Appearances
Your world has to match the life your characters live. In a book with a picture here and there, even the slightest detail can create a gorgeous image. In an animation, your background can’t distract from the characters, and should match heir pallets. In live action, your background has to be real, wether it's green screen or not. The props have to be completely believable.
Anime
If I create a kawaii Neko anime girl, and placed her in a very realistic painting, what would you want to focus on? The gorgeous art, or the simple girl? You also have to be careful you don't end up with a cartoon background for a pretty detailed anime. You want colours and people to pop out, yet blend in. Anime should always have a background barely more realistic than the characters, so you get enough detailing without distracting from the people. Pastels always look nice for a calm background, but bright colours are always pretty risky no matter what you're working on.
Novels are always a hard place to go, as pictures always have to be well detailed, yet not too often. Even a dark ally way has to be completely detailed, down to the street lamp in the background. You can even have fun with this, creating a mysterious silhouette to get the minds of your audience turning. As soon as your background
Anime
If I create a kawaii Neko anime girl, and placed her in a very realistic painting, what would you want to focus on? The gorgeous art, or the simple girl? You also have to be careful you don't end up with a cartoon background for a pretty detailed anime. You want colours and people to pop out, yet blend in. Anime should always have a background barely more realistic than the characters, so you get enough detailing without distracting from the people. Pastels always look nice for a calm background, but bright colours are always pretty risky no matter what you're working on.
Novels are always a hard place to go, as pictures always have to be well detailed, yet not too often. Even a dark ally way has to be completely detailed, down to the street lamp in the background. You can even have fun with this, creating a mysterious silhouette to get the minds of your audience turning. As soon as your background
Damsels in Distress
Let's talk about damsels in distress and everything that affect them. You know your really strong, female character that you want to have kidnapped? The one that you sapped the personality out of so the main character can rescue them? Yeah... that one. This is a huge problem.... in fact, it's a Peach Problem. Interesting characters won't just stand there in the prison cell. They aren't Princess Peach; unless your writing a Mario Fanfiction. In which case.... read this anyway, so you can write other stories too. Let's start with three character examples. The smart one, the sassy one, and the strong one. If your character is being held captive, how much interaction do they have with the "host"?
Say you have your sassy character, and a lot of interaction with the captor, then your going to have a few options. Sassy characters can be very fun, because you can make them talk back, allowing you to try to express them through their words of spite. Now, just because their sassy, doesn't mean they have no skills. Try to have them fight back. Maybe kicking, biting, or just plain looking for a means of escape. Many of you may not know this character, especially from the specific universe, but let's look at Aunt May from The Ultimate Spiderman. Whenever she is taken captive, she usually fights back or helps in some way. Try to figure out how this can generally work in your story.
Next, we'll explore the physically strong character. Strong does not mean dumb, so they must have some sort of strategy for escape. You can play around with them, making them the quiet type, or just yelling a lot as they try to get out. If your character is strong, do they try brute force, or grab a tool? Do they have powers, or is it just a jock from high school? No matter what you do, make sure the strong character doesn't get out too easily. If they do, place more obstacles in the way. Make sure that your strong character stays strong, and stay with what they've done before. If in a previous chapter, you mentioned a metal that they can't break, check back to see what it was. Your strong character can never be too strong for your captor. Maybe, as an example everyone knows, superman.
Last and certainly not least, let's introduce your smart character. They often will most likely not be strong enough to break out by hand. They need to lure the guards, servants, or whoever is around to get them out. Giving into their captor to get out, allowing them to run away means you have to develop the surroundings and give them more obstacles for their brain. Also, what kind of prison are they in? If you have a world based on technology, then maybe try placing them in something where their stuck floating in the middle. The smart character is fun to play around with because you can make them think through everything, allowing you to describe their surroundings. Do you enjoy playing with your viewers? Make the plan so mathematical, the reader can't keep up, making them seem just that much smarter. Do you by chance know Batman? Of course you do, so you know how he acts. Next time you watch a movie with him in it, watch how he analyzes his situation.
