Lmst

https://medium.com/the-writers-reach/character-speech-patterns-95ffe6c4d1ef

Character Speech Patterns.
Dialects, Rhythms, and Word Choice Reveal Identity.
Make Every Character Sound Distinct in Your Reader’s Ear.

#SpeechPatterns #speech #characterdevelopment #medium #dialogue #writing #writingtips

How to Handle Plot Holes Effectively

How To Handle Plot Holes Effectively – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 183 *** “It’s hard to fix a manuscript that is not yet finished. And this is what I counsel…
https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2025/12/15/how-to-handle-plot-holes-effectively

#HOWTOWRITETHEFUTUREPODCAST #BethBarany #characterdevelopment #continuityerrors #draftrevision

The Unbreakable Threads of One Piece: How Friendship, Labels, and Luffy’s Emotional Revolution Shape the Heart of the Story

Across decades of storytelling, One Piece has remained one of the most powerful and enduring narratives in anime and manga, not only because of its sprawling world, epic battles, and imaginative characters, but because of its profound exploration of friendship and the human heart. Beneath the layers of humor, adventure, and chaos, there is a deep emotional core that binds the series together. This emotional core is built on a single, unshakable truth: friendship is the force that drives the […]

https://jaimedavid.blog/2025/12/11/23/28/00/analysis/jaimedavid327/8669/the-unbreakable-threads-of-one-piece-how-friendship-labels-and-luffys-emotional-revolution-shape-the-heart-of-the-story/

protester holding one piece pirate flag outdoors

5 Tips for Writing Psychological Thrillers

Author Christina Kovac shares her top five tips for writing psychological thrillers by putting the focus on character development.
The post 5 Tips for Writing Psychological Thrillers appeared first on Writer's Digest.
https://www.writersdigest.com/5-tips-for-writing-psychological-thrillers

#Genre #MysteryThriller #WriteBetterFiction #characterdevelopment #characters

5 Tips for Writing Psychological Thrillers https://www.writersdigest.com/5-tips-for-writing-psychological-thrillers #psychologicalthriller #characterdevelopment #PsychologicalFiction #WriteBetterFiction #Mystery/Thriller #characters #Genre

EDITOR’S NOTE: YOU’RE ALLOWED TO CRY ABOUT IT, AS LONG AS YOU KEEP GOING

As 2025 draws to a close and 2026 approaches, we are also entering a period of reflection brought on by endings and new beginnings, punctuated with the formation of goals and resolutions.

There is a temptation to think that in the new year, you will change EVERYTHING and be BETTER.

However, reflection is a process that must be approached with honesty, without judgment. We must consider what we are, separate from what we wish to have been. That will come later.

Honestly consider what parts of your life are unsatisfactory. List as many as you want, but prioritize only one. If you are a more motivated person than I am, choose your top two or three, but not more. Too many areas of focus can become overwhelming.

During this process, it might be tempting to give up—thinking only about what is bad can make your whole life feel worse than it is.

Accept the dark thoughts and move on—they are useful only for understanding how you feel, not for getting you out of that feeling. If you’re sad, just cry about it.

The focus for the moment is making that list.

Now, go through your areas of focus and go into more detail about specific behaviours or facts of your situation that are bothering you the most.

For example, at the beginning of this year, I looked into my finances and did not like what I saw. I broke it down into different categories, including debt repayment, savings and lower anxiety around paying bills. The unpredictability of my method of payment meant there were times I overspent, times where I didn’t have enough money to cover the bills that were due in the next week or times where I didn’t have enough money to do the activities I wanted to do.

Once again, prioritize top one, two or three sub-areas of focus.

There are two options for the next step. Option one is to create a very basic plan without too many details. For me, that meant creating a rudimentary budget that included all my bills and major expenses with dates. This does not have to be perfect—it’s a first draft so it’s meant to be edited. I also find it helpful to have a list of other task, like calling the bank.

The second option is to have a breakdown. This is incredibly important—one of the most common causes of procrastination is avoidance of negative feelings, so we must feel them before we get started.

I like to schedule my breakdowns for after I make a rough plan because then I have something to hold on to when I’m overwhelmed. If looking at my credit card balance makes me feel bad about letting it get to that point, then I know that the financial advisor will help me make a plan to pay it off.

I’m still allowed to cry about it, though.

You can have as many breakdowns as you want. Don’t feel bad about it because it’s not helpful—you’re working on solving the problem, feeling bad about feeling sad is superfluous and useless. Let go of that shame, move forward with the knowledge that even if you don’t meet your own standards, you will meet them and that is good enough.

Throughout this process, remember to treat yourself with compassion. You may have made some mistakes, you might be disappointed in yourself, but remember: the way out of that is to make a plan and enact it. Forgive yourself for your mistakes, even if you knew better, there is no point to dwelling on the past, on what you wish you hadn’t done, beyond recognizing it to prevent it from happening again.

