"I could write better characters than this!" You think so?

[Bruin]

I started writing when I was ten.

Whenever it was I experienced this, I don't remember. My stories went from Mary-Sue to realistic over the course of a few years, mostly by exposing myself to authors who were just better than what I'd read before. I built on top of that until my writing was what it is now. I'm happy to say that's still evolving, as it's under my impression that no author should simply stop progressing in writing style.

 

[Skuffyshootster]

I get this all the fucking time. I think, "Hey, maybe I'm doing alright now! Maybe my characters are good and well thought-out, and my storyline is looking good too!"

Then I watch something like Firefly or Crash and just give up on life. Some writers are just born to do what they do, it's looking as if I'm not one of those writers. Still, I'm young and all the big writers I know are into their 30's. I guess I still got time to take it easy and think on some ideas.

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

Now, I'm saying this in the nicest way possible:

No. You can't.

That's funny. I didn't think you knew me or anything at all about me. Oh, wait - you don't.

I can see that you're cocky - that's pretty obvious. And by the simple fact that you ARE cocky, I can safely assume you think you're much better than you are. That doesn't mean you're not good, I'm not saying that. What I am saying however is that the chances of you being the best writer out of 1000 people? I reckon that'd be a feat too far. I'd go with a safer number, like 80%.

Maybe he should post an excerpt from his writing, so he has something to back up his claims. It's always a possibility that he is actually better then 99% of mainstream writers.

OT: I've never tried sitting down and writing out a full story, but if I did it probably wouldn't be anything too stellar.

I would never use something like the phrase in the OP, though, to hate on an author, screenwriter, or whoever, because in actuality I probably couldn't. But when they dedicate themselves to a field where their job is to pen interesting characters and stories, and they fail, then that's a perfectly good reason to insult them. You don't have to create something to be able to see if what's already out there is quality work or not.

 

[HT_Black]

I wrote a book once. Everyone I showed it to loved it and wanted it published. A week later, I decided I hated it with a passion; so I burned the original draft and started again. I have now done that twice, and am currently working on a third re-write. So I guess I surprised me with how shitty I was (two different times, no less).

I'm pretty satisfied with most of my character work, though. I think I handle that better than I do anything else.

 

[Sparrow]

I would never use something like the phrase in the OP, though, to hate on an author, screenwriter, or whoever, because in actuality I probably couldn't. But when they dedicate themselves to a field where their job is to pen interesting characters and stories, and they fail, then that's a perfectly good reason to insult them. You don't have to create something to be able to see if what's already out there is quality work or not.

Man, I'd write for FREE. So when bad stuff pops up on TV that I think I could do better than, there's that voice in the back of my head that goes "They get PAID for this? I'd do it for free AND it'd be better!"

 

[Bruin]

I get this all the fucking time. I think, "Hey, maybe I'm doing alright now! Maybe my characters are good and well thought-out, and my storyline is looking good too!"

Then I watch something like Firefly or Crash and just give up on life. Some writers are just born to do what they do, it's looking as if I'm not one of those writers. Still, I'm young and all the big writers I know are into their 30's. I guess I still got time to take it easy and think on some ideas.

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

Now, I'm saying this in the nicest way possible:

No. You can't.

That's funny. I didn't think you knew me or anything at all about me. Oh, wait - you don't.

I can see that you're cocky - that's pretty obvious. And by the simple fact that you ARE cocky, I can safely assume you think you're much better than you are. That doesn't mean you're not good, I'm not saying that. What I am saying however is that the chances of you being the best writer out of 1000 people? I reckon that'd be a feat too far. I'd go with a safer number, like 80%.

Look at what designers for games spew out. Two-dimensional characters without any development or progression. They're static, unrealistic heaps of flesh with either swords, axes, poleaxes, machine guns or Desert Eagles.

Look at the cinema. I realize it's hard to build up characters there, but they don't even try anymore.

Even authors get away with shitty characters.

Judging from what the design community has given us, I honestly don't see that percentage as very bold.

 

[Urialanis]

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

Design community...lolwut? But more importantly no evidence, so either you expect us to believe something you claim is true or you think your posts count......

Oh and I tend to make my characters far to unsuccessful and then the only endings I end up with are disjointed .

 

[Bruin]

I wrote a book once. Everyone I showed it to loved it and wanted it published. A week later, I decided I hated it with a passion, burned the original draft, and started again. I have now done that twice, and am currently working on a third re-write. So I guess I surprised me with how shitty I was.

