How should I go about describing a character who goes through a lot, becoming more disheveled and desperate as the plot goes on?
Desperation is the emotion that drives characters to their limits, leading to their most intense and extreme behaviours.
By showing how characters become more desperate as your plot progresses, you can create characters that are interesting, dynamic, and relatable.
Here are some ways you can show desperation in your characters. As the plot moves forward, these elements can get worse, showing their decline.
How do they behave?
Obsessive and/or compulsive
Repetitive actions like hand wringing, or overuse of stock phrases
Self-destructive and risk-seeking
Enhanced aggression
Avoidant and isolationist
Manipulative
Exploitative
Short-tempered
Impulsive decision-making
Unrelenting pursuit of something
What physical signs do they show?
Heart palpitations and short, rapid breathing
Sweating profusely
Shaking or trembling
Sudden onset of nausea
Feeling weak or dizzy
Muscle tension
Headaches
Insomnia caused by worry and stress
Feelings of fatigue
Stomach pain and cramping
How do they interact?
Begging or pleading with others
Manipulating others to get what they want
Increasing paranoia and questioning other's motives
Pushing away loved ones
Becoming overly clingy
Either an inability to trust or being too quick to trust others
Self-sabotage
Single-focus conversations
What do they look like?
Unkempt hair and poor hygiene
Rumpled, slept-in clothing
Nervous tics, like fidgeting, pacing, or picking at nails
Extreme and unexplained weight loss
A haunted, faraway, or panicked look
Dark-rimmed, bruised eyes from lack of sleep or exhaustion
A constant sheen of sweat and clammy skin
Unusual clothing choices
What body language do they display?
Hunching over, as if trying to protect themselves
Fidgeting or pacing
Avoiding eye contact
Clenching fists or grinding teeth
Sweating or shaking
Staring intently at something
Repeatedly touching hair or face
Darting eyes and biting lips
Meek and under-confident stance
Pleading look
What is their attitude?
Feeling hopelessness
Sad and dejected
Becoming increasingly irrational
A loss of faith in themselves and others
Obsession to the point of resorting to extreme measures
A sense of helplessness
Blaming others
Feeling powerless
A sense of urgency
What are some positive things that can come out of desperation?
Increased motivation to achieve their goals or solve their problems
Resilience and adaptability in the face of adversity
Heightened creativity and resourcefulness
The ability to form deep and meaningful connections with those who share their struggles
Catharsis or character growth through their struggles
What are some negative things that can come out of desperation?
A tendency to become self-destructive or engage in risky behaviour
Difficulty forming and maintaining healthy relationships
Increased isolation or loneliness
Chronic stress and physical health problems
A tendency to make impulsive or irrational decisions
Prone to depression and anxiety
Es este espacio, algo personal. Esta disenado para alguno que otro loco, entre familiares, parientes, excompaneros de clase y amigos. Tiene este espacio, alguno que otro detalle (como los buenos regalos que se envuelven en navidad) e intentan transmitir buena vibra, sentimientos a veces encontrados, emociones a flor de piel, situaciones que se intentan condensar para narrar, para transmitir, para transportar al escucha a una serie de contenidos que pretenden tocarlos, acerca de la naturaleza humana. Con arte, con delicadeza, con tino, con armonia, con belleza en su formas. Es como un desvan, donde se guardan las cosas apreciadas por el tiempo, para su utilizacion en un futuro cercano. Entre las experiencias vicarias, personales, ajenas, blogueros de tumblr y amigos, se construye la materia prima de sus contenidos, esperando siempre que sean del agrado de aquellos que entran a estos espacios perdidos.
The director’s task is to recreate life, its movement, its contradictions, its dynamic and conflicts. It is his duty to reveal every iota of the truth he has seen, even if not everyone finds that truth acceptable. Of course an artist can lose his way, but even his mistakes are interesting provided they are sincere. For they represent the reality of his inner life, of the peregrinations and struggle into which the external world has thrown him.
Andrei Tarkovsky
Body
descriptors; ample, athletic, barrel-chested, beefy, blocky, bony, brawny, buff, burly, chubby, chiseled, coltish, curvy, fat, fit, herculean, hulking, lanky, lean, long, long-legged, lush, medium build, muscular, narrow, overweight, plump, pot-bellied, pudgy, round, skeletal, skinny, slender, slim, stocky, strong, stout, strong, taut, toned, wide.
Eyebrows
descriptors; bushy, dark, faint, furry, long, plucked, raised, seductive, shaved, short, sleek, sparse, thin, unruly.
shape; arched, diagonal, peaked, round, s-shaped, straight.
Ears
shape; attached lobe, broad lobe, narrow, pointed, round, square, sticking-out.
Eyes
colour; albino, blue (azure, baby blue, caribbean blue, cobalt, ice blue, light blue, midnight, ocean blue, sky blue, steel blue, storm blue,) brown (amber, dark brown, chestnut, chocolate, ebony, gold, hazel, honey, light brown, mocha, pale gold, sable, sepia, teakwood, topaz, whiskey,) gray (concrete gray, marble, misty gray, raincloud, satin gray, smoky, sterling, sugar gray), green (aquamarine, emerald, evergreen, forest green, jade green, leaf green, olive, moss green, sea green, teal, vale).
descriptors; bedroom, bright, cat-like, dull, glittering, red-rimmed, sharp, small, squinty, sunken, sparkling, teary.
positioning/shape; almond, close-set, cross, deep-set, downturned, heavy-lidded, hooded, monolid, round, slanted, upturned, wide-set.
