Open:m (chara. 25+)

open: m (chara. 25+)

muse: Celandra Francesca Michaels | 27 | professional dancer/entertainer | born: kennesaw, ga

plot/theme: they are infatuated with someone else instead of them - they don’t realize yet that this other person is awful. [ full link in the source ]

"Would you stop looking at me like that?" the femme focused on the familiar face in her vanity. CELANDRA zeroed in on her hair and the nervousness for this date, caused the tensions in the room to be extremely high. She hasn't seen her boyfriend about a week - with no explanation - and was eager to use this outing to straighten things out. Between the heat of her curling iron and the small bubbles brewing in her tummy, she knew that this night may somehow get worse. "You're supposed to be here for moral support?" she huffed while looking in the mirror, passing once more on her curls.

You know what I really been wanting lately? A plot where we’re able to play characters at different points in their lives. Maybe they met in college, so we could play out their time in college. Could also easily jump into the future where they are figuring out a way to raise their kids and sustain a healthy marriage. Or maybe even go to that ugly in-between period after college where they are figuring life out and struggling. Imagine the show ‘This is Us’ but in RP form. Could be dope.

High preference for Black / POC characters by the way.

Conflicting Ship Plots

they are competitors - the same job, the same championship, etc.

they are straight-up enemies - one them wants to buy the land to build a resort, and the other wants it to get turned into a nature sanctuary. one is a defense attorney, and the other is a prosecutor. they’re soldiers on opposing sides of the war, etc.

they already won - they inherited an estate that should have been the other’s, or one got the job that the other was hoping to be promoted into, and they are seething.

they broke their heart in the past - maybe there was a good reason behind it, or maybe they were an idiot then and realize it now. 

they did the other wrong in the past - maybe they wronged the other’s family member or friend. 

they have has trust issues - their last relationship ended in a terrible betrayal.

they have intimacy issues - maybe because of a traumatic past, they feel too vulnerable if anyone knows about their real emotions or weaknesses. maybe they’re a psychic, a behavioral expert, or just the one person who can see right through the other and it makes them uncomfortable as hell.

they don’t trust their dating choices - they’ve gotten involved with several losers in a row, and they’re taking a break, maybe a permanent one.

they believe no one can truly love them - they made a terrible mistake in the past, or they’re not attractive in the conventional manner.

they are good friends - they don’t want to risk ruining their friendship by taking it to the next level.

they are co-workers - they don’t want to make things weird at the office, restaurant, or wherever they both work.

they are freaked out by who they really are - a werewolf, vampire, ex-con, spy, etc.

it was supposed to be sex only - they were going to be friends with benefits, or maybe one of them is an escort. falling in love goes against the original arrangement.

their love was supposed to be fake - they were pretending to be in love or married, or they entered a marriage of convenience. 

they were faking it at first - they made a bet that they could bed the other, or pretended to like the other so they could learn their darkest secrets.

they have moral qualms - one of them is the other’s boss, their teacher, their captor, ex-girlfriend or their best friend, and that gives them pause.

they are struggling with personal issues - one of them is grieving the death of their significant other, best friend, their child, or they have PTSD from battle or some other terrible experience.

their love is forbidden by others - it’s against the rules, spoken or unspoken, of their family, organization, community, or religion.

they are into something that the other doesn’t like - it could be an addiction, like alcohol, drugs, gambling, or a profession, like boxing or defending corrupt clients in court. whatever it is, the other wants no part of it.

their cultures clash - one of them is a rock-n-roller and the other is a  business executive, or they love the city life and the other is all about small-town living.

one of them is promised to someone else - maybe the wedding’s already planned and everything. they might have reasons for going through with a loveless marriage.

one of them is married to someone else - it is some weird legal, not-consummated arrangement, or the other ran away long ago because their spouse was an abusive asshole.

they are infatuated with someone else instead of them - they don’t realize yet that this other person is awful.

they are interested in someone else in addition to them - they’re having trouble making a decision on who to be with.

their time is together is limited - one of them is going abroad to study in the fall, their work visa is almost up, or one of them is about to go on a space mission to another planet, never to return.

being together would require a big sacrifice - one of them would have to say no to their dream job or they would have to move away from their family.

they are a danger to the other’s safety - they’re a spy, vampire, drug lord, gang leader, etc.

they think they’ll only make the other unhappy - they’re dying of a disease, suffering under a curse, can’t have children, etc.

they are a suspect - in a murder or robbery case.

they have a reputation - a materialistic douche, a heartless womanizer, a stone cold killer, etc.

they have terrible first impressions of one another - they might have gotten off to an awful start by arguing over something.

they love their freedom - they always saw themselves as the carefree type who would never settle down.

they don’t want distractions - one of them has a very important job to do, and they can’t afford to get sidetracked.

3 Steps to Improve Your Characters and Make Them Three-Dimensional

So I don’t have a process for creating/developing characters (to me the process is intuitive to the point where I wouldn’t even know how to explain it), but I do have a process for revising characters that just… fall flat, for whatever reason. 

