funny enough i was just looking at apartment listings because management is upping my rent again for next year ok let me add onto my previous statement: the only time i have motivation to work on my pets is immediately before i go to bed. i ought to get into the habit of writing like, one sentence every time that happens. at that rate, i might have my pets finished at some point before i retire 👍

lol i'll let you know i'm the same way though, right now i've got my eye on two more pets i want to bring in. i only have an idea for one of them, and the other one... i just really like the name. meanwhile i've got like 15 pets over here that already need attention...

Haha, yes, it certainly is a bit of a bad habit, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who is afflicted by it.

My newest acquisition leans more towards the "liking the name" sort of deal, that, and it also giving an excuse to create a Chibi/ Nostalgic Nokota, which I've been tempted by for a while.

But yes, the whole process would be less terrible if I actually had finished some of my pets, of course. ^^;

&

Thx a lot =) I did bookmark the sites. I guess that will help a lot.

ALso I read a lot of books (English & German alike), so that allready did help a lot to get better ^^.

Reading will definitely help improve on a language! I read a lot of fanfiction and to be perfectly honest it's really helped me out since I'm not that big of a book reader. 😩 Whatever works, works. As long as you can keep practicing you'll get better. And honestly your English isn't bad at all, you should see some of my old Facebook posts, did I even know what a dictionary was??

alright in the interest of adding something of substance to this thread, let me pose a question: do you guys ever get way too attached to what is, for all intents and purposes, a really boring character?

my concept for eino is about as uninteresting as they come, but i keep finding myself coming back to build further on it. i couldn't tell you why.

Not really. For me none of my characters is boring (I can only speak for myself here.. others probably think them boring).

My problam is more that I somtimes get too attached to some of my characters, especially when I roleplay them.

Sort of. In my case, it's not really boring so much as isn't there or is quite short and simple. Cinnabon, as it stands, is almost finished in terms of overlay design and profile...just she has no actual story yet. I'm actually at a bit of a loss as to sure why she, of all the pets I have, has suddenly motivated me to complete her profile, when I don't have anything to write on it. XD

Motivation and inspiration are weird.

I suppose, I find it easier to work on my simpler or "boring" pet concepts first, because I tend to spend less time ruminating on them as I will with my more complex ideas. It's nice to have a simple little character/ story sometimes.

I feel like 'boring' is subjective really. Like a character can have the most interesting concept ever and personality wise they're a total snoozefest. Like my Lester is this ancient wolf-shifter who's clan/pack was slaughtered via "we'd rather die than serve you" and he only survived because he pretended to be dead from his shanking, and he's carried that guilt 5ever and wallows in self-pity wishing he'd have gone with them all. Cool concept (imo, cause I'm hella biased) but he's literally the grumpiest most uneventful oc ever, basically just eating/playing some pianos/shooting shit with arrows and wallowing-- which makes him pretty boring, depending on how you look at it.

Likewise, it's a matter of preference from the outside looking in. Some people love subeta animals in bakeshops, and others like knowing pointless facts and concepts and stuff and some really love guady profiles the most |D

naw i feel like this character is objectively boring, but i still love him. like the gist of the character is he's a super old fashioned dude living in a tech-starved rural nation, farming a desolate patch of land and caring for his elderly father. and that's pretty much it. his character could best be summarized as "unimpressed"

and yet i keep coming back to tinker on little details and fine tuning this sad sack.

with some of my other characters im like "see this guy is great, i dont care what you think," but i'm kind of going into this one with the idea that no one but me is ever gonna give a shit, and i'm surprisingly ok with that

I don't think he's boring at all, truthfully. With all these high tech and progressive characters out there, he's actually something different. I mean, sometimes I really crave simple characters like that, without melodramatic or dramatic events in their lives. They are more realistic anyways. And I really applaud those who can express the joy or sorrow or whatever emotion through these seemingly simple and one dimensional lives.

