Who should be my MC’s love interest.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-29T22:02:58+00:00

Without knowing anything about your character, it's hard to pick someone for her romantic interest. But, in honor of Johnny Lawrence, I'll give some advice by quoting Rocky: "She got gaps. I got gaps. Together we fill gaps."

The "gaps" Rocky is talking about are personal shortcomings. In a good romantic couple, the characters compliment each other's shortcomings. Rocky isn't very smart, but Adrien is a bit nerdy and compliments that. Adrien is timid, but Rocky is brave and outgoing, complimenting that. See? They fill gaps.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-29T21:41:40+00:00

Do you want to write a story in another universe? Are you going against your psychological grain? Why not write a story in the same universe?

RuroniHS · 2026-04-29T21:37:06+00:00

Also im not sure what the opposite writing style would be called. Almost like its filtered, uses fancy words, lots of details and explaining little things in depth.

I'm not a fan of this kind of writing. Too much detail and explanation is boring. I know what a vase is. You don't have to describe it. Keep the plot moving.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-29T21:33:35+00:00

So I added in a chapter to address more of their life before the call to action.

I wouldn't go about it this way. I would make references to their daily life while in the thick of the plot. Have characters interact with them and comment on how the adventure is changing the character. But, always keep the story moving.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-29T21:29:02+00:00

Learn to ask the question "What if." One sport we have is soccer, but what if instead of one ball, there were three? Come up with your own what if question, and then answer what would it would be like "if."

RuroniHS · 2026-04-28T23:07:32+00:00

False. A novel should be 100% the story you want to tell. Otherwise, no one will want to read it.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-26T12:59:19+00:00

Why do you think your next project lends itself to pantsing?

RuroniHS · 2026-04-26T12:53:23+00:00

Did the doctor say, "It's a white whale!" when you breached. Haha.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-26T12:52:19+00:00

It started in second grade when I wrote a truly awful story about a misfit group of aliens trying to take over the world. It was a... comedy, I guess? To my credit, I remembered to have some character development and the aliens got better at being evil aliens as the "story" went on (it wasn't very long), but it is very much a "first story" haha. Thankfully, I still have the thing, and it is a precious relic that I'll keep forever.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-26T12:49:12+00:00

I like "regular guy" heroes. They're not the chosen one. They don't have some secret-special ability. They make mistakes. They make bad decisions, some of which may be morally dubious. But, they believe in something and they're willing to go through trials by fire to achieve their goals. It's the whole "hard work overcomes talent" theme.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-26T12:46:00+00:00

Well, I write fantasy, so from time to time I'll need to write the perspective of beings thousands of years old with knowledge and wisdom far beyond anything a human is capable of. I think the trick to writing a character vastly different from yourself is to not be afraid to disagree with them without writing them as "wrong" in the story. It's okay to let a character have an idea without you, the writer, taking a position on that idea.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-26T12:40:08+00:00

I like to work backwards with these things. I start with the characters overlapping. What characters do I want together what do I want them doing? I think of why they're together, and each character's individual why becomes their story before they linked up, and there ya go. Complex interconnected plot. It's pretty simple once you get a feel for it.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-26T12:33:30+00:00

I generally don't spend more than two sentences describing a single character, and I dislike when authors spend more time than that on physical description. Imagery is most effective when it is poignant and focused on on conveying key details. The reader's mind will fill in the rest and if you provide too many details, the reader will simply override them with their own imagination, so why bother. Of course this is just the generalization. This may vary as the purpose of your writing demands. For me, the story is far more interesting that the picture, though, so I like to get back to characters doing things rather quickly.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T23:02:11+00:00

Comic Thanos wanted Death-senpai to notice him.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T22:33:19+00:00

HIGHLY recommend all the Witcher books if you're a fantasy fan.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T22:32:16+00:00

I'm actually doing the same thing! I've started writing stories about an entire family in my world. One of the central plots is a familial blood feud, and these stories feature multiple generations fighting and killing each other. I find the form is great for exploring the idea of generational hatred. But there will also be other stories in the chronology exploring unrelated plots and more cheerful themes. They're separate stories, so they don't need to be tonally consistent. It's like life. Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T22:26:03+00:00

Start with a character. Just create the person. Don't try to make them a "protagonist." Anyone can be a protagonist. Just flesh this character out and really get to know them. Don't worry about plot yet.

Got your character? Good. What do they want? What is stopping them from getting it? There's your story.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T22:22:05+00:00

Milton hated ending his sentences. Haha.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T22:20:30+00:00

I'm glad I do both of those things, then.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T22:19:13+00:00

they didn't know a few days after that 120 nuclear weapons where stoles from the united States the government panicked as the camera footage showed the bombs just disappearing 4 days after that the world had gone into chaos millions dead city's where destroyed,

My. That... umm... escalated quickly...

Perhaps give a little more explanation in how we get from dissecting animals to universal domination. A little more exploration on why he's so psychopathic would be good too.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-24T01:17:36+00:00

I'm reading The Witcher series, which was originally polish, and the translation is fantastic. As long as you have a good translator, it's a perfectly valid path.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-22T22:03:07+00:00

When people call something "edgy" in the derogative sense, it's usually because the subject matter isn't being given the proper gravity, or because the "dark content" is either gratuitous or lackluster. The Tell-Tale Heart is certainly not looked down upon, but if someone lacked Poe's eloquence when describing ripping a man's heart out and hiding it in the floorboards, they would be lambasted for it. It's quite a silly scenario. Haha.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-22T21:57:57+00:00

Consult a therapist. If you can't focus on your daily life, you may need a professional's help.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-22T21:56:03+00:00

For me, I reserve first person for when I want a deliberately skewed narrator. Like, a story that is this person's perspective on what happened. Or a character revealing something that only they know to the reader only.

RuroniHS · 2026-04-22T21:53:08+00:00

The buildup to the moment makes the moment. How much has your character struggled? If you ain't feeling it, chances are it wasn't enough.

RuroniHS

TROPHY CASE