Now, after identifying focus areas and making a rough plan and crying, you can make a resolution. Making them too early in the process risks making such broad resolutions that they are impossible to follow. Resolutions should be specific goals, ideally ones where you can measure the progress.

If I had started the year with, “I must have better finances,” that would not have led to any improvement because that is not actionable. However, my goal was, instead, to make a budget that I stick to. I made that budget, sometimes stuck to it and sometimes did not. I tweaked it a lot in the beginning to better fit my lifestyle and also to meet certain goals, such as paying off my credit card by the end of the year. In order to pay off the credit card, I had to take certain steps: I made an appointment at the bank, learned what interest meant for me, what actual amount I would be paying off, how much I must pay out of each paycheque and how to understand my credit score. I went on to make a schedule to make sure my bills are actually paid (I don’t always stick to it, but it’s there and I adhere to it as closely as I can) and to track my credit score on an app.

Emotions are a major part of this process. Of course, there is the breakdown mentioned earlier, but success in these specific goals has a great emotional impact. When I don’t feel good about something, even if it isn’t related to my finances, I can look at my banking app to see that the amount of money I owe has gone down. A couple months ago, as I was going through a particularly rough time, I took a screenshot of the graph portraying my credit score rising and made it my phone’s wallpaper. Even though my stressors at the time were not at all related to finances, it helped me continue maintaining faith in myself because there was evidence that I am a good person and that I am reliable and competent.

These goals are incredibly personal. I am nothing if not an oversharer, so my support group knew everything—what my budget looked like, what I cried about, what the bank people said. You may not be as open, but having an accountability group is incredibly helpful, especially where everyone has their own goals that they are working toward. Don’t be afraid to share with your friends and also strangers you meet on the street that you are on a self-improvement arc; who knows, they might end up helping you or you them.

A year later, as I look forward to 2026, I am able to build off those previous resolutions. I am reflecting on what is still unsatisfactory, but also on what I have changed and how I have grown. Although I had many breakdowns this year, I haven’t had any while I make these resolutions (so far).

Remember, this is a marathon. Have compassion for yourself; be honest with what you need to change, but don’t dwell on your shortcomings such that they remain and you never break those cycles. If you are working toward being better, you are already good enough.

And if you’re sad about something, cry about it and then move on.

Happy New Year!

#2025 #2026 #characterDevelopment #compassion #creditCards #EditorSNote #emotionalGrowth #emotions #goalSetting #HarleenKaurDhillon #KristySerpa #mainCharacterEnergy #mentalBreakdown #newYear #personalFinance #personalGrowth #Resolutions #selfImprovementArc #selfCompassion #selfImprovement #SelfLove

Illustration depicting three Canadian coins, each featuring a picture of a different, sweating animal, on a white background.

Getting bigger than I expected

For the last three weeks, I've been writing almost every day for at least an hour. I've had some ideas and needed to go back and re-work some older bits, and I'm really happy with the direction things have taken. [...]

https://writing.deadtom.me/getting-bigger-than-i-expected

https://medium.com/the-writers-reach/would-this-character-think-this-way-dcfe61d946ea

“Would this character think this way?”
Tie internal thoughts to actions and words.
Internal monologues show how characters think and feel.

#character #characterdevelopment #medium #fiction #WritingCommunity #writingtips

Life Is a Blessing — Even With the Tears : A Soul-Stirring Journey Through Pain, Purpose & Peace
Embrace life's full spectrum—joy and pain, success and failure. Discover Shaolin wisdom about accepting hardship, building character, and healing generational wounds for a purposeful life. A heartfelt, spiritual WebStory blending motivation, mindfulness & hope. More details… https://spiritualkhazaana.com/web-stories/life-is-a-blessing/
#LifeIsABlessing #FindJoyInPain #SpiritualWisdom #ShiHengYi #CharacterDevelopment

Before the Spark: Planning My Creative Phase

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#astrologyInWriting #authorBlogSeries #blueprintForABook #bookProjectManagement #characterBackstory #characterDevelopment #creativeDevelopment #dominicanIdentity #indieAuthorJourney #jEOrtega #johannyOrtega #latinxAuthor #magicalRealism #psychologicalHorrorWriting #storyGenius #storyPlanning #tarotInStorytelling #theOrdinaryBruja #writingCraft #writingProcess

cozy calligraphy session in new york apartment

THE COMPLEX ANTAGONIST
Create exciting antagonists that truly challenge the protagonists in your work, creating interesting, exciting, complex characters. Learn how to create the antagonist’s circle and develop the antagonist as a fully-developed individual, not an idea or a cipher. Combination of topics, exercises, and examples that you can re-visit with every story.

