The Anti-Guide

How do you try to improve your writing?

I try to avoid old, stupid things.	17.5%	[ 2292 ]
I add new things.	14.9%	[ 1951 ]
A combination of both (if one more than the other, pick it).	67.6%	[ 8852 ]
Total Votes:			[ 13095 ]

[Misuki Marishima]

And when your protagonist finds someone they're looking for, they're a love interesst. End of story.

[Esoteric Order of Dagon]

Misuki Marishima

{Exception to the rule: Countries that don't have it. Although these countries are never mentioned in the situation. Of course, I read some articles about a veeeeeeery sad Japanese film that depicts this problem post WW II, where the two main characters, orphans starve because war turned their country sour. Such a depressing concept... no wonder I haven't mustered up the guts to see such a tear jerker. D:}

Your protagonist's mentor will always die protecting him/her. Always. Otherwise, his end just wouldn't be noble enough.

((The film of which you speak is Hayau Miyazaki's epic, historical masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies. It's definitely worth watching. I love how it's probably the only historical anime on the market.))

And if they die of old age, they leave all of their power to your protagonist, who must take on the mantel of their mentor and defeat the ZOMG-BADDUDE.

[Rid V]

Karma Explosion

((By the way, do you think it would be weird to have a thirty year old non-mentor character traveling with a seventeen year old boy and fifteen year old girl?))

Jiraku

((Depends on the situation. You could get away with it easily if they're a parent (although that would be somewhat strange unless that character's parent is a badass or at least a competent fighter,) a government agent if it's an urban fantasy, a hardened knight/mage/thief, or something along those lines. It'll not seem as strange if they're on the team for a more "strictly business" reason.))

(My emphasis)
((You make the assumption that the story is violence-based.))

Misuki Marishima

Tragedy= Realism. That is one of the Ten Writer Commandments.

Quoted for Solemn Truthes.

Rid V

Here’s a totally original twist for your story. A secondary character has an obsession or lifelong wish/dream bound up in the main plot of the story. Well then, it can only be because you’re going to kill that character off in the process of fulfilling that dream, or shortly afterward. Once a secondary character has their greatest wish fulfilled, what’ve they got to live for?

Alternatively, kill them off before they complete their wish/mission, so that their friends the heroes have to finish it for them.

Along similar lines, any character whose basic function within the story is finished should die off as soon as possible thereafter so as to get out of the way of more important characters. Anyone who the protagonist no longer needs should get offed, preferably by the antagonist; anyone who the antagonist no longer needs should also get offed, preferably by the villain.

For best effect, the character who was helping (our trying to help the protagonist), or the character who was duped into helping the antagonist should be the most original (and if you’re really on a role coolest and most interesting) character in the story.

Such characters need not necessarily be cooler than the main character(s), in point of fact. Any character who is different in themselves or who don’t fill any obvious role in the story (e.g. hero, mentor, sidekick, rival, antagonist, support team, exposition generator, etc.) in other words, any character who the audience will say “huh, I don’t see how this person fits into the generic plot” must fit in the obvious way: by getting killed off before they can derail the generic plot in question.

[Ritzy_freak]

Remember everyone, there is no such things as divorces! The spouse must die or the husband is beating them up. And I don't mean a light slap. I mean the husband (Never the wife) Has to almost KILL the spouse for their to be a divorce. And after the divorce, the couple never speak to each other again. THEY ARE NOT FRIENDS!! EVER!!!

((Though I did write a story where a divorced couple meets for drinks every friday, mostly to talk about life. And they do manage to be rather good friends.))

Oh, and don't forget, when shopping for an engagement ring, the Male MC will not only find a design his love interest absolutly loves, but has to have the right ring size. The love interest will never hate the engagement ring, no matter how big and unrealistic it is to her crime-fighting lifestyle. And she will never, ever have to think about his proposal. It will always be a big YES!!

[Sims Sam]

Parents must always die otherwise your character would not have an angsty past--and that would be bad ]=


When giving your character supernatural abilites be sure to include several regardless of whether they contridict one another [ex] telepathy, fire manipulation, healing abilities, and creating instant toast.