I've done this quite a few times. You're not alone.

The latest monster I've been patching together started out as about 15 short stories all separated. Enormous monsters of text I decided I had to loop together into one universe. From there, filled the gaps between with storylines and whatnot. It was actually quite good, but the structure was all off. It wasn't a skeleton like I intended--but a mismatched skeleton, with cartilage for bones; not as much strength in its integrity.

So, recently, I've redone everything. Again. Honestly I started the whole thing about five years ago. It was going to be a collaborative writing effort with a friend of mine during high school. That turned sour quickly, as I took a "Song of Ice and Fire" approach--a story that rarely focuses on individual people who turn the tide of events. It's usually an army, or a man leading an army or something along those lines. It's more realistic than what he proposed. I took the same characters from that story and put them into my own, characters I've known better than some friends now. I've had enough time to build them up and flesh them out into decent characters and now placed in a world that makes sense, their full use will come into play. Hopefully.

 

[_Janny_]

Every character can be considered cliche, stereotypical and uninteresting if you look deep enough (or check tv tropes). You can't always please the masses.

I think that a character that's believable and has both qualities and flaws is good enough for me.

 

[Sparrow]

Look at what designers for games spew out. Two-dimensional characters without any development or progression. They're static, unrealistic heaps of flesh with either swords, axes, poleaxes, machine guns or Desert Eagles.

Look at the cinema. I realize it's hard to build up characters there, but they don't even try anymore.

Even authors get away with shitty characters.

Judging from what the design community has given us, I honestly don't see that percentage as very bold.

That's the people that get into the writing scene though, the ones that are famous. The ones that appeal to the stupid masses who don't want complex plots and interesting characters. They're the popular ones.

Read more comics, watch TV series that are rated highly but cancelled early, watch the films that get good reviews but bomb at the box office... odds on you'll find good characters and good plots that take some sort of effort to understand.

 

[Bruin]

Look at what designers for games spew out. Two-dimensional characters without any development or progression. They're static, unrealistic heaps of flesh with either swords, axes, poleaxes, machine guns or Desert Eagles.

Look at the cinema. I realize it's hard to build up characters there, but they don't even try anymore.

Even authors get away with shitty characters.

Judging from what the design community has given us, I honestly don't see that percentage as very bold.

That's the people that get into the writing scene though, the ones that are famous. The ones that appeal to the stupid masses who don't want complex plots and interesting characters. They're the popular ones.

Read more comics, watch TV series that are rated highly but cancelled early, watch the films that get good reviews but bomb at the box office... odds on you'll find good characters and good plots that take some sort of effort to understand.

You can.

But it's a travesty that you should have to search that hard for good writing. There was a time when all of these things--complexity in plot, underlying meaning, etc. were actually important in writing. People paid attention to them, they focused on them and discussed them. They didn't drink them into their heads then vomit them back up and say: "IT WAS GOOD I LIKED IT."

 

[hurfdurp]

I wouldn't even attempt it. I'm really emotionally tuned-in and thoughtful and the like, but I can't articulate my way out of a bag, not a writer at all.

 

[Bruin]

I wouldn't even attempt it. I'm really emotionally tuned-in and thoughtful and the like, but I can't articulate my way out of a bag, not a writer at all.

Everybody can write if you can put your fingers on a keyboard. That's what I love and hate about writing today. Everybody can do it. It gives so much more opportunity. The bad thing about it is that everybody can write. Even the people who will never get good at it.

If you'd like to, though, just try it. Write about things you want to write about and everything else will fall into place afterwards. There was a forum I belonged to once that had normal discussions in dramatic writing format. It was pretty awesome, I have to say, to hear two men bicker about territorial disputes within their clans and argue it like Roman senators.

 

[Cpu46]

I've realised that characters aren't a collection of traits a while ago. Looking back on my work they were pretty horrible. My characters were like you described yours, nothing else but bland plates with colours thrown on them.

This, Oh so much of this. My characters were stand alone cardboard cutouts of characters from other mediums with a thin coat of paint over them, of course I was 12 at the time of writing them so its understandable. Now (19) I give them backstories and altered so much about my original characters that they are now almost unrecognizable. Im still trying to limit the amount of cliche for my characters.

