HOW TO WRITE A STORY WHEN YOU'RE A PROCRASTINATOR AND/OR A PERFECTIONIST

“Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.”

— Madeleine L’Engle

“It may be the wrong decision, but fuck it, it’s mine.”

— Mark Z. Danielewski 

Character development doesn't refer to character improvement in a moral or ethical respect. It refers to broadening the audience's understanding of that character, giving the character a deeper background, clearer motivations, a unique voice.

Developing a character is about making them seem more like a real person, and real people are flawed. Real people make mistakes. They repeat mistakes. They do things other people don't agree with. Real people are more than just 'good' or 'bad' and character development is about showing all of those other aspects of them.

Their interests and hobbies. The song that gets stuck in their head. The fact that their vacuum broke 3 months ago and they haven't gotten it fixed yet. All of those details help build out the character and develop them more.

And yes, characters change as stories progress but that doesn't mean they get 'better' in a strict moral sense. It means that their experiences change the way they interact in the world you've written for them. Just like real people do.

“Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.”

— Maggie Kuhn 

“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.”

— David Viscott 

Writing Tip #217

Don’t introduce your main antagonist too early in your story. Start with a herald of danger before the main danger. Introduce a minion before you introduce the actual antagonist.

The best advice really is to just write. Write badly - purple prose, stilted conversations, rambling descriptions. Don’t delete it, pass go, take your $200, save all your garbage in a big folder. Look at how much you’ve made - it doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect, isn’t polished, it was practice. Every time you write you learn a little more, and find another piece of your voice.

“You have to meet people where they are, and sometimes you have to leave them there.”

— Iyanla Vanzant