Specific Character Types

On Writing Empowered & Empowering Characters
What to know to write characters who are themselves empowered, and can inspire audiences to empower themselves.

So You Want To Have An Attractive Character?
Tips and advice to up the attractiveness and sex appeal of your characters.

Tips To Create & Write Better Non-Protagonist Characters (NPCs)
Make better, more believable, and more dynamic NPCs, whether in the traditional sense (non-player characters in a roleplaying game), or in the sense of minor characters in a story.

How To Make The Nameless, Faceless, & Minor Characters In Your Story Feel Human To You
How to make the nameless and faceless masses and the minor characters in your world feel human to you, the author - and yes, it's important!

On Writing & Roleplaying Older Characters
How to write characters older than yourself, and make them seem authentic.

Tips To Create & Write Better Parents & Parental Figures
How to write better and more believable parents - whether it's your main characters' parents/parental figures, or your main characters as parents/parental figures.

Basic Tips To Write Better (And More Likeable) Badasses
Tips to write badasses that your audience won't hope the "bad" guys will kill.

On Writing Sympathetic Morally-Ambiguous Characters
Some pointers to help keep characters who operate in the gray sympathetic to audiences.

Tips For Writing Lovable Jerks
Writing a jerk character? Want people to like your jerk, or at the very least not completely hate your jerk's guts? Here are some tips!

Things We Need More In Female Characters & Their Stories
Some things that don't show up nearly often enough.

Basic Tips To Write Better Chosen Ones - Updated 11/17/20!
Some pointers to help you write this easily-borked character type.

Things To Think About & Consider When Writing Merpeople & Mer Fiction
Thinking about writing a story about merpeople, or at least one merperson? Here are some things to know and think about!

Tips For Writing Better Immortal & Long-Lived Characters
Tips to write long-lived characters who don't act like a bunch of addle-brained teenagers.

Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters
Better and more believable royals, nobles, and just plain ol' rich people.

On Writing & Roleplaying Wise Characters
Tips to help you portray characters who will be perceived as wise - and not simply condescending or arrogant, as so many attempts at wise characters end up being.

On Writing & Roleplaying Mysterious Characters
How to write mysterious characters while avoiding many of the traps people fall into while trying to do so.

On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Good Leader Material
Traits and qualities that make a good leader good.

On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Competent Tacticians
Stuff that people who are good tacticians will do and practice - both on the battlefield and out of it.

Basic Tips To Write Better Geniuses, Scientists, & Intellectuals
How to write smart characters who aren't horribly dull or straw Vulcans, or some kind of ridiculous cerebral superbeings.

On Writing & Roleplaying Smart Characters
More on portraying brainy-type people properly.

Tips For Writing Sherlock Holmes-Style Detectives & Stories
Write about your own brainy deductive detectives!

A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Psychology & Psychotherapists
Some essential things to know if you plan on portraying anything relating to psychotherapy.

On Writing Mentally Ill & Insane Characters
Some things that people who plan to write characters with mental issues need to know and keep in mind.

On Writing Misfits, Loners, & Malcontents
Writing about characters who are isolated, outsiders, or live on the fringes of society.

Basic Tips To Make Scarier & Better Creepypasta & Horror Creeps
Some pointers on making your creepypasta and horror nasties more menacing.

How To Make Your "Incomprehensible" Beings Comprehensible - And Why You Need To
You don't necessarily need to reveal everything about them to your readers, but you should at least understand how they work.

Assassins: Tips & Guidelines To Write & Play Them More Believably
Make your assassins a bit more believable than the usual fare these days.

Writing Characters Who Work Behind The Scenes & From The Shadows
What to know when trying to write characters who do this sort of thing.

Spies: A Few Things Writers & Roleplayers Should Know About Them
Some things to know and keep in mind if you plan on writing or roleplaying a spy.

Tips For Writing More "Masculine" Characters
Because if I see Steve Rogers act like a 16-year-old girl one more time, I'm going to have to start punching trees and peeing on fences.

The Case For Killing The "Blank Slate" Character
Many writers create characters who are deliberately left undeveloped so that audiences can project themselves onto them. But here's why they might be bad for your story!

On Writing Likeable & Useful Sidekicks
Annoying sidekicks can be a big turn-off in any story. Here are some tips to avoid this problem.

Basic Tips To Create Better Characters With Tragic & Traumatic Backstories - Updated 20/30/12!
Often necessary to a character, but very often handled poorly.

Simple Tips To Avoid Making Your Character A Damsel In Distress
Want to avoid making your character a damsel in distress, or are you worried that your character might be one? Here you go!

Things To Think About & Consider When Writing About Tiny/Miniature People
Stuff for if you're thinking about writing about tiny faeries, mouse people, or similar.

Children & Cute Things
The section on writing children and cute things.

Villains & Villainy
The section on writing villains.

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