post_id
stringlengths 5
7
| domain
stringclasses 69
values | upvote_ratio
float64 0.5
1
| history
stringlengths 11
39.7k
| c_root_id_A
stringlengths 7
7
| c_root_id_B
stringlengths 7
7
| created_at_utc_A
int64 1.27B
1.68B
| created_at_utc_B
int64 1.27B
1.68B
| score_A
int64 -644
43.5k
| score_B
int64 -2,846
43.5k
| human_ref_A
stringlengths 0
18k
| human_ref_B
stringlengths 0
13.6k
| labels
int64 0
1
| seconds_difference
float64 0
346M
| score_ratio
float64 -2,292
2.5M
| metadata_A
stringclasses 1
value | metadata_B
stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3xjph | iu3m23w | 1,666,956,472 | 1,666,947,644 | 7 | 1 | I don't actually care that much whether the writer says the character has brown hair or not. Who cares, really? What bugs me more is when they tell me that they're intelligent, wise or funny. No. You don't get to tell me that. Show them being those things or it doesn't exist. | It depends on the story really. If a character's description has a purpose, that's fine. A fight would be more impressive if you know there's a tiny guy fighting a large man for example, and it also matters if either of them is ripped, bulky, fat etc. To focus on female characters, if it's a romance then it is kinda important (not necessarily though) to be able to imagine something more as a reader besides "her name is Anna, she's 20, and has red hair". Even basic details are important of course, but a short description like that would not explain why a character immediately falls for her, for example. Or why it's so easy for a guy to be a womaniser if you don't tell the readers that he's actually good looking. And the more you insist on the description (i.e. the more detailed it is and the more you mention those details throughout the story), the easier it is for the readers to believe it. | 1 | 8,828 | 7 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu3xjph | 1,666,949,982 | 1,666,956,472 | 0 | 7 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | I don't actually care that much whether the writer says the character has brown hair or not. Who cares, really? What bugs me more is when they tell me that they're intelligent, wise or funny. No. You don't get to tell me that. Show them being those things or it doesn't exist. | 0 | 6,490 | 7,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3p8r9 | iu3xjph | 1,666,950,377 | 1,666,956,472 | 1 | 7 | Well Snow White is a fairy tale which is essentially a short story. You can get away with that in short stories. It’s different for novels. However the people telling you what needs to be done a certain way are also parrots. They most likely never published anything and are just repeating things they heard from an ambiguous source on Reddit or Youtube. You won’t actually know if your descriptions or approach to descriptions are bad until you get to the beta reader phase. Then you can find out what’s right and wrong with what you did and make changes. Not something ya gotta worry about in your first rough draft. Write it how you think it makes sense in the story you’re telling and then change things later on. | I don't actually care that much whether the writer says the character has brown hair or not. Who cares, really? What bugs me more is when they tell me that they're intelligent, wise or funny. No. You don't get to tell me that. Show them being those things or it doesn't exist. | 0 | 6,095 | 7 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu5p38h | iu4yz29 | 1,666,984,127 | 1,666,973,654 | 4 | 2 | Description that adds to characterization is never a bad thing imo. > He had brown hair, blue eyes and wore a green shirt. This is a poor description. Not a single one of these details really matters to me as far as understanding the character. > He had disheveled hair, cold tired eyes and wore a shirt that was worn and fraying at the seams. It may have been green once but the color had faded. Okay, now that’s starting to be a more useful character description to me. These are details that tell me something about who the character is and not just what they look like. If it’s important that your character has skin as white as snow, cheeks as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, then yes, write it down. If not, it might be unnecessary. | For me its bad when you overly describe the charactr way too much like " I was born with brown eyes and shiny green eyes, Today i wear tank top and short jeans with white sneaker etc...." and it keep on and on for one pharagraphs. | 1 | 10,473 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3m23w | iu5p38h | 1,666,947,644 | 1,666,984,127 | 1 | 4 | It depends on the story really. If a character's description has a purpose, that's fine. A fight would be more impressive if you know there's a tiny guy fighting a large man for example, and it also matters if either of them is ripped, bulky, fat etc. To focus on female characters, if it's a romance then it is kinda important (not necessarily though) to be able to imagine something more as a reader besides "her name is Anna, she's 20, and has red hair". Even basic details are important of course, but a short description like that would not explain why a character immediately falls for her, for example. Or why it's so easy for a guy to be a womaniser if you don't tell the readers that he's actually good looking. And the more you insist on the description (i.e. the more detailed it is and the more you mention those details throughout the story), the easier it is for the readers to believe it. | Description that adds to characterization is never a bad thing imo. > He had brown hair, blue eyes and wore a green shirt. This is a poor description. Not a single one of these details really matters to me as far as understanding the character. > He had disheveled hair, cold tired eyes and wore a shirt that was worn and fraying at the seams. It may have been green once but the color had faded. Okay, now that’s starting to be a more useful character description to me. These are details that tell me something about who the character is and not just what they look like. If it’s important that your character has skin as white as snow, cheeks as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, then yes, write it down. If not, it might be unnecessary. | 0 | 36,483 | 4 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu5p38h | 1,666,949,982 | 1,666,984,127 | 0 | 4 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | Description that adds to characterization is never a bad thing imo. > He had brown hair, blue eyes and wore a green shirt. This is a poor description. Not a single one of these details really matters to me as far as understanding the character. > He had disheveled hair, cold tired eyes and wore a shirt that was worn and fraying at the seams. It may have been green once but the color had faded. Okay, now that’s starting to be a more useful character description to me. These are details that tell me something about who the character is and not just what they look like. If it’s important that your character has skin as white as snow, cheeks as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, then yes, write it down. If not, it might be unnecessary. | 0 | 34,145 | 4,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu5p38h | iu3p8r9 | 1,666,984,127 | 1,666,950,377 | 4 | 1 | Description that adds to characterization is never a bad thing imo. > He had brown hair, blue eyes and wore a green shirt. This is a poor description. Not a single one of these details really matters to me as far as understanding the character. > He had disheveled hair, cold tired eyes and wore a shirt that was worn and fraying at the seams. It may have been green once but the color had faded. Okay, now that’s starting to be a more useful character description to me. These are details that tell me something about who the character is and not just what they look like. If it’s important that your character has skin as white as snow, cheeks as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, then yes, write it down. If not, it might be unnecessary. | Well Snow White is a fairy tale which is essentially a short story. You can get away with that in short stories. It’s different for novels. However the people telling you what needs to be done a certain way are also parrots. They most likely never published anything and are just repeating things they heard from an ambiguous source on Reddit or Youtube. You won’t actually know if your descriptions or approach to descriptions are bad until you get to the beta reader phase. Then you can find out what’s right and wrong with what you did and make changes. Not something ya gotta worry about in your first rough draft. Write it how you think it makes sense in the story