that's encouraging. i guess what had/has me worried is that as far as the character goes, he really has no story to speak of, going by the traditional definion... though i guess the same could rather be said about the lives of most people irl. like he's born, he lives a fairly repetitive lifestyle, then he eventually dies. that's pretty much it.

but what i'm really trying to go for with this is how desperately poor his living conditions are, how desolate the setting is, etc, compared to how we live (and how most people outside of his particular nation live in that story, actually), but neither the character nor anyone he knows has any idea just how bad they've got it, because he doesn't know any other means of life.

like for instance, eino was very sickly from birth and wasn't expected to make it into adulthood, but he somehow beat the odds despite having never seen any kind of medical professional in his life (which is the norm there). he's also the youngest of 5, but he only has 2 living siblings, and all of this can be chalked up to his peoples' terrible infant mortality rate. but as far as they all know, that's just what life is, and none of this is the kind of thing you desperately want to change, because you don't know of an alternative.

i've kind of toyed with the idea of bringing in a secondary character who's from a more technologically progressive part of the world (maybe on some 'doctors without borders' equivalent) to kind of put things into perspective, but i'm still not sure about that.

To be honest, that does not sound boring at all. For me that all sound pretty interessting and now I want to know more XD. So called "boring" lives also can be pretty interessting.. even when the characters are nothing really "special".

I have Sokrates whom a lot would say he is boring. He is a lot like me. He is a totaly normal guy who lives a normal live. He has an average job, earns average money and lives in a small flat (in the same house his parants live in) in a small sleepy village with lots of woods, fields and nature around. He loves to draw, loves Role playing, reads a lot, plays soccer and computer games, likes to cook and he loves to walk around in the woods, especially in autumn to collect mushrooms ^^. He lives his normal average live ^^.

Oh, gosh, I just love what you said there about Eino. The fact that he didn't know life could be better makes it incredibly tragic from an outsider's point of view (and I like tragic). But then, there's that "hope is a dangerous thing" aspect, especially if he doesn't have the means to change his life. So this is totally thought provoking. Please don't ever give up this character!

Bring in a second character would definitely help to facilitate the story development, and he would help Eino see the world, and you could either go for a sad or happy direction (I'd probably go for the sad, but it's just me xD).

A few days late here ahah works been... busy, busy is a nice word I'm choosing to use in this statement instead of the string of confused profanities that come to mind! I actually think that sounds interesting to read-- either from his prespective, or from the outside looking in? But I'm probably biased because I actually watched every single episode of Amish Mafia and thought their frame of mind and how they viewed things so differently was like... watching history real time.

Likewise I've always loved shows like hoarders, where these people live one way and they're like "what's wrong with it IT'S NOT HURTING ANYONE yeah ignore those dead cats and be sure to walk on the designated path, or else WHATEVER WHY Y'ALL HATIN'?" and then you see the perspective of the poor social worker trying to deal with them like 8((..... why.

It's interesting to watch (or read) about things so different from what you're used to, it offers realization to the lives of others etc. Plus it beats bakery shop cats... like how does that work even??? 1. Thumbs are important 2. Uhh health code violations much, Ma'am there is a furball in my pancakes and 3. Corn/wheat are major bake ingredients that animals can't digest and are currently causing a massive amount of human health problems (cancer, diabetes, leukemia, depression???) in dogs/cats thanks to crappy pet foods not to mention extremely early deaths the fact that a cat cooks with these things willingly is is a level of asshattery I can't rationalize. It should be noted I adore extreme attention to details, so my inability to look past these glaring red flags does in fact keep me from being able to take those with a grain of salt |D

... Seemingly unrelated enough, another thoughtful nugget for this board-- but does anyone else often feel more judgemental of characters (both in general, but especially those of your own brewing) that share your own gender (or related-gender or lack there of, and anything inbetween)?

