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I stopped writing character sheets for every prompt and switched to a 5 line note, my stories got way better
For two years I filled out these long character sheets before every writing prompt, name, job, childhood, favorite food, all of it, and my stories kept dying around 300 words. Then in January I tried just jotting 5 lines about what the character wants and what scares them, and I knocked out a full draft in one sitting for the first time. Is anyone else here a recovering over planner, or does the deep character work actually pay off for you later?
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davis.adam24d ago
Two years of filling out favorite food sections, huh? What did that ever do for you, tell you your hero eats pizza so now the plot magically works? The thing nobody tells you is that most of that sheet is homework you gave yourself so you could feel like you were writing without actually writing a story. Five lines that say what she wants and what she's scared of is basically the whole engine, everything else is paint.
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