you’re telling and then change things later on. | 1 | 33,750 | 4 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu5p38h | iu4zds8 | 1,666,984,127 | 1,666,973,818 | 4 | 1 | Description that adds to characterization is never a bad thing imo. > He had brown hair, blue eyes and wore a green shirt. This is a poor description. Not a single one of these details really matters to me as far as understanding the character. > He had disheveled hair, cold tired eyes and wore a shirt that was worn and fraying at the seams. It may have been green once but the color had faded. Okay, now that’s starting to be a more useful character description to me. These are details that tell me something about who the character is and not just what they look like. If it’s important that your character has skin as white as snow, cheeks as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, then yes, write it down. If not, it might be unnecessary. | To me it REALLY depends on context and how well the writing is overall. I've read some books where the character descriptions are upfront, quick, at the introduction of each new character, and they work fine. I've also read books where the image of a person's physical appearance develops over time. When I write I like to do a combination. Usually, I'll describe basic physical features (hair color, skin color, eye color, maybe height/body type) through the eyes of thoughts of another character. As the story progresses I like to add small details to make each character unique. Or as relationships change throughout the story, the persons physical appearance becomes clear. If the rest of your story follows other traditional fairytale formants I don't think it should be an issue. | 1 | 10,309 | 4 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu5p38h | iu5dbz0 | 1,666,984,127 | 1,666,979,357 | 4 | 1 | Description that adds to characterization is never a bad thing imo. > He had brown hair, blue eyes and wore a green shirt. This is a poor description. Not a single one of these details really matters to me as far as understanding the character. > He had disheveled hair, cold tired eyes and wore a shirt that was worn and fraying at the seams. It may have been green once but the color had faded. Okay, now that’s starting to be a more useful character description to me. These are details that tell me something about who the character is and not just what they look like. If it’s important that your character has skin as white as snow, cheeks as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, then yes, write it down. If not, it might be unnecessary. | I mean it depends if you’re showing the character description to people When it is for your eyes and your eyes only who cares as long as you’re writing what you put in the character description you’re fine | 1 | 4,770 | 4 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3m23w | iu4c3a9 | 1,666,947,644 | 1,666,964,168 | 1 | 4 | It depends on the story really. If a character's description has a purpose, that's fine. A fight would be more impressive if you know there's a tiny guy fighting a large man for example, and it also matters if either of them is ripped, bulky, fat etc. To focus on female characters, if it's a romance then it is kinda important (not necessarily though) to be able to imagine something more as a reader besides "her name is Anna, she's 20, and has red hair". Even basic details are important of course, but a short description like that would not explain why a character immediately falls for her, for example. Or why it's so easy for a guy to be a womaniser if you don't tell the readers that he's actually good looking. And the more you insist on the description (i.e. the more detailed it is and the more you mention those details throughout the story), the easier it is for the readers to believe it. | > I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like Number one rule in writing: show don't tell. As far as character descriptions, I think it's fine to tell some basic facts about their appearance, while blending others. If you write an entire paragraph just describing your character like you're writing a police report, then yes, it could be considered poor writing by some. But each case is different. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The best way to know which category *yours* falls into is to consider how *you* feel it sounds, and get feedback from beta readers. If no one mentions it as a flaw, then maybe it works. If there's a general consensus that it's too slow, too descriptive, then you can always change it in one of your many, many rewrites! | 0 | 16,524 | 4 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu4c3a9 | 1,666,949,982 | 1,666,964,168 | 0 | 4 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | > I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like Number one rule in writing: show don't tell. As far as character descriptions, I think it's fine to tell some basic facts about their appearance, while blending others. If you write an entire paragraph just describing your character like you're writing a police report, then yes, it could be considered poor writing by some. But each case is different. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The best way to know which category *yours* falls into is to consider how *you* feel it sounds, and get feedback from beta readers. If no one mentions it as a flaw, then maybe it works. If there's a general consensus that it's too slow, too descriptive, then you can always change it in one of your many, many rewrites! | 0 | 14,186 | 4,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu4c3a9 | iu3p8r9 | 1,666,964,168 | 1,666,950,377 | 4 | 1 | > I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like Number one rule in writing: show don't tell. As far as character descriptions, I think it's fine to tell some basic facts about their appearance, while blending others. If you write an entire paragraph just describing your character like you're writing a police report, then yes, it could be considered poor writing by some. But each case is different. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The best way to know which category *yours* falls into is to consider how *you* feel it sounds, and get feedback from beta readers. If no one mentions it as a flaw, then maybe it works. If there's a general consensus that it's too slow, too descriptive, then you can always change it in one of your many, many rewrites! | Well Snow White is a fairy tale which is essentially a short story. You can get away with that in short stories. It’s different for novels. However the people telling you what needs to be done a certain way are also parrots. They most likely never published anything and are just repeating things they heard from an ambiguous source on Reddit or Youtube. You won’t actually know if your descriptions or approach to descriptions are bad until you get to the beta reader phase. Then you can find out what’s right and wrong with what you did and make changes. Not something ya gotta worry about in your first rough draft. Write it how you think it makes sense in the story you’re telling and then change things later on. | 1 | 13,791 | 4 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu4yz29 | iu6oyfl | 1,666,973,654 | 1,666,999,879 | 2 | 3 | For me its bad when you overly describe the charactr way too much like " I was born with brown eyes and shiny green eyes, Today i wear tank top and short jeans with white sneaker etc...." and it keep on and on for one pharagraphs. | I think the key point is "why". With Snow White, it's because her looks are a major part of the story. Without the description the story makes less sense. Also, fairy tales, according to the more modern concept of them (Victorian onwards) are for young children, and more often than not read. Rules of 3, colourful descriptions etc help the children imagine what it's about. It also helps them imagine the characters. | 0 | 26,225 | 1.5 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu6oyfl | iu3m23w | 1,666,999,879 | 1,666,947,644 | 3 | 1 | I think the key point is "why". With Snow White, it's because her looks are a major part of the story. Without the description the story makes less sense. Also, fairy tales, according to the more modern concept of them (Victorian onwards) are for young children, and more often than not read. Rules of 3, colourful descriptions etc help the children imagine what it's about. It also helps them imagine the characters. | It depends on the story really. If a character's description has a purpose, that's fine. A fight would be more impressive if you know there's a tiny guy fighting a large man for example, and it also matters if either of them is ripped, bulky, fat