Three Types Of Character Traits
Hey, you're awesome, thanks for existing, basically ^_^ Anyway, I wanted to know if you have any tips on how to write different personalities? My characters (all of them) always end up with the same default personality that I fall back on. Thanks!
Thanks for your question, darling! I think most of us have struggled with this – after all, we’re conditioned to one way of thinking, feeling, and acting for as long as we live. That doesn’t necessarily mean we write characters like ourselves, though. In fact, many of us have a “default character” that’s sassier than we are, sweeter than we are, or in some way different enough from us that we still feel like we’re writing a character.
The problem, then, isn’t that we can’t visualize a different personality than ours. On the whole, we can. What we’re missing are the small details that make it feel whole – otherwise, it’s like painting the same room six different colors and trying to pass it off as six different rooms. Different dominant traits can’t hide the fact that you’re working with one template!
So the question we’re left with: what are the traits we’re missing? And how can we change them to create a unique and whole personality?
Three Types of Character Traits
There are, as the title suggests, three major categories of personality traits as I see it: fundamental traits, acquired traits, and detrimental traits. A well-rounded character needs some of each to be three-dimensional and realistic.
Fundamental Traits
The fundamental traits of a person’s character are not as simple as interests and preferences; they are the very base of all decisions and desires. They are either learned in early life or developed over a long period of time, rooting deeply into the personality. A few examples of fundamental personality traits include:
Upbringing – The word choice here is conscious, as upbringing encompasses many different aspects of a person’s development. Consider who raised them, and with what morals and practices they were raised to adulthood. Consider their influences, both familial, social, and in media; consider the relationships that were normalized during their development, as well as the living conditions (financially, emotionally, environmentally, etc.). The people, places, emotions, and conflicts made common during a person’s developmental period are essential to their personality in adulthood. This is why psychologists often draw present-day problems back to a person’s childhood memories – because those formative years can subconsciously dictate so much of a person’s future!
Values – These may not coincide with the values a person is raised to hold, but upbringing certainly has an influence on this. A person’s values will direct the course of their life through every decision, large and small. You don’t need to outline everything your character believes is important – every moral and every law they agree/disagree with. But those values which stand above others will give your character purpose. A few of my favorite examples are: Jane from Jane the Virgin (whose initial storyline is heavily based on her religion and desire for a beautiful love story, as well as her childhood influences who inspired these values) and Han Solo from Star Wars (whose character development rested upon his values shifting from money and gratification to more honorable things).
Beliefs – Different from values, beliefs are a more general set of guidelines for how a person believes things are supposed to be. Beliefs can also be a source of great conflict, as a character tries to stay aligned with their beliefs despite other values or desires. These beliefs can be established systems, like religion or politics; they can also include more personal belief systems, like nihilism or veganism. A characters beliefs, like their values, can change over the course of the story – but even if a character is questioning one system of belief, like religion or pacifism, they should have other belief systems in place to govern some of their activity.
Reputation – A lot of human activity, whether consciously or not, is dictated by how others perceive them (or how they believe others perceive them). There are two types of reputation: personal and passing. For instance, a woman named Sally who gains a personal reputation of sleeping around will behave in reaction to this reputation – either sleeping around because everyone already expects it of her, or specifically not hooking up because she wants to shake this reputation, or developing a thicker skin to deal with the rumors until it passes. A man named Billy who, because of his tattoos, bears a passing reputation as an intimidating man will either try to soften his demeanor with strangers, own up to the image, or at least learn to expect judgment from strangers as a consequence.