$2.99 USD

#Writing #WritingCommunity #Craft #Antagonist #CharacterDevelopment

UBL: https://books2read.com/u/bPgv1d

Teal background for blue digital cover for THE COMPLEX ANTAGONIST. Text: Interesting, aggressive, a winner. The complex antagonist. $2.99 https://www.devonellingtonwork.com/topic-workbooks

The Challenges of Balancing Character With Plot https://www.writersdigest.com/the-challenges-of-balancing-character-with-plot #characterdevelopment #WriteBetterFiction #ConflictInFiction #novelseries #Character #character #Plot #plot

The Challenges of Balancing Character With Plot

Author Mike Maden shares his thoughts on balancing character with plot (and plot twist, it's all about character in the end).
The post The Challenges of Balancing Character With Plot appeared first on Writer's Digest.
https://www.writersdigest.com/the-challenges-of-balancing-character-with-plot

#Character #Plot #WriteBetterFiction #character #characterdevelopment

Now is the Time to Break Free from Modern Day Political ~ Religious and Social Indoctrinations https://lindahourihan.wordpress.com/2025/11/20/now-is-the-time-to-break-free-from-modern-day-political-religious-and-social-indoctrinations/ #AI, #Bible, #Body, #CharacterDevelopment, #Christianity, #Conviction, #Counseling, #Courage, #Cults, #DaughtersOfTheKing, #Faith, #Fame, #Family, #Fortune, #FreeWill, #Freedom, #God, #Healing, #HealingPoliticalReligiousSocialIndoctrinations, #Health, #HolisticHealth, #HolySpirit, #HowToGetOutOfACult, #HowToRecognizeIfYouAreInACult, #Indoctrinations, #Integrity, #Jesus,

If you’ve known me a while you know that I have not always felt this way about the vigilante garbage granny phenomen here in Tokyo as it is easy to feel targeted by them as a foreigner but I have since come around towards her, and likely she has come around towards me as well. #characterdevelopment

Thoughts on using modern terms or slang in a fantasy setting? I know some readers have very… strong opinions about this, but what if it is intentional? What if there is a reason for it and it comes from a character from a more advanced society? I’m curious what you all think.

#FantasyWriting
#Worldbuilding
#SpecFic
#FantasyBooks
#Storytelling
#CharacterDevelopment
#BookDiscussion
#WritersLife
#AuthorPoll
#ReaderThoughts
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How Legendary Sci-Fi Writer Isaac Asimov Felt About Star Trek – Looper

How Legendary Sci-Fi Writer Isaac Asimov Felt About Star Trek

By Jaron Pak Nov. 7, 2025 11:50 am EST

Captain Kirk flanked by Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the bridge crew on Star Trek
Paramount.

It’s always interesting to hear what creators think about others in their genres, especially when we’re talking about the biggest names in classic science fiction. One example is when the legendary sci-fi author Isaac Asimov was interviewed in footage from the New York City “Star Trek” convention in 1973. Asimov, who wrote the Laws of Robotics (and the Zeroth Law) in context of both “I, Robot” and “Foundation,” offered his thoughts on the fellow sci-fi icon. This was after the original series had ended in 1969, and more than a decade before “Star Trek: The Next Generation” began, meaning he was talking about foundational “Star Trek” concepts.

Asmiov talked about the show’s famous tagline, “To boldly go where no man has ever gone before.” He pointed out that, while the implication is territorial, the show tackled, in his words, “problems that man has not faced.” He praised the way “Star Trek” wasn’t afraid to deviate from adventure to tackle real social problems.

He also complimented how the show handled their Prime Directive, saying, “It mattered not what form the intelligence took, or what kind of universe the intelligence built for it. If it was intelligent, if it was intelligent enough to build a culture, then it had the right to live in that culture. It had the right to exist and be. And no other culture had a right to interfere with it, as long as it was not endangering cultures beyond itself.” That’s all a lot more favorable than what Asimov later thought about “Battlestar Galactica.”
Star Trek’s character development and the rational man

Spock and Kirk on Star Trek
Paramount

Asimov also had a lot to say about how “Star Trek” handled its characters. He pointed out that the show gave them sanity and meaning in the midst of adventure into the unknown. “It had fully realized characters,” he said in ’73, adding, “Naturally, Spock springs to mind. The rational, sane man. And there’s something very comforting about sanity, especially in a world like ours.”

Complimenting the characters of “Star Trek” is interesting, considering that character development is one of Asimov’s weaker points. His “Robot” novels have few recurring characters. Even when you do meet someone again, they are often presented and re-presented with minimal backstory. Dr. Susan Calvin is one of these, only popping up in short stories when needed. Elijah Baley is probably the most important recurring character in the “Robot” novels, and he is a flatly troped detective, all things considered.

In the “Foundation” novels, characters see relentless turnover. Some, like the plot-central Golan Trevize, are again predictably written. It’s ironic that, in Apple’s “Foundation” series, the most compelling characters are individuals like Lou Llobell’s Gaal Dornick and Lee Pace’s Emperor Cleon, both of whom have a scant presence in Asimov’s stories. Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) isn’t even a steady focus, though, like the Apple series, his presence lasts even when his body is dead.

Asimov was a world-builder and a concept creator. Character development simply wasn’t his strong suit, but he knew to love it when “Star Trek” did it well.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: How Legendary Sci-Fi Writer Isaac Asimov Felt About Star Trek