etc. To focus on female characters, if it's a romance then it is kinda important (not necessarily though) to be able to imagine something more as a reader besides "her name is Anna, she's 20, and has red hair". Even basic details are important of course, but a short description like that would not explain why a character immediately falls for her, for example. Or why it's so easy for a guy to be a womaniser if you don't tell the readers that he's actually good looking. And the more you insist on the description (i.e. the more detailed it is and the more you mention those details throughout the story), the easier it is for the readers to believe it. | 1 | 52,235 | 3 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu6oyfl | 1,666,949,982 | 1,666,999,879 | 0 | 3 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | I think the key point is "why". With Snow White, it's because her looks are a major part of the story. Without the description the story makes less sense. Also, fairy tales, according to the more modern concept of them (Victorian onwards) are for young children, and more often than not read. Rules of 3, colourful descriptions etc help the children imagine what it's about. It also helps them imagine the characters. | 0 | 49,897 | 3,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu6oyfl | iu3p8r9 | 1,666,999,879 | 1,666,950,377 | 3 | 1 | I think the key point is "why". With Snow White, it's because her looks are a major part of the story. Without the description the story makes less sense. Also, fairy tales, according to the more modern concept of them (Victorian onwards) are for young children, and more often than not read. Rules of 3, colourful descriptions etc help the children imagine what it's about. It also helps them imagine the characters. | Well Snow White is a fairy tale which is essentially a short story. You can get away with that in short stories. It’s different for novels. However the people telling you what needs to be done a certain way are also parrots. They most likely never published anything and are just repeating things they heard from an ambiguous source on Reddit or Youtube. You won’t actually know if your descriptions or approach to descriptions are bad until you get to the beta reader phase. Then you can find out what’s right and wrong with what you did and make changes. Not something ya gotta worry about in your first rough draft. Write it how you think it makes sense in the story you’re telling and then change things later on. | 1 | 49,502 | 3 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu6oyfl | iu4zds8 | 1,666,999,879 | 1,666,973,818 | 3 | 1 | I think the key point is "why". With Snow White, it's because her looks are a major part of the story. Without the description the story makes less sense. Also, fairy tales, according to the more modern concept of them (Victorian onwards) are for young children, and more often than not read. Rules of 3, colourful descriptions etc help the children imagine what it's about. It also helps them imagine the characters. | To me it REALLY depends on context and how well the writing is overall. I've read some books where the character descriptions are upfront, quick, at the introduction of each new character, and they work fine. I've also read books where the image of a person's physical appearance develops over time. When I write I like to do a combination. Usually, I'll describe basic physical features (hair color, skin color, eye color, maybe height/body type) through the eyes of thoughts of another character. As the story progresses I like to add small details to make each character unique. Or as relationships change throughout the story, the persons physical appearance becomes clear. If the rest of your story follows other traditional fairytale formants I don't think it should be an issue. | 1 | 26,061 | 3 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu5dbz0 | iu6oyfl | 1,666,979,357 | 1,666,999,879 | 1 | 3 | I mean it depends if you’re showing the character description to people When it is for your eyes and your eyes only who cares as long as you’re writing what you put in the character description you’re fine | I think the key point is "why". With Snow White, it's because her looks are a major part of the story. Without the description the story makes less sense. Also, fairy tales, according to the more modern concept of them (Victorian onwards) are for young children, and more often than not read. Rules of 3, colourful descriptions etc help the children imagine what it's about. It also helps them imagine the characters. | 0 | 20,522 | 3 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3m23w | iu4yz29 | 1,666,947,644 | 1,666,973,654 | 1 | 2 | It depends on the story really. If a character's description has a purpose, that's fine. A fight would be more impressive if you know there's a tiny guy fighting a large man for example, and it also matters if either of them is ripped, bulky, fat etc. To focus on female characters, if it's a romance then it is kinda important (not necessarily though) to be able to imagine something more as a reader besides "her name is Anna, she's 20, and has red hair". Even basic details are important of course, but a short description like that would not explain why a character immediately falls for her, for example. Or why it's so easy for a guy to be a womaniser if you don't tell the readers that he's actually good looking. And the more you insist on the description (i.e. the more detailed it is and the more you mention those details throughout the story), the easier it is for the readers to believe it. | For me its bad when you overly describe the charactr way too much like " I was born with brown eyes and shiny green eyes, Today i wear tank top and short jeans with white sneaker etc...." and it keep on and on for one pharagraphs. | 0 | 26,010 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu4yz29 | 1,666,949,982 | 1,666,973,654 | 0 | 2 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | For me its bad when you overly describe the charactr way too much like " I was born with brown eyes and shiny green eyes, Today i wear tank top and short jeans with white sneaker etc...." and it keep on and on for one pharagraphs. | 0 | 23,672 | 2,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3p8r9 | iu4yz29 | 1,666,950,377 | 1,666,973,654 | 1 | 2 | Well Snow White is a fairy tale which is essentially a short story. You can get away with that in short stories. It’s different for novels. However the people telling you what needs to be done a certain way are also parrots. They most likely never published anything and are just repeating things they heard from an ambiguous source on Reddit or Youtube. You won’t actually know if your descriptions or approach to descriptions are bad until you get to the beta reader phase. Then you can find out what’s right and wrong with what you did and make changes. Not something ya gotta worry about in your first rough draft. Write it how you think it makes sense in the story you’re telling and then change things later on. | For me its bad when you overly describe the charactr way too much like " I was born with brown eyes and shiny green eyes, Today i wear tank top and short jeans with white sneaker etc...." and it keep on and on for one pharagraphs. | 0 | 23,277 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu7lvf2 | iu3m23w | 1,667,016,879 | 1,666,947,644 | 2 | 1 | i think it's mostly people hating the "character described in mirror in the first chapter" thing because: * it's overdone, ergo really boring. the readers have read some version of this scene a million times, and it's not a particularly interesting or memorable one, so at this point it's just annoying * in real life, nobody looks in the mirror and mentally describes every aspect of themselves for a long time as for describing characters who aren't the main character, think about how much detail the protagonist would reasonably go into. when meeting a random, unremarkable stranger, probably not much. there are exceptions: for instance, if there's something strange or captivating about them (let's say they have a prominent facial scar with no clear origin, or an otherwise unusual appearance). the main character being physically attracted to someone is also a good reason to go more in-detail. also, if it's a close, intimate moment, the main character probably *would* notice certain things (such as flecks of color in another character's eyes) that would otherwise be boring or unnecessary. really, it all depends on context imo | It depends on the story really. If a character's description has a purpose, that's fine. A fight would be more impressive if you know there's a tiny guy fighting a large man for