Self-Image – Also relevant to a person’s behavior is the way they perceive themselves, which can often have little to do with their reputation. A lot of self-image is based on definitive moments or phases in the past. For instance: for several years after I started wearing contacts and cutting my hair, I still saw myself, in dreams at night, with long hair and glasses. One of my friends, similarly, could not seem to notice when boys would flirt with her during sophomore year – because she still saw herself as an awkward middle schooler with braces, and not as the charming cheerleader with the great smile.Inversely, self-image can be inflated, causing character to behave as though they are funnier, smarter, or more prepared than they truly are (see: the rest of my sophomore acquaintances). This can be an overlooked character flaw opportunity – or flawportunity…
Acquired Traits
Now we move on to the acquired traits of personality, which are the ones you’re more likely to find on a character sheet or a list of “10 Questions for Character Development”, alongside a million other things like their zodiac sign and their spirit animal. But the traits I’m about to outline are a little more relevant to a character’s behavior, and more importantly, how to make this behavior unique from other characters’ behavior. The following traits will be learned by your characters throughout their life (and their story), and are more likely to shift and grow with time:
Interests – I know, I had to reach deep down into my soul to think of this one. But it’s true! Interests, both in childhood/adolescence and in adulthood, are an important part of a character’s personality and lifestyle. Childhood interests both reveal something about the character (for instance: my nephew loves trains, Legos, and building, suggesting a future interest in construction or engineering) and create values that can last for a lifetime. Current interests affect career choice, social circles, and daily activity for everyone. Forgotten or rejected interests can be the source of pet peeves, fears, or bad memories. There’s a reason I’ll never play with Polly Pockets again, and it 100% has to do with bloody fingertips and a purse that wouldn’t open.
Sense of Humor – This can be a little hard to define, understandably. If you were to ask me what my sense of humor is, I’d probably start with a few stupid memes, pass by Drake & Josh on the way, and somehow wind up telling you bad puns or quoting Chelsea Peretti’s standup comedy. A person’s sense of humor can be complex and contradictory! Sometimes we just laugh at stuff because someone said it in a funny way. But anyway, to help you boil this down to something useful: take a look at a few kinds of comedy and relate it to your character’s maturity level. Do they laugh when someone lets out a toot? Are they the kind of person to mutter, “That’s what she said,” or simply try not to laugh when something sounds dirty? Can puns make them crack a smile? Do they like political humor? Do cat videos kill them? Is their humor particularly dark? Can the mere sound of someone else laughing make them laugh? Figure out where your character’s sense of humor is, and you’ll feel closer to them already.
Pet Peeves – For every interest a person may have, and everything that makes them laugh, there’s something else that can piss them off, large- or small-scale. Are they finnicky about their living space and neatness? Do they require a lot of privacy? Do certain sounds or behaviors drive them crazy? What qualities are intolerable in a romantic interest for them? What kind of comments or beliefs make them roll their eyes? If you need help, just try imagining their worst enemy – someone whose every word or action elicits the best eye-rolls and sarcastic remarks and even a middle finger or two – and ask yourself, what about this person makes them that mortal enemy? What behaviors or standards make them despicable to your character? That’s all it takes.
Skills – Everybody has them, and they’re not just something we’re born with. Skills can be natural talent, sure, but they’re also cultivated from time, values, and interests. What is your character okay at? What are they good at? What are they fantastic at? Maybe they can cook. Maybe they have a beautiful eye for colors. Maybe they have an inherent sense of right and wrong that others admire. Maybe they’re super-athletic or incredibly patient or sharp as a tack or sweet as a cupcake. Maybe they know how to juggle, or maybe they’re secretly the most likely of all their friends to survive a zombie apocalypse. Where do they shine? What would make someone look at them and think, “Wow, I wish I were them right now”?
Desires – A good way to “separate” one character from the next is to define what it is they want, and then use every other detail to dictate how they pursue that goal. Every real person has a desire, whether they’ve defined it or not – whether it’s something huge, like fame or a family of five with triplet girls and a beach house on an island, or something small, like good grades for the semester. These desires can cause a person to revise their values or forsake their morals; and these desires can conflict with other people’s desires, influencing how people interact with each other. Remember that every character is living their own story, even if it’s not the story you’re telling.
