part of your life may everything about you be new.

Happy Birthday

ZUBY77:
Ok. I will treat all of them with respect from tomorrow.

lol

Fembleez1:
Make them this people wey dey share blessing try grace my thread o

Lol

Girltee1:
I'm in UI too, faculty of tech...you know how tight things are there...
Will try and update sha..thanks.

Faculty of Tech?
Jesus...
I must see you niye...
Let me Pm you

Iolite:
Lol. Just two years . Its always happening to me (not the fat) at GTB, because of the young, tired and no make up passport I used in opening the account.

lol... You better go update your profile

Girltee1:
I'm so sorry, we just resumed school fully and I'm always really busy..

All you need 30 minutes out of 4days.
We've also resume here in U.I and that's why I quickly posted mine to prevent procrastination.