example, and it also matters if either of them is ripped, bulky, fat etc. To focus on female characters, if it's a romance then it is kinda important (not necessarily though) to be able to imagine something more as a reader besides "her name is Anna, she's 20, and has red hair". Even basic details are important of course, but a short description like that would not explain why a character immediately falls for her, for example. Or why it's so easy for a guy to be a womaniser if you don't tell the readers that he's actually good looking. And the more you insist on the description (i.e. the more detailed it is and the more you mention those details throughout the story), the easier it is for the readers to believe it. | 1 | 69,235 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu7lvf2 | iu3orc1 | 1,667,016,879 | 1,666,949,982 | 2 | 0 | i think it's mostly people hating the "character described in mirror in the first chapter" thing because: * it's overdone, ergo really boring. the readers have read some version of this scene a million times, and it's not a particularly interesting or memorable one, so at this point it's just annoying * in real life, nobody looks in the mirror and mentally describes every aspect of themselves for a long time as for describing characters who aren't the main character, think about how much detail the protagonist would reasonably go into. when meeting a random, unremarkable stranger, probably not much. there are exceptions: for instance, if there's something strange or captivating about them (let's say they have a prominent facial scar with no clear origin, or an otherwise unusual appearance). the main character being physically attracted to someone is also a good reason to go more in-detail. also, if it's a close, intimate moment, the main character probably *would* notice certain things (such as flecks of color in another character's eyes) that would otherwise be boring or unnecessary. really, it all depends on context imo | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | 1 | 66,897 | 2,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu7lvf2 | iu3p8r9 | 1,667,016,879 | 1,666,950,377 | 2 | 1 | i think it's mostly people hating the "character described in mirror in the first chapter" thing because: * it's overdone, ergo really boring. the readers have read some version of this scene a million times, and it's not a particularly interesting or memorable one, so at this point it's just annoying * in real life, nobody looks in the mirror and mentally describes every aspect of themselves for a long time as for describing characters who aren't the main character, think about how much detail the protagonist would reasonably go into. when meeting a random, unremarkable stranger, probably not much. there are exceptions: for instance, if there's something strange or captivating about them (let's say they have a prominent facial scar with no clear origin, or an otherwise unusual appearance). the main character being physically attracted to someone is also a good reason to go more in-detail. also, if it's a close, intimate moment, the main character probably *would* notice certain things (such as flecks of color in another character's eyes) that would otherwise be boring or unnecessary. really, it all depends on context imo | Well Snow White is a fairy tale which is essentially a short story. You can get away with that in short stories. It’s different for novels. However the people telling you what needs to be done a certain way are also parrots. They most likely never published anything and are just repeating things they heard from an ambiguous source on Reddit or Youtube. You won’t actually know if your descriptions or approach to descriptions are bad until you get to the beta reader phase. Then you can find out what’s right and wrong with what you did and make changes. Not something ya gotta worry about in your first rough draft. Write it how you think it makes sense in the story you’re telling and then change things later on. | 1 | 66,502 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu7lvf2 | iu4zds8 | 1,667,016,879 | 1,666,973,818 | 2 | 1 | i think it's mostly people hating the "character described in mirror in the first chapter" thing because: * it's overdone, ergo really boring. the readers have read some version of this scene a million times, and it's not a particularly interesting or memorable one, so at this point it's just annoying * in real life, nobody looks in the mirror and mentally describes every aspect of themselves for a long time as for describing characters who aren't the main character, think about how much detail the protagonist would reasonably go into. when meeting a random, unremarkable stranger, probably not much. there are exceptions: for instance, if there's something strange or captivating about them (let's say they have a prominent facial scar with no clear origin, or an otherwise unusual appearance). the main character being physically attracted to someone is also a good reason to go more in-detail. also, if it's a close, intimate moment, the main character probably *would* notice certain things (such as flecks of color in another character's eyes) that would otherwise be boring or unnecessary. really, it all depends on context imo | To me it REALLY depends on context and how well the writing is overall. I've read some books where the character descriptions are upfront, quick, at the introduction of each new character, and they work fine. I've also read books where the image of a person's physical appearance develops over time. When I write I like to do a combination. Usually, I'll describe basic physical features (hair color, skin color, eye color, maybe height/body type) through the eyes of thoughts of another character. As the story progresses I like to add small details to make each character unique. Or as relationships change throughout the story, the persons physical appearance becomes clear. If the rest of your story follows other traditional fairytale formants I don't think it should be an issue. | 1 | 43,061 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu7lvf2 | iu5dbz0 | 1,667,016,879 | 1,666,979,357 | 2 | 1 | i think it's mostly people hating the "character described in mirror in the first chapter" thing because: * it's overdone, ergo really boring. the readers have read some version of this scene a million times, and it's not a particularly interesting or memorable one, so at this point it's just annoying * in real life, nobody looks in the mirror and mentally describes every aspect of themselves for a long time as for describing characters who aren't the main character, think about how much detail the protagonist would reasonably go into. when meeting a random, unremarkable stranger, probably not much. there are exceptions: for instance, if there's something strange or captivating about them (let's say they have a prominent facial scar with no clear origin, or an otherwise unusual appearance). the main character being physically attracted to someone is also a good reason to go more in-detail. also, if it's a close, intimate moment, the main character probably *would* notice certain things (such as flecks of color in another character's eyes) that would otherwise be boring or unnecessary. really, it all depends on context imo | I mean it depends if you’re showing the character description to people When it is for your eyes and your eyes only who cares as long as you’re writing what you put in the character description you’re fine | 1 | 37,522 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu7lvf2 | iu7djd5 | 1,667,016,879 | 1,667,012,041 | 2 | 1 | i think it's mostly people hating the "character described in mirror in the first chapter" thing because: * it's overdone, ergo really boring. the readers have read some version of this scene a million times, and it's not a particularly interesting or memorable one, so at this point it's just annoying * in real life, nobody looks in the mirror and mentally describes every aspect of themselves for a long time as for describing characters who aren't the main character, think about how much detail the protagonist would reasonably go into. when meeting a random, unremarkable stranger, probably not much. there are exceptions: for instance, if there's something strange or captivating about them (let's say they have a prominent facial scar with no clear origin, or an otherwise unusual appearance). the main character being physically attracted to someone is also a good reason to go more in-detail. also, if it's a close, intimate moment, the main character probably *would* notice certain things (such as flecks of color in another character's eyes) that would otherwise be boring or unnecessary. really, it all