I like to get to know my characters by throwing them into a bunch of different situations and seeing how they react, but sometimes that’s not enough. In these cases I need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to make them not feel like a cardboard caricature of the role I need them to fill. Here’s the process I use, and it involves three key questions to understand what makes your character tick.

1) What is this character’s fundamental belief- either about the world or themself?

2) Where does this belief come from?

3) How does this belief hinder them, and are they capable of growing past it?

Alright, here’s what the process looks like in action. 

Let’s say I have a character I need to flesh out for my story.

Character A is a middle aged coffee shop owner and the protagonist of her story. The central conflict of the story revolves around trying to save the family run coffee shop she inherited from her father when he passed away, which has recently fallen on hard times.

What is this character's fundamental belief?

Character A believes that the world is an inherently good and fair place. She believes that good is always rewarded and bad is always punished, even if the timing isn't always perfect. As such, she strives to live a virtuous life, putting as much good into the world as she possibly can. While she understands that even good people can face hard times, she believes that in the long term, if things don't work out, it'll be because she didn't put in the work needed to turn things around.

Where does this belief come from?

Character A grew up in a solidly middle class household with good parents that treated her well- rewarding her for good work, and fairly punishing her for misdeeds. Her parents gave her everything she needed, but also expected her to work hard for the things she wanted. She also had the experience of watching her father build a successful business through hard work and by building strong connections with the people in town. If we want to push this further, we could also say that this belief was reaffirmed by watching her brother ruin his own life, squandering all his money and goodwill with those around him on failed get-rich-quick-schemes and outright scams that landed him in jail.

How does this belief hinder them, and are they capable of growing past it?

Let's say that Character A recently hired a barista who seems perfect for the job. Strapped for help, she gets him started right away before getting the results of his background check. When the results come in, she finds out that he is on probation and was recently released from jail for a violent crime. Shocked, she fires him. Believing that people who end up in jail always deserve it, she can't see past her initial prejudices. As a result, her coffee shop suffers from the loss of her new star barista.

Some time goes on, and Character A encounters the barista again, and learns more about the circumstances that landed him in jail (maybe he was falsely convicted, maybe he was battling psychosis, maybe the violent act was done to prevent a loved one- anything that makes her question her initial assumptions). He then confesses that he is struggling to provide for himself and his family because no one will hire him because of his criminal record. Character A comes to realize that her belief isn't completely true, and that the world isn't entirely fair. Though it takes a lot of inner work to do so, including coming to terms with her privilege, she eventually accepts this, and revises her beliefs. She decides that even though the world isn't fair, people have the responsibility to make it fair.

She decides to re-hire the barista she fired. After doing everything she can to make things right with him, she proposes an idea she wants his help with. Together, they transform her family business into a joint coffee shop and community rehabilitation center. In addition to selling coffee, they also launch a program to provide resources to recently incarcerated individuals looking to reenter society. They'll host weekly events on job interview coaching, alcoholics anonymous, motivational speeches, group therapy, opportunities to connect with open-minded employers, and more. Their promotion of this new program enables them to secure funding from local patrons and public grants, and customers are willing to pay for more expensive coffee with the knowledge that that money will be put to good use.

Additionally, if we want to go with the brother in jail backstory, we could have this ending be an opportunity for her to reconnect with him and maybe even repair their relationship as she gets to see him in a new light.

Main Takeaways

And there you have it!

You can use this process on any character- protagonist, antagonist, side character, etc. By grounding your character's motivations and development in their beliefs, you can easily introduce depth and internal conflict while keeping everything connected to the themes and plot driving your story.

Depending on your character's role or your story's plot, the belief can be wide reaching and complex (such as a philosophy or ideology), or specific and personal (such as having to do with their self-esteem). Either way, it should always be tied to their personal experiences or observations. This doesn't necessarily mean a tragic backstory. It could be, but I encourage you not to make this your default way of creating character depth. A mundane but grounded and sincere motivation will always be more compelling than cheap, dark shock factor.

Generally, protagonists with happy endings and villains with successful redemption arcs are capable of moving past their beliefs, while tragic heroes and antagonists aren't, and this failure is usually the source of their downfall. Keep in mind that even if characters do move past their old beliefs, it will always be a difficult thing to do. It will require them to confront their own mistakes, biases, and emotional wounds, and require both internal and external work in order to fix whatever their old beliefs have damaged.

Hopefully this guide will help you approach your characters from a different perspective. Feel free to share any insights.

Happy writing y'all!

Flooding again because LAWD !

would looove a the summer i turned pretty inspired plot. someone let me write an ugly duckling muse who suddenly has a glow up, against the childhood best friend who always had a crush on them but was always too scared to say anything — except now they’re nervous their sibling could swoop in instead.

down for m/f or f/f for this ! lit to novella preferred !