Communication Style – A majorly overlooked character trait in pop fiction is unique communication styles. Having every character feel comfortable arguing, or bursting out with the words, “I love you,” is unrealistic. Having every character feel paralyzed at the idea of confronting a bully or being honest to their spouse is also unrealistic. There should be a healthy mix of communicators in a group of characters. Some people are too softspoken to mouth off at their racist lab partner. Some people wouldn’t see their girlfriend kissing another guy and just walk away without saying something. Some people just don’t react to conflict by raising their voice; some people enjoy sharing their opinions or giving the correct answer in class. Boldness, social skills, and emotional health all have a part to play in how people communicate their thoughts – so keep this in mind to create a more realistic, consistent character.
Emotional Expression – Along the same lines but not the same, emotional expression is more focal on feelings than thoughts. If you’ve ever heard of the fight-or-flight response, the different types of anger, the stages of grief, or the five love languages, then you’re aware of different “classifications” of emotional expression and management. Read up on some of those things, and think about how your character handles emotions like happiness, sadness, fear, anger, loneliness, paranoia, and so forth.
Detrimental Traits
While acquired traits are certainly more enjoyable to brainstorm during the creation process, detrimental traits are as important – or even more important – to the character’s wholeness as well as their role in the story. Not only do these negative or limiting traits make your character realistic, relatable, and conflicted – they create a need for other characters and their strengths to move the plot forward. A few examples of detrimental traits include:
Flaws – Character flaws are probably the first thing that came to your mind while reading this, but they’re the essence of the category. Flaws in a character’s personality, morality, or behavior can be a source of character development; they set an individual on their own path and provide a unique motivation for them. Having Character A struggle with sobriety while Character B learns to be a more patient mother can do a lot to separate their stories and personalities from each other. Even if certain flaws don’t reach a point of growth, they create a third aspect to personality and force us, as writers, to be more creative with how our characters get from Point A to Point B, and what they screw up along the way.
Fears – Everyone has fears, whether we’re conscious of them or not – and I’m not talking about phobias or “things that give you shivers”. Just like everyone has a primary motivation throughout life (romance, family, success, meaning, peace of mind, etc.), everyone has a fear behind that motivation (loneliness, failure, emptiness, anxiety). We all have something we don’t want to happen – places we never want to be and things we never want to do. We’ve all been in situations that mildly bothered others but wildly affected us at the same time. For me, it’s a lack of autonomy, or in any way being forced to do something or be somewhere against my will.What does this mean for me? It means that when other people have nightmares about being chased by an axe murderer, I have nightmares about being kidnapped and locked up. It means that I’m continually aware of my “escape plan” if something goes wrong in my living situation, and I’m hypersensitive to someone telling me, “You have to do this.” It means I struggle to follow rules and usually don’t get along with authority figures because I have to assert my independence to them. It’s irrational and continual and doesn’t just affect me in one situation; it subconsciously directs my steps if I let it. That’s how real, guttural fears work. Phobias are only skin deep, and they don’t make you feel any closer to the character.
Secrets – Even goody two-shoes Amber from the swim team, with her blonde blonde hair and her good good grades, has a secret. Everybody does, even if it’s not a purposeful, “I have a deep, dark secret,” sort of secret. We have things we don’t tell people, just because they’re embarrassing, or painful, or too deep to get into, or they don’t paint us in a good light. While the secrets themselves tell a lot about a person, so do the reasons a person keeps a secret. Hiding something out of shame suggests a person is prideful, or critical of themselves, or holds themselves to a higher standard than they hold others. Hiding something painful suggests that the person struggles to handle sadness or regret, or that they feel uncomfortable showing raw emotion in front of loved ones. And so on and so forth.
Conflict – Whether internal, interpersonal, legal, moral, societal, or what have you, conflict will limit your character’s actions at every turn. A story is nothing without conflict driving the plot in different directions and causing your character to rethink both their plans and their lifestyle. Without Katniss’s moral conflict over killing other tributes, The Hunger Games would be the story of a girl who entered an arena, killed a lot of people, and lived the rest of her life rich and comfortable. If Luke Skywalker didn’t have interpersonal conflict with Darth Vader, Star Wars would be the war-story of a guy who joined a rebellion and then… yeah.