Face
descriptors; angular, cat-like, hallow, sculpted, sharp, wolfish.
shape; chubby, diamond, heart-shaped, long, narrow, oblong, oval, rectangle, round, square, thin, triangle.
Facial Hair
beard; chin curtain, classic, circle, ducktail, dutch, french fork, garibaldi, goatee, hipster, neckbeard, old dutch, spade, stubble, verdi, winter.
clean-shaven
moustache; anchor, brush, english, fu manchu, handlebar, hooked, horseshoe, imperial, lampshade, mistletoe, pencil, toothbrush, walrus.
sideburns; chin strap, mutton chops.
Hair
colour; blonde (ash blonde, golden blonde, beige, honey, platinum blonde, reddish blonde, strawberry-blonde, sunflower blonde,) brown (amber, butterscotch, caramel, champagne, cool brown, golden brown, chocolate, cinnamon, mahogany,) red (apricot, auburn, copper, ginger, titain-haired,), black (expresso, inky-black, jet black, raven, soft black) grey (charcoal gray, salt-and-pepper, silver, steel gray,), white (bleached, snow-white).
descriptors; bedhead, dull, dry, fine, full, layered, limp, messy, neat, oily, shaggy, shinny, slick, smooth, spiky, tangled, thick, thin, thinning, tousled, wispy, wild, windblown.
length; ankle length, bald, buzzed, collar length, ear length, floor length, hip length, mid-back length, neck length, shaved, shoulder length, waist length.
type; beach waves, bushy, curly, frizzy, natural, permed, puffy, ringlets, spiral, straight, thick, thin, wavy.
Hands; calloused, clammy, delicate, elegant, large, plump, rough, small, smooth, square, sturdy, strong.
Fingernails; acrylic, bitten, chipped, curved, claw-like, dirty, fake, grimy, long, manicured, painted, peeling, pointed, ragged, short, uneven.
Fingers; arthritic, cold, elegant, fat, greasy, knobby, slender, stubby.
Lips/Mouth
colour (lipstick); brown (caramel, coffee, nude, nutmeg,) pink (deep rose, fuchsia, magenta, pale peach, raspberry, rose, ) purple (black cherry, plum, violet, wine,) red (deep red, ruby.)
descriptors; chapped, cracked, dry, full, glossy, lush, narrow, pierced, scabby, small, soft, split, swollen, thin, uneven, wide, wrinkled.
shape; bottom-heavy, bow-turned, cupid’s bow, downturned, oval, pouty, rosebud, sharp, top-heavy.
Nose
descriptors; broad, broken, crooked, dainty, droopy, hooked, long, narrow, pointed, raised, round, short, strong, stubby, thin, turned-up, wide.
shape; button, flared, grecian, hawk, roman.
Skin
descriptors; blemished, bruised, chalky, clear, dewy, dimpled, dirty, dry, flaky, flawless, freckled, glowing, hairy, itchy, lined, oily, pimply, rashy, rough, sagging, satiny, scarred, scratched, smooth, splotchy, spotted, tattooed, uneven, wrinkly.
complexion; black, bronzed, brown, dark, fair, ivory, light, medium, olive, pale, peach, porcelain, rosy, tan, white.
Baraja de cartas con cartas hipnóticas
Baraja de cartas con cartas hipnóticas
No dije que iba a escribir las Mil y Una Noches con Miss Beautiful?
Sweet!
E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;
NotionByRach - FREEBIES (workbook, notion template, games, challenges, etc.);
Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);
BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;
Charlotte Dillon - Research links;
Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;
One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;
One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!
Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;
National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;
Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;
Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;
The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;
Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;
QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);
Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;
Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;
I hope this is helpful for you!
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1. Pacing: The character walks back and forth in a small area, unable to stay still due to restlessness and nervous energy.
2. Fidgeting: The character repeatedly adjusts their clothing, taps their fingers, or plays with objects, unable to keep their hands still.
3. Nail-biting: The character nervously bites their nails, a common habit that indicates anxiety or nervousness.
4. Rapid breathing: The character's breaths become quick and shallow, as if they're struggling to catch their breath due to heightened anxiety.
5. Clenching fists: The character tightly clenches their hands into fists, a physical manifestation of their inner tension and anxiety.
6. Avoiding eye contact: The character averts their gaze, unable to maintain eye contact due to feelings of unease or insecurity.
7. Shaking or trembling: The character's body shakes or trembles involuntarily, reflecting the physical manifestation of their anxiety.
8. Wrapping arms around oneself: The character crosses their arms tightly over their chest, as if seeking comfort or a sense of protection from their anxious thoughts.
9. Picking at skin or lips: The character absentmindedly picks at their skin or lips, a subconscious action resulting from nervousness or anxiety.
10. Swallowing hard: The character visibly swallows, indicating a dry throat and heightened anxiety.
Here you will find some of the things that I really like. I like writing, music, poems, and producing any idea that comes to my mind. I hope you like it!
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