Like, I'ma chick and I am so instantly judgemental of female characters it's kinda sad. I've been extremely hard on my own-- I flat out didn't bother with them for the longest, until Korra and GoT reminded me that (like myself shades), chicks could be pretty bad-ass too. I found them extremely hard, not because I felt like I was "putting too much of myself" into them (Mary Sueing it, etc) but because haha basically media has done nothing but portray woman as "the soft fluffy happy one sitting around waiting for her mister right to pop out of nowhere and whisk her away" and how the chick in the movie is only cool to get the main characters attention, and then is basically useless.

It's left me jaded, and a bit hard to work with them. Like if one of my guys wants to be a loser that's cool I guess but not you. No female losers in this household-- because otherwise I feel like I'm just feeding a stereotype or something, of chicks just sitting around not being awesome and stuff.

... sometimes I wonder if I'm alone in this. Obviously |D

late, but thank you all for the encouragement! for the first time in a good long time, i'm actually feeling the motivation to sit down and start writing a story. no telling how long it'll take, given my current schedule, but progress is progress 👍

I don't know if I am really more judgmental with female characters.. but I often have a hard time liking them in books. There are only very few I really like that in my opinion are believable and bad ass: Aria, Daenerys, Brienne form GoT or Brionny from the Shadow March series. They are all strong female characters in their way without becoming ridiulous. They are still women (nearly women) but strong without having the feeling they are unrealistic.

Most as you said are these like you said "the soft fluffy happy one sitting around waiting for her mister right to pop out of nowhere and whisk her away" or the "I am so poor cause I do not have the mister right that snapps me away" and a lot of so called strong women are unbelivable cause they have that "I am the women that shows all the men that women do not need men and that all men are shit" attidude.

For me I only can say, that it is easier to make a believable male character, then to make a good believable female character.

Nice to hear we could help ^^ I myself often have a hard time writing.. I have so much ideas but can't bring them in a nice context then or finding a nice start.. But at least I was able to start a bit on Justus' story.. and I finaly did find a start ^^.

@ Andrea You are totally not alone in this. All my pets are male. Then, like you said, there should be no female losers in the house. I strongly dislike "the soft fluffy happy one sitting around waiting for her mister right to pop out of nowhere and whisk her away". So whenever I try to design a female character, it feels like that I want to do them justice too much, that I keep putting these invisible borders around them. Like, no, that makes you lame, so stop it, lady, and come and do this supposedly cool thing! It's quite sad when you think about it, that I have no problem making my male characters whatever I like, they could be stereotypical or manly, or insanely unconventional or girly.

Also does anyone find it irresponsible when the only thing they do, in the media, to make a female character badass was to let her do what men always do, especially in the aspect of sheer physical abilities (without even giving a backstory on why they became who they were)? I feel that's a really cheap way out. I think that can be related to what said. Sometimes, it's just too unrealistic. I admit I do like female characters like that sometimes, but meh. Also, I feel some British crime dramas did decent jobs on mentally strong and believable female characters, like The Fall, and Happy Valley.

Dang, why didn't I see this topic sooner.

Heh, female characters. I personally don't feel like I have too much trouble with them, at least not more so than male characters. Heck, in a way I can be more inspired to develop female characters I find interesting, because I feel like there can be a lack of female characters I like sometimes. So it makes me want to create something I feel is an improvement. Kinda like when I see a crappy drawing and it makes me want to draw because I can "do it better."

...Although whether my characters actually are that good or not is up for debate, I guess (and one of my female characters (Maleen, (who I considered trying to draw earlier too, but did I get around to it? Nah.) is even the kind of girl who sits around waiting for Mr Right... Then she might try to imprison him if he won't stay). I mostly just come up with things that appeal to me, though, without worrying a lot about how realistic any of it is. Although I try to put some effort in my writing... When I actually do it. Which isn't too often, admittedly.