Health – Physical, mental, and emotional health is a huge limiting factor for characters that often goes untouched, but it’s valuable nonetheless. Not everyone has a clean bill of health and can jump off trains without pulling a muscle, go through a traumatic life experience without any hint of depression or anxiety, or watch a loved one die in gunfire and shove right on without emotional repercussions. Consider creating a character who’s not perfect – who isn’t perfectly in-shape or abled, or neurotypical or stable day-to-day, or completely clean and clear of residual heartache, unhealthy relationships, or bad emotional habits. Don’t define them by these traits, of course – but don’t feel that you can’t write a character with health issues without writing a “sick character.”
So this post got ridiculously long, but I hope it works as a reference for you when creating unique characters. Remember that you don’t need to outline all of this information to create an individual, realistic character. These are just some relevant ideas to get you started! It’s up to you, as the writer, to decide what’s necessary and what’s excessive for your creative process.
Still, I hope a majority of this is helpful to you! If you have any more questions, be sure to send them in and we’ll get back to you :) Good luck!
- Mod Joanna ♥️
If you need advice on general writing or fanfiction, you should maybe ask us!
More Posts from Risingstarling and Others
How to pronounce Jungkook's name
Just saw an ask on my TL. The correct pronunciation for Jungkook is Jeong-gug. The Jeong정 rhymes with long and the Gug국 rhymes with cook. That’s why when Jimin calls out Jungkook ah it goes something like “Jeong-gug-gah”. The last consonant kinda sticking to the next syllable. Like french. Lol.
**23rd May add-ons. Please read more for updated version. Cheers!
If you venture into Korean you’ll find that even the grammar’s arranged in a way that makes it easier to roll off the tongue. Like using -eun은 / -eul을 when a word ends with a consonant.. and -neun는 / -reul를 when it ends with a vowel.
Juhng-kook is the westernized way of saying it just like how Orangutan is pronounced oh-rang-ngoo-tan when Orang(Person) is pronounced Oh-rahng (rhymes with strung) & Hutan(Forest) is pronounced who-tahn(rhymes with run).
The Jeong-cook pronunciation is sometimes adapted by JK himself every once in a blue moon for International ARMYs so you can hear him switch back and forth depending on whether they’re speaking in English or addressing I-ARMYs versus speaking naturally in Korean and not thinking much about it.
“Hi, my name is Jung-cook” vs
“Ireumeun Jeong-gug”
Please refer to this video:
** Since a lot of you are still confused over the pronunciation, I thought I’d clarify with more educational videos:
Vowels
Now the issue with the ‘ㅓ’ eo character in 한글 hangul is that a lot of people tend to pronounce it as “uh” like “uh.. idk”. I’ve seen a “how to pronounce” video done by a non-native that said exactly that. Please try to find videos from natives. That would help you with accuracy.
Here’s a good video guide:
I urge you to explore more videos to broaden your knowledge. So long as you keep with the natives, you’ll be fine. Different teachers have different things to offer.
Consonants
This is for the Spanish speaker in my ask who talked about the 'J’ and the 'Ch’. Koreans tend to pronounce consonants more abruptly so you’re kinda there but it’s not as thick as a 'J’ nor is it as thin as a 'Ch’. You have ㅊ for the thin 'chs.
Here’s a good video guide:
Have fun studying!
Top 10 Muffin-Top Burning Exercises
If you would like some help losing weight, we have compiled a list of the best weight loss products and services that have helped millions of individuals lose weight faster and more successfully.
www.fitbodymag.com/shop-weight-loss
Writing Antagonists: (Aka, Your Villains and Bad Guys)
The antagonist is often either one of the most fun things to write, or the most dreaded. But either way, they are a key element of the story, and that cannot be ignored. So, let’s talk about how to make a really great antagonist.
You may have in the past met a writer or teacher or whomever who insists on using the words “protagonist and antagonist” over words like “hero and villain.” Personally, I am not so stingy about it, I feel that I know what you mean anyway so it doesn’t really matter- what there is a legitimate reason as to why you should at least try to think of your villain as your antagonist instead.
And that reason is connotation. Well, denotation too, really- villain and antagonist aren’t completely the same thing, but I’m bringing it down to connotation.
