For those who want to start writing, but don't know what to start with. (Or for writers who have walked themselves into the need for a new type of plot)
Roles of Characters to try (vaguely ordered for fastest experience gain. Writers end up writing each of these at some point anyway, and usually in this order, but writing them intentionally will give you a clear definition):
The Mary-Sue: Write without planning. Leave it open, so that you can add to it when you randomly think of something cool to write in as you walk down the street someday. If you had the powers of a God, what would you do with them? You can limit the powers to something unique and specialized, but just something that makes you unstoppable. Don’t think too deeply about anything but the character and setting. It doesn’t have to be realistic of who you are, it could be who you want to be, who you see yourself as in your better moments, even the conflicting views of yourself as characters.
Who would you be if you could do anything? Would you be kind? Badass? Cruel? Afraid of being cruel? Afraid of being unstoppable? If you save the world, what kind of place does it become? Who would try to stop you, and why?
Pro: Very freeing, good learning experience, and shows you how to break limits and not overdevelop your characters. Also extremely fun. Should read like watching an action movie (regardless of genre), e.g. Lots of explosions, witty one liners, cheesy romance, and no real plot to speak of.
Con: Everyone writes a mary-sue at some point, it’s a right of passage. Writing one intentionally clears most of the learning requirements, but won’t clear all of them.
The self insert: Write from the perspective of you in a situation. Can be inserted into an existing realm (Harry Potter for instance) or can be a constructed scenario (worldbuilding is a skill worth developing in its own right, but it’s difficult to learn). Plan something short, create an outline and a timeline, then start at the beginning and ask “What am I seeing? How does it feel to be in this world? How do I react to these things happening?” Make sure to feel it through naturally, and don’t be afraid to throw out the outline and restructure it if your character takes off in an unexpected direction.
Pro: Very introspective, great learning experience, increases realism of your imagination, draws your experience to the surface and develops base world running skills without worrying too deeply about your characters motivations and reactions
Con: Very limiting, have to keep yourself as you are, sometimes its painful dealing that closely with yourself
The Negative Self: Write without planning. Be aware that it doesn’t have to ever be finished, you can walk away from it without worry. Draw on your worst aspects, and create a character out of it. It doesn’t have to directly reflect you, but instead the aspects of yourself that you dislike the most. How does this amalgamation of these characteristics interact with the world you place it in? What or who does the character need to improve or balance themselves?
Pro: Therapeutic, allows you to see what you’re investing in a character, teaches how to develop a character. Can be fun (see Dan Vs for an example of authors having fun playing with their worst traits)
Con: Generally very emotionally painful, easy to get lost in the negatives, highly recommend creating a Mary Sue first.
The Concept: Either planned or unplanned. Choose something validly different from you. Aliens are an easy way to do this, but something terrestrial like a tree also works. What do trees think about? What do they feel? What is their entire life like for them? Write from this perspective. Try to divorce yourself from how you see the world, and focus on how this thing would.
Pro: Realize that every character you write contains a part of you, and that even then, your character can be completely different from you. Helps develop strong diverse characters and supporting characters.
Con: Intellectually difficult, learning detachment isn’t always a good thing (make sure to feel how that detachment feels, so you can identify it in daily life)
The Antithesis: Plan this one out and limit the chapters. Ask yourself, who do I deeply not understand? Maybe even, who do I hate? Create that person or type of person as a character, and give writing for them a solid chance. How you write them is up to you, but writing them sympathetically is more effective. That does not make them right in whatever they do, it simply makes them human. People rarely do evil for evils sake, so why are they doing it?
Pro: Enlightening, allows you to face a part of the worlds demons on a friendly battlefield.
Con: Extremely difficult, makes you second guess your writing and characters motivations, as well as your own.
The Big picture: Plan out every detail of a world that doesn’t work like ours. Magic is an easy in for this, but even an alien society, or the world of the future work as well. Think through and write out each aspect of the world, from the government to the religion, the physics and the boundaries of the unknown, interpersonal politics and history, flora and fauna.
Pro: Worldbuilding is an excellent skill to develop, and it increases system and model thinking, which improve learning and memory recall skills as well
Con: Labor intensive and unrewarding, since you build the world without a distinct narrative. You can turn it into a story once it’s done, but that’s not the point of the exercise.
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