ryan_ellis•1mo ago

My writing group in Austin called my main character 'a cardboard cutout', so I spent a week giving her a weird hobby, a phobia of pigeons, and a debt to a library in Omaha.

What's the best piece of harsh but helpful feedback you've gotten on a character?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nina1mo ago

That "cardboard cutout" comment is brutal but adding random traits won't fix a flat character.

kim37321d ago

It's like how people think listing hobbies on a dating profile makes them interesting, but it's really how they handle a bad date that shows their real character. Isn't it weird how we focus on adding stuff instead of digging into the reactions that actually reveal someone?

valh321mo ago

Ouch, that's so true. @the_nina nailed it. People think giving a character a weird hobby or a scar fixes everything, but it's just decorating a flat surface. The fix is how they react under pressure. Like, a "nice" character who stays nice when robbed is boring. But if they snap and lie to the cops to save themselves, that's real. That conflict writes the depth for you.