Simply said, when you think of the word “villain”, you’ll think something like “that’s the bad guy in the story.” And when you think of the “antagonist”, you probably think “that’s a fancy word for villain, aka the bad guy in the story.”
But antagonist isn’t just a fancy word. It’s a fancy concept. It means “the guy that opposes the good guy.” That can be on any argument or view. When writing your antagonist is to remember that nothing is black/white, good/bad thinking, and that includes your antagonist.
Let’s map out the steps to making a complex villain- aka, an antagonist.
First, remember that your antagonist (usually) is a person, just like your protagonist. It might help to develop them outside of their intentions first, and put a person to the upcoming reputation.
Background:
Chances are, your antagonist didn’t just rise up out of the ground ready to kill. They came from somewhere. Your readers don’t even have to know everything about your antag’s backstory, but you do, if you want to really understand them. It often holds the key reason as to why your antagonist is where they are. The drive behind anger, revenge, change, or pleasing someone else can come from the events in their background.
Why do they hold the beliefs they hold? Were they raised that way? Were they taught by some mentor figure? Were they cover from a reality they couldn’t bear? Are they trying to please someone, or get revenge on someone who displeased them? The answer should be in their background.
Motives/Beliefs:
Remember, every villain is a hero in their own mind. They believe that what they are doing is necessary, even if they recognize that it is unpleasant. What are they fighting for? Why does it matter to them so much, that they are willing to overlook all the harm they do?
“The Greater Good”: This is one of the more common and understandable villain motives. They believe that what they are doing now is paving the way to a better future. But keep in mind that what your antag views as a “better future” may be very, very different than the average opinion. Maybe a “better future” for them is a genocidal purge or the world ending in flames. Who knows.
That’s not the only type of motive. Be creative. Work with the information you established in your character’s background to find the most reasonable motive.
Tipping Point:
This is going to be related to your background and motive in an interesting way. Think of your antagonist as a character who has already completed their Character Arc and reached a negative end. Look at the points of change on the character arc- the ones that push your character farther down their path. What are those events? Those are the tipping points that prompted your character towards becoming they way they are now- those key moments where your character had a choice, and they chose to become bitter, hateful, vengeful, cold, or other negative things.
These could be the deaths of loved ones, the promptings of a mentor, or a moment of injustice that made them realize that the world isn’t always kind.
Personality/Actions:
This is the part where you develop them outside of their intentions. How do they behave?
It’s tempting to just say that your villain is a villain because they torture and kill people. But those are not the only things that make a villain a scary or serious threat. Some characters might jump to violence easier than others. Some might be more into psychological torment. Some might actually seem really charming or persuasive, which is frightening in it’s own way- they might actually be tricky enough to confuse you into making bad decisions on your own. Think about your character’s background again. What makes the most sense for them as a person?
Presentation:
This is how your antagonist comes across to others. Keep in mind that your reader and your other characters don’t know your antagonist like you do. How does this person present to the world?
-Are they open to discussion/negotiation?
-Are they open about their intentions?
-How quick are they to violence?
-What are their methods of war?
-When you meet them, are they charismatic, quiet, charming, vulgar? Do they have a sense of humor, or are they stoic?
-Do they seem to enjoy what they are doing, or do they express regrets even as they do it?
Moral Complexity:
What are they willing to do to achieve their goals? Do they have weaknesses in their personal lives?
1. Do they have noble ends behind their controversial means?
2. Is there a line even they won’t cross?
3. Do they have someone/something that they care about?
4. Do they prefer to do the killing/torturing etc themselves or do they just give the order?
Remember that if your antagonist does have any of these moral weaknesses, they are not going to want to show it. One has to keep up intimidating appearances, after all.
Speaking of appearances…
Appearance:
This part is here to tell you what not to do. There are certain appearances that are getting really old with villains.
1. Dressing in all black. Why do they even do that? It’s time to stop associating black with “bad” and white with “good”. It just isn’t like that, so stop making villains all dark and stuff.