The character in distress isn't the only thing that matters. As I mentioned before, you need to pay attention to their surroundings so that you can play up their weaknesses and strengths. Next you have to play up the host. A great way to do this is through their perspective. What if they're in love with their captor? You might need to show their struggle of trying to calm their captive down. Actually, let me give you a plot line.... your character has been captured and the person that did it is in love with them. Eventually, their set free, the captor not wanting to see their loved ones in sorrow. The people who were looking for the captive return at that moment and kill the captor. In some way, the captive learns of the love they felt. If you use this storyline, let me know so I can read your story!
I'm your Sometimes Hostess, Citty Cheshire and this was your Sometimes Tropes!
Say you have your sassy character, and a lot of interaction with the captor, then your going to have a few options. Sassy characters can be very fun, because you can make them talk back, allowing you to try to express them through their words of spite. Now, just because their sassy, doesn't mean they have no skills. Try to have them fight back. Maybe kicking, biting, or just plain looking for a means of escape. Many of you may not know this character, especially from the specific universe, but let's look at Aunt May from The Ultimate Spiderman. Whenever she is taken captive, she usually fights back or helps in some way. Try to figure out how this can generally work in your story.
Next, we'll explore the physically strong character. Strong does not mean dumb, so they must have some sort of strategy for escape. You can play around with them, making them the quiet type, or just yelling a lot as they try to get out. If your character is strong, do they try brute force, or grab a tool? Do they have powers, or is it just a jock from high school? No matter what you do, make sure the strong character doesn't get out too easily. If they do, place more obstacles in the way. Make sure that your strong character stays strong, and stay with what they've done before. If in a previous chapter, you mentioned a metal that they can't break, check back to see what it was. Your strong character can never be too strong for your captor. Maybe, as an example everyone knows, superman.
Last and certainly not least, let's introduce your smart character. They often will most likely not be strong enough to break out by hand. They need to lure the guards, servants, or whoever is around to get them out. Giving into their captor to get out, allowing them to run away means you have to develop the surroundings and give them more obstacles for their brain. Also, what kind of prison are they in? If you have a world based on technology, then maybe try placing them in something where their stuck floating in the middle. The smart character is fun to play around with because you can make them think through everything, allowing you to describe their surroundings. Do you enjoy playing with your viewers? Make the plan so mathematical, the reader can't keep up, making them seem just that much smarter. Do you by chance know Batman? Of course you do, so you know how he acts. Next time you watch a movie with him in it, watch how he analyzes his situation.
The character in distress isn't the only thing that matters. As I mentioned before, you need to pay attention to their surroundings so that you can play up their weaknesses and strengths. Next you have to play up the host. A great way to do this is through their perspective. What if they're in love with their captor? You might need to show their struggle of trying to calm their captive down. Actually, let me give you a plot line.... your character has been captured and the person that did it is in love with them. Eventually, their set free, the captor not wanting to see their loved ones in sorrow. The people who were looking for the captive return at that moment and kill the captor. In some way, the captive learns of the love they felt. If you use this storyline, let me know so I can read your story!
I'm your Sometimes Hostess, Citty Cheshire and this was your Sometimes Tropes!
Love Interests
Every story has a love interest of some sort, so you knew this was coming… Actually, you did know, because I said so in my upcoming Posts. Now, Love Interests may seem like a very boring topic, but it can greatly really ruin the story. Romance in an action can work, but there’s a line, and you should really never cross the line. A quick kiss scene, or a falling out between the couple can allow drama to arise, but if you let it last too long, you ruin the story. Cute banter and kisses is not something I usually want to see in the middle of an action movie. Sometimes, you can have a show that’s not action and you can still completely ruin it.
That’s right, we’re exploring Switched At Birth.
Our main characters, Daphne and Bay date everyone. The show is meant to be their life after getting switched at birth. The plot line in love starts off fine, obvious the main character will date her switched sister’s best friend. The problem however, is that through the main course of the series, they both date him, along with many, many other characters. The entire story seems to revolve around their love life. This even affects their parents, who seem to hang with other parents. This story has some really deep topics, and I would love to be able to enjoy the show without the “Bay’s friend is dating her old ex from over a year ago, and now best friends are punching each other for her”.