[Nightmare1]

Sims Sam

Parents must always die otherwise your character would not have an angsty past--and that would be bad ]=


When giving your character supernatural abilites be sure to include several regardless of whether they contridict one another [ex] telepathy, fire manipulation, healing abilities, and creating instant toast.

And if you need to justify this, simply make the character a half-human hybrid!. Half vampires especially are all the rage right now. Just look what Stephanie Meyer did!

Just make sure that the hybrid:

-Is prejudiced against, for angst factor. NO society is tolerant of any halflings. None.
-Is very pretty. After all, MC's are not allowed to be ugly.
-Has only the good traits of its parents, and none of the bad. A half-elf with small pointy ears will surely be discriminated against because their ears are too small to be an elf's and too big to be a human's. Oh, and half animal-demons get basic catgirl anatomy: ears and tail only, as opposed to, say, a deformed cat/human hybrid. This applies to dog demons, fox demons, wolf demons, etc. too. For regular demons, they may get nothing more than cute horns, little wings, and a tail. They will NEVER have, numerous limbs, cloven feet, huge fangs, hideous brute builds, or strange skin the color of vomit.
-Is super-powered and speshul.

[Doctor Pips]

Another thing about parents: If by chance the big bad is the MC's parent they will either figure out what they did wrong and try to make up for lost times or totally ignore the fact that the MC is their child. Or even better you could pull a whole Luke I am Your Father. No one will suspect it! Evil parents cannot like to just screw with your MC or even care for them a bit while still being a baddie? ((Well Intentioned Extremist, anyone?)) Ignore that! Of course not!

[ditzyblonde_case1]

Make sure to include cliche fantasy races. Every hero's posse must include an elf and the elf must always be an archer.

The only moral of the story should be that good always triumphs over evil. The only stories that break from this tradition end up being used as boring torture devices by highschool english teachers.

The hero always saves himself/herself, along with the world, due to a last minute epiphany on life and their place in the world.

If the story doesn't end with a happily ever after, then you are automatically obliged to write a sequel that will inevitably be even more cliche than the first.

If the villain doesn't have and insane and/or evil laugh, then he/she isn't actually a villain.

Female villians are always sexy and have a tragic "woman scorned" history. Male villains are either ugly brutes, or are sexy and driven by the need for extreme revenge for a horrifyingly tragic past that has driven them to insanity.

[Zacki Zari]

OMG
SWORDS FER THE WINZ!!!11111
OR GUNZ!!!11!2
BIG GUNZ111!!
CUZ THAT'S REALLY PRECTICALS!!!11!
All weapons must be like above.
Maybe the occasional staff for the mentor or the healer.

[Half Baked SF]

Psh. Who needs to be practical when everyone's distracted by the sheer awesomeness your hero is supposed to radiate?

[Misuki Marishima]

Scary things always happen the most obvious scary places. Alleys, abandoned ghost towns, that creepy manor no one lives anymore, etc.

[Half Baked SF]

When running from a zombie or other monster, a secondary character must always trip and get caught. No exceptions. A main character or love interest can trip and fall while being chased, but s/he must always get right back up at the last second.

[What the B O X]

Heroes or Heroines must always be in at least one epic battle, lose a gallon of blood, and somehow manage to beat the bad guy and win the day.
(Dear God, as if this has never happened before.)

[Misuki Marishima]

Also, remember that band-aids are enough to patch up your hero/ine's injuries, they never have anything truly life-threatening, unless you want a heartwarming moment where all the secondary characters say they regretting fighting them and all that jazz, because they think they're dead until they wake up.

This works to bring two rivals together in fanfiction. Or canon for that matter.

[-Resurrected Writer-]

Misuki Marishima

Also, remember that band-aids are enough to patch up your hero/ine's injuries, they never have anything truly life-threatening, unless you want a heartwarming moment where all the secondary characters say they regretting fighting them and all that jazz, because they think they're dead until they wake up.

This works to bring two rivals together in fanfiction. Or canon for that matter.

Anything non-lethal, for that matter, will never impede them. An arrow in the leg can be pulled-out, a broken arm only needs be popped back into place to be usable again, etc.