depends on context imo | It's not bad writing to give a full description of a character. I see it done all the time. Sarah J. Maas writes beautifully and she gives full descriptions. I think someone gave you that advice because it's their opinion, but there are many different opinions in the writing world. | 1 | 4,838 | 2 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3p8r9 | iu3orc1 | 1,666,950,377 | 1,666,949,982 | 1 | 0 | Well Snow White is a fairy tale which is essentially a short story. You can get away with that in short stories. It’s different for novels. However the people telling you what needs to be done a certain way are also parrots. They most likely never published anything and are just repeating things they heard from an ambiguous source on Reddit or Youtube. You won’t actually know if your descriptions or approach to descriptions are bad until you get to the beta reader phase. Then you can find out what’s right and wrong with what you did and make changes. Not something ya gotta worry about in your first rough draft. Write it how you think it makes sense in the story you’re telling and then change things later on. | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | 1 | 395 | 1,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu4zds8 | 1,666,949,982 | 1,666,973,818 | 0 | 1 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | To me it REALLY depends on context and how well the writing is overall. I've read some books where the character descriptions are upfront, quick, at the introduction of each new character, and they work fine. I've also read books where the image of a person's physical appearance develops over time. When I write I like to do a combination. Usually, I'll describe basic physical features (hair color, skin color, eye color, maybe height/body type) through the eyes of thoughts of another character. As the story progresses I like to add small details to make each character unique. Or as relationships change throughout the story, the persons physical appearance becomes clear. If the rest of your story follows other traditional fairytale formants I don't think it should be an issue. | 0 | 23,836 | 1,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu5dbz0 | 1,666,949,982 | 1,666,979,357 | 0 | 1 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | I mean it depends if you’re showing the character description to people When it is for your eyes and your eyes only who cares as long as you’re writing what you put in the character description you’re fine | 0 | 29,375 | 1,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu7djd5 | 1,666,949,982 | 1,667,012,041 | 0 | 1 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | It's not bad writing to give a full description of a character. I see it done all the time. Sarah J. Maas writes beautifully and she gives full descriptions. I think someone gave you that advice because it's their opinion, but there are many different opinions in the writing world. | 0 | 62,059 | 1,000 | ||
yfhafp | writing_train | 0.93 | When to know your description of a character is bad For some context, the story I'm writing is heavily inspired by fairytales. In many fairytales, descriptions of characters are often one of the first things we learn about a character before any major plot points or plot setup. For example, three paragraphs into the story of Snow White we learn, "...the queen gave birth to a daughter whose skin was as white as snow, whose cheeks were as red as blood, and whose hair was as black as ebony." What I'm confused about is when a character's description is considered bad writing. I hear so many criticisms that say I is an overall negative to just come out and tell the reader what a character looks like without blending it into other things (like character interactions, observations, actions.) But here in Snow White it is considered to be fine. If anyone can help me out with this, please let me know! Thanks :) | iu3orc1 | iu8lv3s | 1,666,949,982 | 1,667,045,740 | 0 | 1 | That's not snow white, it's Marilyn Manson. I don't think fairytales are considered good writing. They're old fashioned, simple tales. Also, you're talking about characters defined by their appearance. Snow White, Goldilocks. Other characters aren't described at all. Beginning with descriptions are bad because it's an info dump and probably tell not show. However, if you're writing stuff heavily inspired by fairytales mimicking things like that may be worthwhile. | Folktales retold by amateurs out loud to children from memory and then recorded and translated into another language by anthropologists follow different rules than novels written by modern authors and intended to be read off the page by adults. | 0 | 95,758 | 1,000 | ||
bnf5bd | writing_train | 1 | Is it a bad idea to make my first novel part of a series? So I'm in the early stages of writing my first real novel. The problem/worry I'm having is that in my head, this is a series. I can't imagine this story being a single book, but part of me is worried that I'm reaching too far for my first big story and that I need to reel it back a bit. I also don't have any experience with the publishing process, and I worry trying to pitch my first book as "the first in a series" to publishers will be met negatively. Any advice on this? | en4zqt8 | en52qp3 | 1,557,598,895 | 1,557,600,496 | 1 | 4 | I'm writing my first book specifically so it's self contained but leaves a lot of openings for a series down the line. A story that stands alone but COULD be expanded easily is a good selling point because if it flops they don't look so bad and if it succeeds they can keep profiting off it for a while. | It's not a bad idea, but there are some pitfalls. At least I as a reader expect a book to be a complete story, even if it's a part of a series. I want the questions set up at the beginning of the book to be, for the most part, answered by the end. You can of course have storylines that span between the books or ask new questions towards the end that lead into the next book, but the main story needs some kind of conclusion. This is especially true for new authors, as a reader I want to see that you are capable of writing a satisfying ending so I can trust you to write a satisfying ending to the entire series. | 0 | 1,601 | 4 | ||
bnf5bd | writing_train | 1 | Is it a bad idea to make my first novel part of a series? So I'm in the early stages of writing my first real novel. The problem/worry I'm having is that in my head, this is a series. I can't imagine this story being a single book, but part of me is worried that I'm reaching too far for my first big story and that I need to reel it back a bit. I also don't have any experience with the publishing process, and I worry trying to pitch my first book as "the first in a series" to publishers will be met negatively. Any advice on this? | en6amd7 | en4zqt8 | 1,557,625,059 | 1,557,598,895 | 2 | 1 | Yes. Common beginner mistake. If you have a bunch of good ideas, put them into one good book. Focus on making a complete, self-standing novel. You can always think about sequels later. When you pitch it, you can write "series potential" if you like. But the thing that matters most is that it's actually a good story on its own. | I'm writing my first book specifically so it's self contained but leaves a lot of openings for a series down the line. A story that stands alone but COULD be expanded easily is a good selling point because if it flops they don't look so bad and if it succeeds they can keep profiting off it for a while. | 1 | 26,164 | 2 | ||