No matter what kind of creative work you make, it’s important that the plot doesn't rely too much on the love interests, unless it's a romantic. If you by chance do have a romantic show where everyone is dating everyone, the show might still fall under. Often you just need to slow the show down. Love interests can be a small plot device, but it can change everything. Let’s make a straight on example. Your character, we shall call them… Jean, is in love with two different girls. Jean has to save one of them, but as soon as one is safe, the other will die. This can alter the entire story, because you can kill off a partially main character, change the relationships of the people in the story, or even destroy any groups they have.
Now, I would like to type about the different types of love interests, and relationships.
1. Mushy lovers
This can mean two things, and you can even combine these things together. Your mushy lover could be head over heels for the other character, it just being a crush. This character could even be your main character, affected by a potion, or just plain feelings. The crush will most likely have cooler competition, and get embarrassed every few seconds. This is a common trope, even found in Naruto. His crush would be Sakura, his rival being Susuka. Naruto embarrasses himself multiple times, and is often hit by Sakura. The second type of Mushy Lover can be a current relationship. This means that your characters are currently dating, and they share kisses, corny flirts, or cheesy gifts. Maybe only one character is all mushy, and the other starts to get annoyed by roses being sent day and night. There are many ways to put this into your story, but I don’t suggest it as the plot line for an entire chapter or episode, as it will be considered a filler.
2. Resistant lovers
This pair may like eachother, but their very resistant against it. They fight a lot, and the people around them consider it cute banter. The few following scenarios are very possibl. "It's not like I like you!" As soon as the words left her both, both their faces turned red. "You two should just stop fighting and kiss!" Her friend split them apart, smirking. This relationship will lead to the characters kissing, and this has many options. Either their going to turn away, cross their arms and blush, or their going to start dating. The first option allows you to play it for longer, yet the second one is harder. In the second option, you cannot completely change the character's personality. Make sure their still feisty, and not exactly public about their relationship.
Now this is the most important part of this Post. How do you determine what love interest to use? If you have a good girl character that you want to fall in love, your probably going to use the Bad Boy Gone Soft trope. Your good, soft hearted girl will fall for a rough, tough, biker dude. This is way to commonly used, and this means that you will quite commonly have to deal with bad reviews. Instead of creating your love interest specifically for your main character, just make a character. Or even make a few characters! Don’t make your characters depend on eachother. Just remember to keep all of these things in mind when using romance.
I would like to see more shows that don't rely on crushes for filler episodes. This was my talk on Love Interests, by Your Sometimes Host, brought to you by Your Sometimes Tropes.
That’s right, we’re exploring Switched At Birth.
Our main characters, Daphne and Bay date everyone. The show is meant to be their life after getting switched at birth. The plot line in love starts off fine, obvious the main character will date her switched sister’s best friend. The problem however, is that through the main course of the series, they both date him, along with many, many other characters. The entire story seems to revolve around their love life. This even affects their parents, who seem to hang with other parents. This story has some really deep topics, and I would love to be able to enjoy the show without the “Bay’s friend is dating her old ex from over a year ago, and now best friends are punching each other for her”.
No matter what kind of creative work you make, it’s important that the plot doesn't rely too much on the love interests, unless it's a romantic. If you by chance do have a romantic show where everyone is dating everyone, the show might still fall under. Often you just need to slow the show down. Love interests can be a small plot device, but it can change everything. Let’s make a straight on example. Your character, we shall call them… Jean, is in love with two different girls. Jean has to save one of them, but as soon as one is safe, the other will die. This can alter the entire story, because you can kill off a partially main character, change the relationships of the people in the story, or even destroy any groups they have.
Now, I would like to type about the different types of love interests, and relationships.