2. Scars. I think scars are pretty cool, don’t get me wrong. But if there is no relevant reason for it to be there, don’t talk about it all the time. That goes for all characters, not just villains. Like the color black, scars are not just a villain thing. Everyone has them. Don’t associate them with “bad.”
3. Sexy. I get the idea that making a villain attractive makes them harder to hate, but that can be kind of a cop out of actual complexity. Again, if there is no legitimate reason to make your villain sexy, then don’t. It’s not necessary.
4. Ugly. I hesitate to call any traits inherently ugly, but if you’re striving to make your character unpleasant looking just because they’re bad, then once again, you are associating feature=evil, which is not creative at best and seriously socially harmful at worst.
Basically, your villains should be just as diverse as anyone else. You don’t need stereotypes to make them scary. Sometimes it’s scarier than anything else to just have an average person. It sort of adds to the idea that anyone could be a villain. And that’s pretty frightening.
Key Point:
- Complicate your villains. They’re not just Evil McEvilpants.
That’s it for now, but like anything else in writing, antagonists have a lot of possibility and exceptions. But that was your basic rundown on the things to consider when making a complicated antagonist.
~Penemue
site that you can type in the definition of a word and get the word
site for when you can only remember part of a word/its definition
site that gives you words that rhyme with a word
site that gives you synonyms and antonyms
Part one: money, leases, landlords, legal stuff
what papers do i need to rent a house?
Not a ton. You usually need your social security number, a driver’s license or state ID card, and copies of your paystubs or some other form of proof of income.
What is a mortgage and how does it work? Is renter’s insurance necessary? What do I do if my landlord is in violation of the lease?
A mortgage is a loan from the bank to buy a house. It’s a combination of the amount borrowed and the interest accrued. You agree to pay back the loan over a set period of time, in monthly payments. It’s a lot more involved than that so I guess let me know if you want more info on that, but you don’t really need to know about that until you’re purchasing a property.
Renter’s insurance is required by most landlords. This is so the insurance company covers it if your home is damaged by a natural disaster or a car through your wall or something. It also covers your home getting broken into. Renter’s insurance is really cheap, I think mine is $10 a month or something.
If your landlord is in violation of the lease, go above them and talk to their supervisor or the property management company. If they aren’t responsive then go to a tenant’s rights group in your area, or contact the Department of Housing (depending on how big the issue is).
hey how are you! been following you awhile now. just wondering like how much money you should save before moving out, some tips for people not making a lot of money and dying to leave their parents lol
The general rule is 3 months of living expenses plus emergency money. This should include: 3 months of rent, 3 months of utilities, 3 months of transportation expenses (bus/train fare or gas + auto insurance), 3 months of food, 3 months of phone/internet, 3 months of miscellaneous household shit
I’ll give you the breakdown for my house as an example:
$1300 rent x 3
$100 utilities x 3
$60 phone x 3
$70 internet x 3
$75 auto insurance x 3 OR $100 bus fare x 3
$200 food x 3
$50 houshold x 3 (toilet paper, toothpaste, paper towels, soap, cleaning supplies, towels, etc)
medical expenses, personal expenses, etc not included
$5565 total (not including gas because i forgot it)
Also, you need to put down a deposit on a unit and usually first months rent + last months rent. Deposits are generally one month worth of rent. This means total move in expenses for my house (NOT including utilities set up fees, internet fees, or any household expenses) were $3900 to my landlord.
Also broker’s fees are a thing in big cities but not Seattle.
You also have to factor in general house shit like furniture, silverware, towels, blankets, etc. Having zero furniture is cool for awhile but will make you crazy in a short period of time (example: I lived in an apartment with no dresser, couch, chairs, or desk for six months. My only furniture was a tiny bookshelf and a mattress. It was the worst. I was only living there temporarily and didn’t want to move furniture when I moved into my permanent house).
I don’t have any credit (never had a credit card, loans, etc.) will it be hard for me to get a place to rent?