bnf5bd | writing_train | 1 | Is it a bad idea to make my first novel part of a series? So I'm in the early stages of writing my first real novel. The problem/worry I'm having is that in my head, this is a series. I can't imagine this story being a single book, but part of me is worried that I'm reaching too far for my first big story and that I need to reel it back a bit. I also don't have any experience with the publishing process, and I worry trying to pitch my first book as "the first in a series" to publishers will be met negatively. Any advice on this? | en7853k | en4zqt8 | 1,557,653,234 | 1,557,598,895 | 2 | 1 | Series are great because if people like the first book, and you don't blow it on the second one, you have a captive audience. The downside to a series is that if people don't like the first book, every book after that can't be sent to publishers, or it just won't sell if you self-publish. My first book was part of a trilogy. Once that was done, the next novel I wrote ended up being part of a still ongoing series with three books published and two set for next year. Don't doubt your ability. The best way to learn is by doing. Write every day if you can. And don't butcher your story to fit it in one book if you can feel the story demands more. And, as some people in this thread are saying, your first book will likely not be great, and probably won't land you an agent. However, you can always revisit it later. My first book needed a 30,000 word culling to be any good. What's important is that you're writing, for no effort in that regard is ever wasted. | I'm writing my first book specifically so it's self contained but leaves a lot of openings for a series down the line. A story that stands alone but COULD be expanded easily is a good selling point because if it flops they don't look so bad and if it succeeds they can keep profiting off it for a while. | 1 | 54,339 | 2 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tewsw | i2t7ehp | 1,648,707,410 | 1,648,702,246 | 271 | 80 | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | Are you asking whether the POV character can be the side character? Because the protagonist is the main character. So asking whether the main character can be a side character doesn’t make sense. | 1 | 5,164 | 3.3875 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7vdu | i2tewsw | 1,648,702,540 | 1,648,707,410 | 38 | 271 | You read Gatsby yet? Might qualify as an example. | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | 0 | 4,870 | 7.131579 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tewsw | i2t8ojy | 1,648,707,410 | 1,648,703,060 | 271 | 12 | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | 1 | 4,350 | 22.583333 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tewsw | i2t77fw | 1,648,707,410 | 1,648,702,127 | 271 | 9 | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | 1 | 5,283 | 30.111111 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t5o1t | i2tewsw | 1,648,701,211 | 1,648,707,410 | 5 | 271 | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | 0 | 6,199 | 54.2 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7awa | i2tewsw | 1,648,702,185 | 1,648,707,410 | 5 | 271 | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | 0 | 5,225 | 54.2 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7bx8 | i2tewsw | 1,648,702,203 | 1,648,707,410 | 2 | 271 | Look for "Sea Girls" by Daniel Wallace. LeVar Burton read it on LeVat Burton Reads. | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | 0 | 5,207 | 135.5 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tewsw | i2tacz9 | 1,648,707,410 | 1,648,704,161 | 271 | 2 | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | POV characters can be changed. A protagonist is the main character, so I would guess you’re needing an episodic structure for your story. You can weave these things together. | 1 | 3,249 | 135.5 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tewsw | i2ted0y | 1,648,707,410 | 1,648,707,001 | 271 | 0 | Watson is usually the perspective character in Sherlock Holmes stories. Yet, we don't call them Dr. Watson stories... Sherlock is, by and large, the MC. | Dude you can do anything. No limits. You just gotta do it in a way that makes sense. | 1 | 409 | 271,000 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tfq1i | i2t7ehp | 1,648,708,023 | 1,648,702,246 | 152 | 80 | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | Are you asking whether the POV character can be the side character? Because the protagonist is the main character. So asking whether the main character can be a side character doesn’t make sense. | 1 | 5,777 | 1.9 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7vdu | i2tfq1i | 1,648,702,540 | 1,648,708,023 | 38 | 152 | You read Gatsby yet? Might qualify as an example. | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | 0 | 5,483 | 4 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tfq1i | i2t8ojy | 1,648,708,023 | 1,648,703,060 | 152 | 12 | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | 1 | 4,963 | 12.666667 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t77fw | i2tfq1i | 1,648,702,127 | 1,648,708,023 | 9 | 152 | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | 0 | 5,896 | 16.888889 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tfq1i | i2t5o1t | 1,648,708,023 | 1,648,701,211 | 152 | 5 | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | 1 | 6,812 | 30.4 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tfq1i | i2t7awa | 1,648,708,023 | 1,648,702,185 | 152 | 5 | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | 1 | 5,838 | 30.4 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tfq1i | i2t7bx8 | 1,648,708,023 | 1,648,702,203 | 152 | 2 | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | Look for "Sea Girls" by Daniel Wallace. LeVar Burton read it on LeVat Burton Reads. | 1 | 5,820 | 76 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tfq1i | i2tacz9 | 1,648,708,023 | 1,648,704,161 | 152 | 2 | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | POV characters can be changed. A protagonist is the main character, so I would guess you’re needing an episodic structure for your story. You can weave these things together. | 1 | 3,862 | 76 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2ted0y | i2tfq1i | 1,648,707,001 | 1,648,708,023 | 0 | 152 | Dude you can do anything. No limits. You just gotta do it in a way that makes sense. | It's not a super common technique but it is not unheard of. There are quite a few examples where the primary POV character is not really the protagonist. It can be done well. A lot of times it is done so the POV character is a first person self-insert character, who is observing the protagonist. The narrative effect is the POV character is basically a relatable every day person, who has a lot of the same reactions a reader might have while watching some type of inscrutable "great man" figure. \-The Great Gatsby \-Heart of Darkness \-a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories (not sure about all of them, but many of them are told from first person POV from Watson) \-Armor by John Steakley. We see the protagonist as a virtual reality reenactment through the eyes of other characters, and then meet the protagonist later in an unexpected place. EDIT: forgot to add, Hyperion Cantos plays around with this a little bit. | 0 | 1,022 | 152,000 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7ehp | i2t77fw | 1,648,702,246 | 1,648,702,127 | 80 | 9 | Are you asking whether the POV character can be the side character? Because the protagonist is the main character. So asking whether the main character can be a side character doesn’t make sense. | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | 1 | 119 | 8.888889 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7ehp | i2t5o1t | 1,648,702,246 | 1,648,701,211 | 80 | 5 | Are you asking whether the POV character can be the side character? Because the protagonist is the main character. So asking whether the main character can be a side character doesn’t make sense. | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | 1 | 1,035 | 16 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7ehp | i2t7awa | 1,648,702,246 | 1,648,702,185 | 80 | 5 | Are you asking whether the POV character can be the side character? Because the protagonist is the main character. So asking whether the main character can be a side character doesn’t make sense. | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | 1 | 61 | 16 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7bx8 | i2t7ehp | 1,648,702,203 | 1,648,702,246 | 2 | 80 | Look for "Sea Girls" by Daniel Wallace. LeVar Burton read it on LeVat Burton Reads. | Are you asking whether the POV character can be the side character? Because the protagonist is the main character. So asking whether the main character can be a side character doesn’t make sense. | 0 | 43 | 40 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7vdu | i2tw3ds | 1,648,702,540 | 1,648,721,822 | 38 | 69 | You read Gatsby yet? Might qualify as an example. | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | 0 | 19,282 | 1.815789 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2trfl2 | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,717,918 | 69 | 14 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 1 | 3,904 | 4.928571 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2t8ojy | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,703,060 | 69 | 12 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | 1 | 18,762 | 5.75 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t77fw | i2tw3ds | 1,648,702,127 | 1,648,721,822 | 9 | 69 | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | 0 | 19,695 | 7.666667 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2t5o1t | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,701,211 | 69 | 5 