1. Mushy lovers
This can mean two things, and you can even combine these things together. Your mushy lover could be head over heels for the other character, it just being a crush. This character could even be your main character, affected by a potion, or just plain feelings. The crush will most likely have cooler competition, and get embarrassed every few seconds. This is a common trope, even found in Naruto. His crush would be Sakura, his rival being Susuka. Naruto embarrasses himself multiple times, and is often hit by Sakura. The second type of Mushy Lover can be a current relationship. This means that your characters are currently dating, and they share kisses, corny flirts, or cheesy gifts. Maybe only one character is all mushy, and the other starts to get annoyed by roses being sent day and night. There are many ways to put this into your story, but I don’t suggest it as the plot line for an entire chapter or episode, as it will be considered a filler.
2. Resistant lovers
This pair may like eachother, but their very resistant against it. They fight a lot, and the people around them consider it cute banter. The few following scenarios are very possibl. "It's not like I like you!" As soon as the words left her both, both their faces turned red. "You two should just stop fighting and kiss!" Her friend split them apart, smirking. This relationship will lead to the characters kissing, and this has many options. Either their going to turn away, cross their arms and blush, or their going to start dating. The first option allows you to play it for longer, yet the second one is harder. In the second option, you cannot completely change the character's personality. Make sure their still feisty, and not exactly public about their relationship.
Now this is the most important part of this Post. How do you determine what love interest to use? If you have a good girl character that you want to fall in love, your probably going to use the Bad Boy Gone Soft trope. Your good, soft hearted girl will fall for a rough, tough, biker dude. This is way to commonly used, and this means that you will quite commonly have to deal with bad reviews. Instead of creating your love interest specifically for your main character, just make a character. Or even make a few characters! Don’t make your characters depend on eachother. Just remember to keep all of these things in mind when using romance.
I would like to see more shows that don't rely on crushes for filler episodes. This was my talk on Love Interests, by Your Sometimes Host, brought to you by Your Sometimes Tropes.
Character Grouping
What I’m about to discuss will be very long and maybe confusing. You may have used the following information without knowing. This does not directly effect your story, but I still suggest reading it.
When you creat a story, you'll most likely have 3-5 main characters. These characters all have specific traits that should fall into the following, wether you meant to or not. Keep in mind that we are starting with the basics before we start into the confusing stuff.
The Leader
This character is most likely your main character, over all the others, though sometimes they are just the leader of the group. The Leader is often the best at leading. They are most likely going to be the strongest or the smartest, depending on what the story focuses on. This character is either going to be funny or serious.
The Heart
The Heart might end up being a girl. As the heart, this character will most likely be a love interest for The Leader. Their main character trait will probably be something like being nice, kind, loving, motherly, etc. If they are a girl, in a superhero universe, and 'happen' to be in the main cast, they will probably fill out one of the following criteria’s; psychic, flight powers, or something that allows them to fly. This character is most likely there to have all the powers the other characters don’t exhibit.
The Nerd
This character is undoubtedly going to be the smartest one, if the leader isn’t. If the leader happens to be smart, then The Nerd will be smart about the leader being smart. This means, if The Smart Leader starts doing a battle tactic without telling the others, the smart one might tell the others what they're doing. Thus, both people are proven to be smart.
The Jock
The Jock is of course, going to be the strongest of the bunch. The main trait will most likely be super strength, or natural strength. This depends on the world the character resides in. They will most likely be best friends with The Nerd, and super dumb. This allows for The Leader and The Nerd to be even smarter.
The Lancer
This character is going to be the opposite of The Leader. For example, if the leader is super serious, The Lancer will always goof off. These two characters will have a love hate relationship with eachother. They will work together as a team, but often face off. Sometimes, they might be best friends, but have a lot of disagreements. The Lancer's sole purpose is to really just oppose the leader.
Now that you understand the basics of these characters, you might want to know more. It gets more confusing from here on out.
Not all stories will have only five characters. Some will have more, or even less. If a story does not have five main characters, it will most likely have three. Now, this doesn’t mean that they just cut out The Lancer or The Heart or something, it just means that they merge characters together. The Heart, Leader, And Lancer Are still going to be there as the main trio. Now, the Heart will most likely stay The Heart. Why? Because The Heart is not supposed to be smart or strong. They are supposed to be kind, for some strange reason. The Lancer and The Leader will take on The Nerd and Jock roles. This enhances their stark opposites. But remember, these aren’t the only concoctions you can create. You could mix The Nerd and Jock, or the Heart and Leader. These are just the most common Tropes.