Hm, maybe my male characters can be worse off at times, because it's tempting to make them appealing in a way that isn't necessarily particularly... deep. =P

But yeah, I... haven't really written about any of my pets in a while. Well, I started writing something about Huff, and then I got distracted and now most of my inspiration is gone for now. Got some inspiration for Enchanting and Ugliness, but not enough motivation/focus to do much with it. >_>

i cant speak much for the male vs female character thing, as my entire roster is pretty (read: entirely) male-biased. though maybe that speaks enough in itself right there...

but ok i might as well ask here, because i feel like the answer to this is really obvious but i cannot figure it out for the life of me. anyone know how i can get the little "like" heart on my pet profiles (example here) to be the same color as the other links? or alternatively: any color except that awful blue? nothing i've tried makes a difference, and that color clashes with just about every single one of my profiles.

You're totally right-- it is so often really hard to like a strong female character because she so often is unrealisitically overdone or is just... a footnote in another characters storyline (the girl that caught the heros eye and won his heart~) and serves no real purpose other than being the "love interest". Sometimes, she's both-- like Jean Grey from X-Men, who's the biggest Sue in the history of Sue's, is ridiculously overpowered for the sake of being "Totally awesome gais really", a genius "because reasons" and has won the hearts of at least two major characters (one being a fanfavorite, no less) but probably more.

Characters like that, just.. I feel like they do more harm that good really -laughs- Which stinks, because the vast majority of female characters are seemingly useless or fit that bill. Not to say "Gary Stu's" are any better or any more likeable, but it's just so much easier to give a guy a few gnarly scars/beef him up/give him some more manly hair and a cigar and suddenly he's less of a Stu because he's not what media considers to be sexy anymore. Or you can make him gay/compasionate and suddenly he's okay because well not every man can be a badass! But if you take the first approach with a female (Brienne is a fantastic example really), people tend to react to such a character like they would a three-headed troll who eats orphan children for breakfast -laughs-

Yeah I most definitely don't get along with those types of girls irl either, that's for sure |D ACtually, online.. either. I really can't just... listen to love and relationships and blah blah blah, it makes me feel not only extremely awkward (completely disinterested, mentally it's like forcing me to listen to the mating process of farm animals-- I'd rather slam my hand in a car door) but like... I feel compelled to question if we've really decided to utilize the woman's rights the ladies in the past fought so hard for y'know? Like WE WEAR PANTS AND GET A JOB AND LIVE ALONE Y'KNOW? IJS. OUR WHOLE PURPOSE ISN'T WAITING FOR MISTER RIGHT... just, so ya know because apparently you missed the memo...

-cough- Anyways, yeah I just.. I find it really hard and frustrating sometimes. Exactly like it's easy/fine to make a non-awesome male character because ^ like I said up there not every guy can be uber manly! But it feels like soooooOoOOoo many pre-existing chicks are bland/meaningless/the love interest that adding one more is a blasphemy or something haha.

I also beyond agree with the unbelievable females, there's so few of them that're just likea yeah I really like this badass go girl whooo and most of them are just like -facedesk- ???? WHY???

Like, GoT definitely does have some fantastically powerful ladies, and I really really liked many of the females from The Legend of Korra... and I did really enjoy Beatrix in Kill Bill (most of the ladies were pretty cool, and at least two had legit back-stories) but gosh, that's such a rarity it feels like.

Even more of a rarity is a believable strong female role that's played by a chick who isn't a white bombshell femme fetal |D The closest I can think of is Penelope in Criminal Minds (who's hands down one of my favorites).

I feel like having a full cast of males does in fact often say enough xD! (I have a tiny handful now! But two are MLPs, one is a pokemon trainer, one's a cannibal, two are faeries... one is batshit and is a few bad-days away from being a cannibal, and one is a manticore... so I feel like my tiny group, minus the ponies, are far from typical at least |D)

And yes, I have slaughtered the hearts code at this point, if you want the code to move it around lemme know I have that too xD! But this should let you change it to whatever color you want (and remove the line when you hover over it), the hover will be effected by your a:hover color too:

.icon.heart {text-decoration: none;} a {color: ; font-size:12px; text-decoration: none;}