 

[Zannah]

I think we can all agree, that the average quality of modern day writing, especially in media that relies on visuals, is skin-deep at best.
Being romantically engaged with one, I can also verify, there's people that were indeed born to work in the field of storytelling.
So let's all draw the logical conclusion, and only support (buy) those products, which advocate above average writing, shouldn't we?

 

[hurfdurp]

I wouldn't even attempt it. I'm really emotionally tuned-in and thoughtful and the like, but I can't articulate my way out of a bag, not a writer at all.

Everybody can write if you can put your fingers on a keyboard. That's what I love and hate about writing today. Everybody can do it. It gives so much more opportunity. The bad thing about it is that everybody can write. Even the people who will never get good at it.

If you'd like to, though, just try it. Write about things you want to write about and everything else will fall into place afterwards. There was a forum I belonged to once that had normal discussions in dramatic writing format. It was pretty awesome, I have to say, to hear two men bicker about territorial disputes within their clans and argue it like Roman senators.

It probably helps to have some drive and interest in it to start . I'm very much a visual person and water that garden above all else. I have that same kind of feeling you do though, in the sense that anyone can pick up a pencil etc. Oddly enough, it's these people who can barely hold it that think they are the most skilled and by that reasoning alone you know that they have entirely missed the bigger picture. Thanks for your encouragement though .

 

[The Diabolical Biz]

I get this all the fucking time. I think, "Hey, maybe I'm doing alright now! Maybe my characters are good and well thought-out, and my storyline is looking good too!"

Then I watch something like Firefly or Crash and just give up on life. Some writers are just born to do what they do, it's looking as if I'm not one of those writers. Still, I'm young and all the big writers I know are into their 30's. I guess I still got time to take it easy and think on some ideas.

I'm a writer.

I know I can write better characters than 99.9% of the design community.

Now, I'm saying this in the nicest way possible:

No. You can't.

That's funny. I didn't think you knew me or anything at all about me. Oh, wait - you don't.

I can see that you're cocky - that's pretty obvious. And by the simple fact that you ARE cocky, I can safely assume you think you're much better than you are. That doesn't mean you're not good, I'm not saying that. What I am saying however is that the chances of you being the best writer out of 1000 people? I reckon that'd be a feat too far. I'd go with a safer number, like 80%.

That's a pretty silly statement, considering you know nothing about me.

One of the world's best writers could post a comment and you could say the same thing.

Poor logic, sweetie.

He could, but 999 times out of a thousand he'd be right. Example of your magnificent talent?

OT: I write, but not seriously. I do want to write a book at some point in my life, and I ace every creative writing task at school, but proper writing's on a whole different level.

So no, I don't think I could write better than most in all honesty, but I'm working on it!

 

[AngelicSven]

Everyone thinks they can, doing so is an entirely different thing.

I create characters, worlds, and lore. Most of which is is alright but not amazing.
Having friends or family judge your work is probably a bad idea. Comparing to all current media and having a professional look at your work is the better idea to safely judge your current talent.

 

[Sparrow]

That's a pretty silly statement, considering you know nothing about me.

One of the world's best writers could post a comment and you could say the same thing.

Poor logic, sweetie.

I know that you are arrogant, that's evidence enough for me. Regardless, you most likely expected backlash from your comment. It almost seems as if you were hunting for some kind of argument, like searching for a nice dick waving competition to see who's got the biggest junk.

Regardless, evidence of your prowess in writing wouldn't go amiss.

 

[Sparrow]

You can.

But it's a travesty that you should have to search that hard for good writing. There was a time when all of these things--complexity in plot, underlying meaning, etc. were actually important in writing. People paid attention to them, they focused on them and discussed them. They didn't drink them into their heads then vomit them back up and say: "IT WAS GOOD I LIKED IT."

Quoted for truth. The stupid masses are the people I blame for hiding Firefly from me for such a long time, such a unnapreciated show which came to such an abrupt end. Thank the lawd for the fans who kept it going and let it reach a place in the cinemas.

 

[RagnorakTres]

I long ago stopped trying to make my characters unique. All I was doing was giving myself headaches (mostly because I'd get 3 hours into a character and realize I was rehashing so-and-so's backstory from such-and-such tale).

The key is not to create unique characters, but memorable ones. Characterization is actually the part of writing I feel I'm best at. Most characters for role-plays get churned out in a couple of hours, and I'd like to think that, even if some of them have similar themes, most of my RP characters are interesting. Of course, I'm biased.