We aren’t done yet. We haven’t covered what happens when you have more than five characters. When you have more than main five characters, the number will still most likely hang around six or seven. The character traits might be split between characters. If you have twins, they might both fill out a trait together, but also have traits from other characters. This allows for two people to almost act as one, but stay as separate people. If the character doesn’t have twins, it might have siblings. If these siblings aren’t Lancers/Leaders then they might act similar to the twin, but a little bit more separate. You also might end up with two hearts, or a trio of Lancers and Leaders.
All of this just means that you should have fun playing with your character's personalities. In fact, I'll share a checklist with you that I happen to use.
1. Is this character too much like other characters from the past?
2. Do they have enough flaws?
3. Does this character actually matter in the story?
4. Are they necessary?
This is actually a tactic you could use in almost anything you do. Make your on checklist, and tell me how your stories go! This was just a Trope explanation, by your Sometimes Host, brought to you by Your Sometimes Tropes.
The Leader
This character is most likely your main character, over all the others, though sometimes they are just the leader of the group. The Leader is often the best at leading. They are most likely going to be the strongest or the smartest, depending on what the story focuses on. This character is either going to be funny or serious.
The Heart
The Heart might end up being a girl. As the heart, this character will most likely be a love interest for The Leader. Their main character trait will probably be something like being nice, kind, loving, motherly, etc. If they are a girl, in a superhero universe, and 'happen' to be in the main cast, they will probably fill out one of the following criteria’s; psychic, flight powers, or something that allows them to fly. This character is most likely there to have all the powers the other characters don’t exhibit.
The Nerd
This character is undoubtedly going to be the smartest one, if the leader isn’t. If the leader happens to be smart, then The Nerd will be smart about the leader being smart. This means, if The Smart Leader starts doing a battle tactic without telling the others, the smart one might tell the others what they're doing. Thus, both people are proven to be smart.
The Jock
The Jock is of course, going to be the strongest of the bunch. The main trait will most likely be super strength, or natural strength. This depends on the world the character resides in. They will most likely be best friends with The Nerd, and super dumb. This allows for The Leader and The Nerd to be even smarter.
The Lancer
This character is going to be the opposite of The Leader. For example, if the leader is super serious, The Lancer will always goof off. These two characters will have a love hate relationship with eachother. They will work together as a team, but often face off. Sometimes, they might be best friends, but have a lot of disagreements. The Lancer's sole purpose is to really just oppose the leader.
Now that you understand the basics of these characters, you might want to know more. It gets more confusing from here on out.
Not all stories will have only five characters. Some will have more, or even less. If a story does not have five main characters, it will most likely have three. Now, this doesn’t mean that they just cut out The Lancer or The Heart or something, it just means that they merge characters together. The Heart, Leader, And Lancer Are still going to be there as the main trio. Now, the Heart will most likely stay The Heart. Why? Because The Heart is not supposed to be smart or strong. They are supposed to be kind, for some strange reason. The Lancer and The Leader will take on The Nerd and Jock roles. This enhances their stark opposites. But remember, these aren’t the only concoctions you can create. You could mix The Nerd and Jock, or the Heart and Leader. These are just the most common Tropes.
We aren’t done yet. We haven’t covered what happens when you have more than five characters. When you have more than main five characters, the number will still most likely hang around six or seven. The character traits might be split between characters. If you have twins, they might both fill out a trait together, but also have traits from other characters. This allows for two people to almost act as one, but stay as separate people. If the character doesn’t have twins, it might have siblings. If these siblings aren’t Lancers/Leaders then they might act similar to the twin, but a little bit more separate. You also might end up with two hearts, or a trio of Lancers and Leaders.
All of this just means that you should have fun playing with your character's personalities. In fact, I'll share a checklist with you that I happen to use.