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | 1 | 20,611 | 13.8 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2t7awa | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,702,185 | 69 | 5 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | 1 | 19,637 | 13.8 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tj7sj | i2tw3ds | 1,648,710,795 | 1,648,721,822 | 3 | 69 | Read some Miss Marple stories by Agatha Christie. That might be what you’re attempting to do. She tends to be on the side, quietly doing her thing while everyone else is running around like lunatics, unaware that she’s already solved the mystery. | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | 0 | 11,027 | 23 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2trv27 | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,718,296 | 69 | 3 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | It's important to ask yourself why though. Making the main a side character tend to put them in the role of a witness, but as in A Nightmare on Elmstreet it can serve other purposes. You don't expect the character you follow through most of the story to be killed off, seeing her die made the threat Krueger posed significantly more palpable. It can be done to make the story seem more real, the way Dracula did, or to chronicle a hero's journey to their death, seeing what their actions amounted to, etc. | 1 | 3,526 | 23 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2t7bx8 | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,702,203 | 69 | 2 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | Look for "Sea Girls" by Daniel Wallace. LeVar Burton read it on LeVat Burton Reads. | 1 | 19,619 | 34.5 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tacz9 | i2tw3ds | 1,648,704,161 | 1,648,721,822 | 2 | 69 | POV characters can be changed. A protagonist is the main character, so I would guess you’re needing an episodic structure for your story. You can weave these things together. | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | 0 | 17,661 | 34.5 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2tnxr2 | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,714,833 | 69 | 2 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | I mean... I want to say *technically* no, but I may be wrong. Like, the protagonist is the main character. The one whose voice we hear the most and whose perspective we see. In your *book*, the protagonist will be whichever character you follow. *HOWEVER*, in the *overall story* of your world, your protagonist could probably be someone other than the narrator/character you follow. The question is really just how you implement that. Especially of you're going for the protagonist as a *side* character, rather than a secondary protagonist - you'll have to convey most of their story via vague impressions and sporadic encounters, no? I think it could be a very interesting read, though :) Good luck! | 1 | 6,989 | 34.5 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2tq04m | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,716,662 | 69 | 2 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | Saw your clarification on the comment about the protagonist not being the POV character. It can. I think The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan is the latest example of this kind of storytelling. | 1 | 5,160 | 34.5 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2ted0y | i2tw3ds | 1,648,707,001 | 1,648,721,822 | 0 | 69 | Dude you can do anything. No limits. You just gotta do it in a way that makes sense. | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | 0 | 14,821 | 69,000 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2ti4ww | i2tw3ds | 1,648,709,916 | 1,648,721,822 | 1 | 69 | You can make the narrator a side chatacter. It's possible to pull it off, but official narrator are hard to pull off. You'd need advanced writing skills. | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | 0 | 11,906 | 69 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tines | i2tw3ds | 1,648,710,332 | 1,648,721,822 | 1 | 69 | Worm did this from time to time. The MC doesn't have a high damage power. So oftentimes we'll see the big battles from her as an observer while the big guns fight the main threats. | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | 0 | 11,490 | 69 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2tja7l | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,710,851 | 69 | 1 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | Kind of. You could make the POV character get ignored. There was this book called the Traveller's Gate where the main character called Simon got totally ignored and ended being the surprise badass except that we as the audience, knew exactly his journey to get there. | 1 | 10,971 | 69 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tw3ds | i2tk09x | 1,648,721,822 | 1,648,711,455 | 69 | 1 | Harry Potter does this, the main character clearly being Neville | i mean u can surely try | 1 | 10,367 | 69 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7vdu | i2t77fw | 1,648,702,540 | 1,648,702,127 | 38 | 9 | You read Gatsby yet? Might qualify as an example. | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | 1 | 413 | 4.222222 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t5o1t | i2t7vdu | 1,648,701,211 | 1,648,702,540 | 5 | 38 | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | You read Gatsby yet? Might qualify as an example. | 0 | 1,329 | 7.6 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7awa | i2t7vdu | 1,648,702,185 | 1,648,702,540 | 5 | 38 | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | You read Gatsby yet? Might qualify as an example. | 0 | 355 | 7.6 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t7bx8 | i2t7vdu | 1,648,702,203 | 1,648,702,540 | 2 | 38 | Look for "Sea Girls" by Daniel Wallace. LeVar Burton read it on LeVat Burton Reads. | You read Gatsby yet? Might qualify as an example. | 0 | 337 | 19 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t8ojy | i2trfl2 | 1,648,703,060 | 1,648,717,918 | 12 | 14 | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 0 | 14,858 | 1.166667 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t77fw | i2trfl2 | 1,648,702,127 | 1,648,717,918 | 9 | 14 | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 0 | 15,791 | 1.555556 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t5o1t | i2trfl2 | 1,648,701,211 | 1,648,717,918 | 5 | 14 | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 0 | 16,707 | 2.8 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2trfl2 | i2t7awa | 1,648,717,918 | 1,648,702,185 | 14 | 5 | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | 1 | 15,733 | 2.8 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2trfl2 | i2tj7sj | 1,648,717,918 | 1,648,710,795 | 14 | 3 | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | Read some Miss Marple stories by Agatha Christie. That might be what you’re attempting to do. She tends to be on the side, quietly doing her thing while everyone else is running around like lunatics, unaware that she’s already solved the mystery. | 1 | 7,123 | 4.666667 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2trfl2 | i2t7bx8 | 1,648,717,918 | 1,648,702,203 | 14 | 2 | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | Look for "Sea Girls" by Daniel Wallace. LeVar Burton read it on LeVat Burton Reads. | 1 | 15,715 | 7 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2trfl2 | i2tacz9 | 1,648,717,918 | 1,648,704,161 | 14 | 2 | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | POV characters can be changed. A protagonist is the main character, so I would guess you’re needing an episodic structure for your story. You can weave these things together. | 1 | 13,757 | 7 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2trfl2 | i2tnxr2 | 1,648,717,918 | 1,648,714,833 | 14 | 2 | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | I mean... I want to say *technically* no, but I may be wrong. Like, the protagonist is the main character. The one whose voice we hear the most and whose perspective we see. In your *book*, the protagonist will be whichever character you follow. *HOWEVER*, in the *overall story* of your world, your protagonist could probably be someone other than the narrator/character you follow. The question is really just how you implement that. Especially of you're going for the protagonist as a *side* character, rather than a secondary protagonist - you'll have to convey most of their story via vague impressions and sporadic encounters, no? I think it could be a very interesting read, though :) Good luck! | 1 | 3,085 | 7 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tq04m | i2trfl2 | 1,648,716,662 | 