In my experience, many places are wary of renting to people without credit. I think what generally turns them off is that you have never paid bills so they have no idea of knowing if you’ll be able to make rent on time. Oftentimes they will ask for a cosigner on a lease if you don’t have credit. This means that your parent or relative (or anyone really) will sign the lease with you and also have their name on there. This is so that if you stop paying your rent, fuck up the apartment, etc, if they are unable to find you or you will not pay the rent/charges, your cosigner is responsible for paying them.
I recommend paying bills in your name or getting a credit card and using it RESPONSIBLY. That means utilizing 30% or less of your total credit available, and always making payments ON TIME, ABOVE the minimum payment. Pay a small bill that gets paid every month for sure with a credit card, like your phone bill or the internet bill.
I also recommend just moving into an established house and being put on the lease that way, or subletting. That way even though you don’t have credit you have rental history and references.
I know that when you rent a house you have to pay for things other than rent, what kind of stuff is normally included in that and how much is a reasonable amount to pay?
Other bills are generally water, sewer, garbage, and electricity, but it varies by location. In some states heating is separate, and it’s required for the landlord to pay the heating bill (though this may mean that they leave it on all winter and you cook, or they leave it on but really low and you freeze). The most common thing I’ve seen is that landlords pay w/s/g, and you pay for electricity. Again, this varies greatly by location. For example, my electricity gets billed 4x a year, so they’re pretty large bills when they come in, but it isn’t a monthly expense. Seattle is super mild so we don’t have air conditioning or regularly use heaters. We’re also running my boyfriend’s giant computer all the time. Our bills are generally $250-$350 every three months. This is split between four people so it’s not that bad, never more than $100 every cycle. But I gotta stress that this varies from place to place. I have friends that live in large houses with 5-6 people and their utilities are about $100 a month per person, on top of rent. You need to ask the landlord what they cover and what the utilities usually come out to every month.
HORROR STORIES/PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
When making your master post about basic tips etc, I’d like to share my horror story. I only turned on the water faucets in my bathroom not the kitchen and it turned out the cold water didn’t work. In addition the faucet was missing an aerator too so the water was super wiley. Ugh and I should mention I moved from an apartment on the 3rd floor of a building to the 10th and apparently the 10th floor has bug problems I could not foresee. Maybe some tips for prevent buggies?
Fuck that sucks. Bug tips right here. Know what they look like, don’t take furniture from the street!!!!!
WARNING SIGNS
what are some things you should watch out for when looking for somewhere to rent? With the landlord?
Unit: Lots of discarded furniture outside/by the dumpster/in communal spaces (bedbugs). Dirty communal washing machines. Dirty lobbies. Weed smell (personal preference lol). Indoor smoking. Established (5 years or older) building and many empty units. Many people leaving after year-long leases.
Landlord: Are they shady? Do they tell you about their drug habits? Do they use hard drugs? Do they accept 12 applications even though they know that the first person is going to get the unit (applications are $20-$50 each usually)? Do they avoid showing you parts of the building? Are they creepy? Do they hit on you? These are all things I have had happen when looking for a place and they were all huge red flags. Don’t rent from someone that does any of those things.
im viewing an apt tomorrow and making a list of questions to ask landlord. is there anything specific i should ask thats often forgotten?
What are the utility bills generally running each month? How long do tenants usually live in the unit? How much has the rent increased over the last three years? What kind of people live in the apartments (families, students, DINKs?)?
disclaimer: all of this varies place to place, city to city, state to state, etc. this is just based on my experiences viewing hundreds and hundreds of houses and apartments in seattle.
Headcanon that the reason the Phantom is so excited when Raoul shows up is that there is no way he had a good comeback to “It’s in your soul that the true distortion lies.”
Making Your Characters Stronger
A lot of people confuse character strength with physical strength. It’s awesome if your female character can beat up 30 people in a room, but what does that actually tell us about her? There needs to be something more than just that.
So, how do you make your characters legitimately stronger? Here are a few tips to get your started:
Give them a goal
All characters should want something. It can be something small, like getting a good grade on a test, or it can be something big, like saving the world. Know your characters and what their goals are. This should help you shape the plot and prevent writer’s block.
