Tag Archives: characters

Questions 3: Basic Skills of Characters

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Since basic skills can change from person to person, I figure I’ll open the floor.  Got my hands full today as well.  Keep in mind that I’m talking about the skills authors and readers don’t think about.  We take them … Continue reading →

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7 Tips to Utilizing Basic Skills That Might Not Be Basic

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

This list isn’t going to work for every author, reader, or story.  Going to try to be as general as possible, but we’ll see how it goes. If you want to remove a basic skill from a character halfway through … Continue reading →

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Skills We Take for Granted

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

This stems from something decades ago.  When making some 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons characters with players, one was asking why his barbarian wasn’t allowed to start with reading and writing.  He had to use points to give himself these … Continue reading →

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The Over-the-Top Rebellious Teenager

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

So, this is the other character type I was thinking of last time I re-watched ‘Great Teacher Onizuka’.  Now, the story is that Onizuka is a former motorcycle gang member who is determined to be a teacher.  He gets a … Continue reading →

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The Reformed Punk Character

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

This could be seen as an off-shoot of ‘reformed villain’ doing a redemption arc, but it’s kind of different.  The delinquent, punk part of the character is in the past and not something that is shown to the audience.  They … Continue reading →

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When Characters Need to Hide Superhuman Abilities

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

My son and I watch an anime called ‘Spy x Family’.  It’s a spy comedy and that doesn’t really cover everything, but it’s enough for now.  The general plot is the guy is a spy who needs to create a … Continue reading →

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Predator and Prey Stories

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

I was thinking about the movie ‘Predator’.  Not sure why.  Just came to me and I wondered if there was a post in there.  Well, here we are . . . Sorry if you expected a catchier intro, but it’s … Continue reading →

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The Emotional Outburst Power Up

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

As seen above, anger is the easiest emotion to grant a power boost from.  Most people can understand when someone gets stronger because they’re pissed off.  Holding back is no longer a thing, so one fights with full strength.  If … Continue reading →

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The Ability Thief

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

The concept of an ability thief is fairly common.  There are different levels of the ability as well, which can range from killing the original owner to simply copying it.  Guess that makes the ‘thief’ part not true since the … Continue reading →

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Can Heroes Be Homesick?

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m not even sure if I can make a big post about this.  The idea came to my mind when I was thinking about how heroes in fantasy go on big adventures.  Can’t remember many of them getting homesick.  Not … Continue reading →

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