1,648,717,918 | 2 | 14 | Saw your clarification on the comment about the protagonist not being the POV character. It can. I think The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan is the latest example of this kind of storytelling. | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 0 | 1,256 | 7 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2trfl2 | i2ted0y | 1,648,717,918 | 1,648,707,001 | 14 | 0 | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | Dude you can do anything. No limits. You just gotta do it in a way that makes sense. | 1 | 10,917 | 14,000 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2trfl2 | i2ti4ww | 1,648,717,918 | 1,648,709,916 | 14 | 1 | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | You can make the narrator a side chatacter. It's possible to pull it off, but official narrator are hard to pull off. You'd need advanced writing skills. | 1 | 8,002 | 14 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tines | i2trfl2 | 1,648,710,332 | 1,648,717,918 | 1 | 14 | Worm did this from time to time. The MC doesn't have a high damage power. So oftentimes we'll see the big battles from her as an observer while the big guns fight the main threats. | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 0 | 7,586 | 14 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tja7l | i2trfl2 | 1,648,710,851 | 1,648,717,918 | 1 | 14 | Kind of. You could make the POV character get ignored. There was this book called the Traveller's Gate where the main character called Simon got totally ignored and ended being the surprise badass except that we as the audience, knew exactly his journey to get there. | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 0 | 7,067 | 14 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tk09x | i2trfl2 | 1,648,711,455 | 1,648,717,918 | 1 | 14 | i mean u can surely try | So as a very simplified comparison, like having a batman story told from the perspective of Robin? It could definitely work as long as the characters relationships are well established. And it could be used to play with some unreliable narrator stuff because the one telling the story is too infatuated with their partner. (See: Dr. Watson hero worshipping Holmes, when half the time Sherlock Is coked out and seemingly jumping to wild conclusions) | 0 | 6,463 | 14 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t77fw | i2t8ojy | 1,648,702,127 | 1,648,703,060 | 9 | 12 | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | 0 | 933 | 1.333333 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t5o1t | i2t8ojy | 1,648,701,211 | 1,648,703,060 | 5 | 12 | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | 0 | 1,849 | 2.4 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t8ojy | i2t7awa | 1,648,703,060 | 1,648,702,185 | 12 | 5 | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | 1 | 875 | 2.4 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t8ojy | i2t7bx8 | 1,648,703,060 | 1,648,702,203 | 12 | 2 | You can make the “hero” a side character. But the Protagonist is the leading character. And that is a fun story to read. | Look for "Sea Girls" by Daniel Wallace. LeVar Burton read it on LeVat Burton Reads. | 1 | 857 | 6 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2t77fw | i2t5o1t | 1,648,702,127 | 1,648,701,211 | 9 | 5 | The protagonist is literally the leading character, your protagonist cant be a side character by literal definition | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | 1 | 916 | 1.8 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2uddjj | i2t5o1t | 1,648,732,344 | 1,648,701,211 | 8 | 5 | I feel like this happens in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo, I believe, everyone considers the main protagonist, but I feel like Sam in a way becomes the main protagonist as the story progresses. (SPOILERS!) Sam is the one who ends up saving Frodo and Middle Earth which I think is awesome. Sam is the true hero of LotR in my eyes :) Edit: I think what's even cooler about Sam is that even though he saved the world, Frodo is the one given most of the credit by the other characters. Sam happily thinks he's the side kick and lives happily ever after but really Sam was the secret hero who saved the world. It's like Frodo was the front man of the band of Hobbits but Sam was the one who wrote all the songs and music, but everyone only notices the singer and frontman that is Frodo, right? Sam was the driving force behind the band's success! I think this is implied when Frodo gives Sam the book to finish, because the story is now Sam's story as Bilbo's and Frodo's time as the hero has concluded. I think the change takes place in Return of the King where Sam officially switches with Frodo as the Main Character during their trials with Shelob and Mount Doom. Sam even briefly takes The Ring after believing Frodo to be dead if you need symbolism. He does give it back, because he thinks he's the sidekick, but really he's the hero :) | The protagonist is by definition the leading character. | 1 | 31,133 | 1.6 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2uddjj | i2t7awa | 1,648,732,344 | 1,648,702,185 | 8 | 5 | I feel like this happens in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo, I believe, everyone considers the main protagonist, but I feel like Sam in a way becomes the main protagonist as the story progresses. (SPOILERS!) Sam is the one who ends up saving Frodo and Middle Earth which I think is awesome. Sam is the true hero of LotR in my eyes :) Edit: I think what's even cooler about Sam is that even though he saved the world, Frodo is the one given most of the credit by the other characters. Sam happily thinks he's the side kick and lives happily ever after but really Sam was the secret hero who saved the world. It's like Frodo was the front man of the band of Hobbits but Sam was the one who wrote all the songs and music, but everyone only notices the singer and frontman that is Frodo, right? Sam was the driving force behind the band's success! I think this is implied when Frodo gives Sam the book to finish, because the story is now Sam's story as Bilbo's and Frodo's time as the hero has concluded. I think the change takes place in Return of the King where Sam officially switches with Frodo as the Main Character during their trials with Shelob and Mount Doom. Sam even briefly takes The Ring after believing Frodo to be dead if you need symbolism. He does give it back, because he thinks he's the sidekick, but really he's the hero :) | If you make them a side character then they won’t be the protagonist anymore. You can have dual protagonists, but they’d have to have equal time in the story. | 1 | 30,159 | 1.6 | ||
tsrpfw | writing_train | 0.92 | Can you make the protagonist a side character in the story? I am planning out a story and I thought that It would be a cool storytelling choice, but I don't want to end up making the narrative clunky to read. So can it be done? And how would I do so to prevent the narrative from becoming clunky. | i2tj7sj | i2uddjj | 1,648,710,795 | 1,648,732,344 | 3 | 8 | Read some Miss Marple stories by Agatha Christie. That might be what you’re attempting to do. She tends to be on the side, quietly doing her thing while everyone else is running around like lunatics, unaware that she’s already solved the mystery. | I feel like this happens in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo, I believe, everyone considers the main protagonist, but I feel like Sam in a way becomes the main protagonist as the story progresses. (SPOILERS!) Sam is the one who ends up saving Frodo and Middle Earth which I think is awesome. Sam is the true hero of LotR in my eyes :) Edit: I think what's even cooler about Sam is that even though he saved the world, Frodo is the one given most of the credit by the other characters. Sam happily thinks he's the side kick and lives happily ever after but really Sam was the secret hero who saved the world. It's like Frodo was the front man of the band of Hobbits but Sam was the one who wrote all the songs and music, but everyone only notices the singer and frontman that is Frodo, right? Sam was the driving force behind the band's success! I think this is implied when Frodo gives Sam the book to finish, because the story is now Sam's story as Bilbo's and Frodo's time as the hero has concluded. I think the change takes place in Return of the King where Sam officially switches with Frodo as the Main Character during their trials with Shelob and Mount Doom. Sam even briefly takes The Ring after believing Frodo to be dead if you need symbolism. He does give it back, because he thinks he's the sidekick, but really he's the hero :) | 0 | 21,549 | 2.666667 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.