1. Is this character too much like other characters from the past?
2. Do they have enough flaws?
3. Does this character actually matter in the story?
4. Are they necessary?
This is actually a tactic you could use in almost anything you do. Make your on checklist, and tell me how your stories go! This was just a Trope explanation, by your Sometimes Host, brought to you by Your Sometimes Tropes.
Mythology
I'm going to be honest with you, this is one of my favourite things to play around with. When you deal with mythology, you have as much free world building as you could possibly ask for. You have the opportunity to create an amazing world, with gods, and fairies. But, alas, this also means you have a huge hole for disaster. When you use the classics, you have to study everything. This is because, as soon as you give Artemis a boyfriend, or make Aphrodite actually like her husband, you'll get a lot of angry masses. Some of the best mythology books have worked hard to perfect their world, so you should top.
Classics
This is where you can either go super easy and light, or hard and detailed. So, if you just want to be in this world, but not necessarily a part of it, then you make small references. Thing like a character commenting of Zeus must be angry if there's a storm. If you want a far more detailed tale, then you have to research every single part of each and every character from the mytheos you have chosen. You may think that you've read Percy Jackson, so of course you know everything and anything about Greek myths. Uhh.... nope. Fact check, people. Can you be sure that the tree nymphs were fast runners, or could turn into trees? Maybe it's only in a version. This gets complicated, because in the past, people have been known to write fanfiction about "history". This means that so many things you might find aren't from the actual mytheos itself.
Your Creation
Your own tale is always going to be hard. You can't spend too long discussing everything, so when you create your world, you have to create everything before the actual story is made. Sure, you may have to leave out a few tidbits of information, but what matters is that you thought about it. Most creators often take pieces of religion or myth, and create their own OCs. Mars, Roman god of war? Meet May, the Thesalie goddess of battle! When you take this path, you have to forget everything you've learned about other mythology. You can create anything you want, and you don't want it to be too much like anything else. This can be really fun, if your up to it.
Personal Experience
In the past, I've experimented with mythology building. I wanted a world where the goddesses I had created used a council system, instead of a pure monarchy. I created about nine or ten goddesses, who controlled colour itself. If another goddess wished to create a new object for the world, they were required to go before the council. It could not exist until the council agreed with it. This is an idea I hadn't seen before, so I was hoping that it would hold up in a story without sounding too cheesy.
This was a very mythical discussion, with your very mythical host, at your (sometimes) mythical Tropes!
Classics
This is where you can either go super easy and light, or hard and detailed. So, if you just want to be in this world, but not necessarily a part of it, then you make small references. Thing like a character commenting of Zeus must be angry if there's a storm. If you want a far more detailed tale, then you have to research every single part of each and every character from the mytheos you have chosen. You may think that you've read Percy Jackson, so of course you know everything and anything about Greek myths. Uhh.... nope. Fact check, people. Can you be sure that the tree nymphs were fast runners, or could turn into trees? Maybe it's only in a version. This gets complicated, because in the past, people have been known to write fanfiction about "history". This means that so many things you might find aren't from the actual mytheos itself.
Your Creation
Your own tale is always going to be hard. You can't spend too long discussing everything, so when you create your world, you have to create everything before the actual story is made. Sure, you may have to leave out a few tidbits of information, but what matters is that you thought about it. Most creators often take pieces of religion or myth, and create their own OCs. Mars, Roman god of war? Meet May, the Thesalie goddess of battle! When you take this path, you have to forget everything you've learned about other mythology. You can create anything you want, and you don't want it to be too much like anything else. This can be really fun, if your up to it.
Personal Experience
In the past, I've experimented with mythology building. I wanted a world where the goddesses I had created used a council system, instead of a pure monarchy. I created about nine or ten goddesses, who controlled colour itself. If another goddess wished to create a new object for the world, they were required to go before the council. It could not exist until the council agreed with it. This is an idea I hadn't seen before, so I was hoping that it would hold up in a story without sounding too cheesy.
This was a very mythical discussion, with your very mythical host, at your (sometimes) mythical Tropes!