What makes a character well-written in the eyes of /lit/, and how do you think such characters are best crafted?
I don't think I need to describe chairs in much detail most the time
>>25561387They need to be inconsistent and contradictory. Clarity should also be avoided.
I don't really know. If it genuinely makes me question things then I think it's well-written. If it's reddit though I just try to forget about it.
By writing what I couldn't hope to write without having lived a long life full of deep discussions with many interesting people. If it's just "cool with some philosophy" like most "well-written" anime characters then right in the trash it goes.
>>25561387I like a good monologue, well spoken and meaningful. What I don't like is front loading character traits in the first chapter. I judge a book by its cover, first three pages and prose. The characters can be whatever if I'm still reading.Modern commercial fiction is plagued with the author writing background and details about character right up front because standard conversation states that this is important. "Save the cat?" How about write good, you hack.
>>25561477I'll admit I fall into this habit myself, yet I think any author, no matter how experienced, fails to capture the full nuance of storytelling in a first draft, and most of my characters at that stage tend to be either cringeworthy fragments of myself or versions of the person I wish I were.
bump
>>25561387big tits
When it's not cliché stereotype I have read billion times about and can predict whatever he does
>>25561387I find that I'm often most invested in characters that develop in a way that manages to surprise me. Characters gain depth when they change and grow (or regress) but you have to walk the fine line where their arc still makes organic sense without telegraphing it so obviously that you know what their entire story is going to be at first glance.