Let them grow
Character growth is something that makes your story fascinating. Each character should make a change or grow, especially if you want your readers to root for them. This is usually the case with protagonists because common antagonist traits are that they are stubborn and they might not grow very much. Let us see your protagonist learn and become a stronger hero.
Define their character traits
You can make a character more relatable if you know what their traits are. Is your protagonist cautious? Are they afraid of failure? Are they lazy? Knowing specific details about your characters can help your story feel more real. You’ll actually get to know who your characters are and why they’d react a certain way.
Build relationships
Let your characters love or hate or have great friendships. Your character’s connection to other people in the story will help make them stronger. They’ll have more motivation to fight til the end and they’ll have something they care about. Don’t neglect these relationships.
Let them fail
A strong character doesn’t mean they do everything perfectly and lack struggle. Your characters need to fail. Most of us don’t get stronger by constantly succeeding. We fail, we pick ourselves back up, and we keep going. This will help keep your protagonist relatable and your readers will continue to root for their success.
-Kris Noel
The Flat Belly Workout
me: lmao fuckin weeaboos amiright? with all their fuckin animoo-
me: *sees a cherry blossom falling*
me: *internally* kISS KISS FALL IN LOVE
-
hexes-crows liked this · 3 weeks ago -
keeper-of-gates liked this · 1 month ago -
koyehn liked this · 1 month ago -
neverendingdreaming liked this · 1 month ago -
thaumiels-whump-vault reblogged this · 2 months ago -
monologuewiththemoon liked this · 2 months ago -
peoniesandflowers liked this · 3 months ago -
roxypearl1 liked this · 3 months ago -
aeonmnei liked this · 3 months ago -
weeferwafer liked this · 3 months ago -
ladysibyl reblogged this · 4 months ago -
ladysibyl liked this · 4 months ago
-
luhstories liked this · 4 months ago -
caffeinatedgenius liked this · 4 months ago -
magnificentcomputercollector liked this · 5 months ago -
dearielovey liked this · 5 months ago -
megaalodon liked this · 6 months ago -
heckcareoxytwit liked this · 6 months ago -
ukowao reblogged this · 6 months ago -
vanillapeaa liked this · 7 months ago -
lemifytheseballs reblogged this · 7 months ago -
lemifytheseballs liked this · 7 months ago
-
meowmeowzersthemeow liked this · 7 months ago -
ledend2664 liked this · 8 months ago
-
piznie liked this · 8 months ago -
xclowncorex liked this · 9 months ago -
i-wxnderal liked this · 9 months ago
-
ghostiefriend69 liked this · 9 months ago -
cyancht-blog reblogged this · 9 months ago -
cyancht-blog liked this · 9 months ago
-
kostecko27 reblogged this · 10 months ago -
poppypiqueerer reblogged this · 10 months ago -
blackrevell liked this · 10 months ago -
holographic-hell liked this · 10 months ago -
deactivatedjawsandthestars liked this · 10 months ago -
mightthiswhobe liked this · 11 months ago -
red-lady-death liked this · 11 months ago -
distant-travels reblogged this · 1 year ago -
kayinspo reblogged this · 1 year ago -
smallme liked this · 1 year ago -
literallyasloth reblogged this · 1 year ago -
literallyasloth liked this · 1 year ago
-
poptipkutusu liked this · 1 year ago -
heckcareoxytwit reblogged this · 1 year ago
-
coffeemilkgirl liked this · 1 year ago -
suburbanfels liked this · 1 year ago -
hydrangeahelper reblogged this · 1 year ago -
beetle-ze-bub liked this · 1 year ago -
meitaloreju liked this · 1 year ago -
luckysmartsingleguy liked this · 1 year ago
Right now this is just anything that comes to mind since I'm a complete noob at tumblr. I've been hearing about it for years but I never really felt like I had anything to say. Well all that has changed now and I figured I'd see what all the hype about tumlr is really about. Anyway don't take anything I say too seriously for now...I'll probably change it later when I become more comfortable with this website.
168 posts